My body, and the illusion of freedom.

 

My body, and the illusion of freedom.

 I was born with no input from me. People picked me up, slapped me around, and didn’t give me a break. It was cold and my new set of sensors came online. I was introduced to light, sound, touch, and I noticed a smell and ugly taste in my mouth. None of those things existed before, but now I had no choice but to deal with it. I wanted to go back, but there was no way. My new body that now I was aware of couldn’t follow my instructions even if I knew what to do with it, which I didn’t. Hands washed me, tied me up, and handled me like a package that has no will of its own. They were big human hands and I couldn’t do a thing. I tried to move my own way, but they wouldn’t leave me alone. 

They eventually placed my new baby body on my mother, but it didn’t feel like anything that I knew before. I had to use muscles to breathe and do other things like swallowing my saliva and scream. In this world, I pushed air through vocal cords and noticed that it produced a sound that I could hear. No one paid attention to what I wanted, but I understood they were keeping me alive. Not being alive was an unwanted sensation. In my baby's brain, I had a question I couldn’t express. Are they doing it for me, or to make me useful for someone else? I am an individual, but can’t survive without my tribe.

 We spent our first seven years learning how to be human. Since I was in danger, I went from surgery to surgery. I learned better than most that I was not the boss of my life. They tied me up, put me to sleep, and did what they and my parents decided was good for me. I had no freedom. School, which I had to attend, shaped me more towards what society considers “normal” and later some basic army training completed the job. If I wanted to live in society, I followed orders. When I started working, it became critical. You don’t obey, you don’t eat. When my kids arrived, I did the same to them.

What is the difference between animals and humans? Humans can do so much more than any other animal. It is our ability to communicate with each other and do things together. We also learned how to share knowledge with future human beings using writing.

We complained before COVID but life was OK. The effects of Global Warming were considered, but mostly hurt the poorest people somewhere else. Here we suffered some setbacks from fluctuating energy prices but had the freedom to deal with it without a threat to our lives. World politics could safely be ignored. When we locked down and buried the old generation, the assumption was that things would soon be back to normal. Quick government actions diverted the worst blows and if the news was stressful, we turned it off. Things were not OK.

Food prices increased by 10%, gas went up, not because of a carbon tax, and the cost of housing went up, cushioned for a while by government temporary actions. The cost of health care went through the roof. Those who watch the news began to realize that there was no way back. The longer it takes to beat the pandemic, the worst it will get. Our medical experts, fuelled by government money, miraculously found a solution that works but, so-called freedom fighters damaged our progress. Falsely assuming that they are safe, they declared war against vaccines.

Now, the doctors and nurses and other health care workers who are publicly abused by people who deny the pandemic and refuse the most effective treatment, are holding the hands of unvaccinated dying “freedom fighters.”

Every action that spreads the virus is hurting the economy. When the economy is damaged, the poorest people suffer most and those with means feel the pinch on the bottom line. Society decided now let’s go. How can we solve the problem peacefully? We tried dialogue and failed. Our toolbox is empty. If I want to see the end of it, I must stay alive and if I get infected, I probably will not be. My unvaccinated son wants to visit me and my doctor says don’t do it. I look at my emails and a friend sent me a letter from Jesus warning me of eternal damnation if I am vaccinated. Too late for me. I got the jab, and it didn’t harm me in any way.

I rationalize. This is a fight between beliefs that people choose. There is no way to make someone believe what they don’t wish to believe. People made the issue into a freedom fight, but we never really had freedom. We always must go by what most people believe and the majority dictates the rules. We live or die by the rules. Why should it be different this time?

Jesus didn’t write this letter. He told people to look after the poor, to treat others like yourself, and to do a bunch of good things. You may not need a mask or a vaccine (I doubt it) but I may die (probably) if you don’t do it. I die, there is less business for you. A lot like me will die and the economy will crash. Why not just take a deep breath, as I did when I was born into a world where I am not free, cry aloud and live by society’s rules?

It’s too late to have the world back to where it was, but we can “take a pill” and make it better. The other option is less attractive. My son, who suffers from a phobia about needles, can stay up north for a few more months and I could send him food packages until we beat that smart virus that has no brain.

 Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.