I spoke with my sister this morning. She is double vaxxed and has been talking about getting her booster. Covid talk is kind of off the table between us but I was reading yet another article today about how so many boosted in Israel are seriously ill in hospital and I just felt I had to ask her to hold off getting it unless it was absolutely necessary. Her reply was this, “I just can’t deal with this right now.” I replied that there was nothing to “deal” with. I’d had my say and she would do what she wanted to and there was nothing else needed. (I mean I would have been happy to have had a deep discussion about it but that’s her way of brushing me and my crazy conspiracy theories off and I’m trying to maintain our relationship.) But it also occurred to me that this could be a widespread reason for so much compliance in the first place. It was simply too hard to have that kind of conversation and think about those issues because of other things that were going on in her life (that are apparently more important).
Life these days is busy I know. Mine is too. We have so many obligations, responsibilities, scheduled activities, lists. And so little time to do it all. We want our news in headlines. We want our reports in summaries. Give me the elevator pitch. Questioning the narrative is the complete opposite of this. And for anyone deciding not to comply, this is what is required. This is a process that takes time. And thought. We need to look past the news headlines. We need to look up the scientific papers ourselves and then we need to find scientists and medical professionals we trust to interpret those studies. We need to look at data. Read peoples’ stories. Hear people speak about their experiences. Talk to others and get alternative views. And we need to keep doing this over time as more and more information and data is published. I have to admit it’s a little exhausting. But it’s better than letting someone tell you what to think surely.
As a society our priorities are upside down. What’s that old saying, you don’t have anything if you don’t have your health? Is the pandemic and the worldwide response to it not the most important thing happening in the world right now? The ramifications of one’s choices in these matters will effect your very life! And in many parts of the world, your freedom. Isn’t it worth a bit of time and thought? A bit of angst and critical thinking? But as a society many are too busy to deeply consider it. To even want to consider it. It’s in the “too hard” basket. So let’s put our head in the sand and “follow the science”, it’s probably fine. And if it isn’t, everyone else did it too so we will just blame the people that told us to do it. We complied and were rewarded with a green tick. See! We are right! Nothing to see here. Stop talking about it.
I have been accused of getting my information from the Internet, as if that’s somehow the wrong way to get information. Like I read someone’s Facebook post and instantly became an anti-vaxxer. I’m like, duh, of course I’m getting it from the Internet. The Internet is a bloody miracle as far as I’m concerned. Where else could I get access to a pre-print study on the effects of Ivermectin for example? It is so easy to be informed now. Of course there’s rubbish on the Internet. You obviously have to discern what information you are reading and decide on the truth and reliability of that information. Sometimes it’s very difficult to actually find the truth. But should we simply throw up our hands and say we can’t deal with it, when the outcome is that your only source of information is mainstream news and politicians constantly telling you to get vaxxed, get boosted and do the right thing? Oh and of course the fact checkers. Thanks but I’ll do the fact checking myself.
Dealing with what’s happening in the world is hard. It’s confronting. It’s sad. It’s brave. I would hazard to say it’s the most difficult thing I’ve done in my life and it’s changed me as a person. It’s changed my whole view of the world and the people in it. Sometimes I wish I could somehow escape to a deserted island far away from society and pretend this isn’t happening. But it is. And I will deal with it. Because my life depends on it.
I have exciting news to share: You can now read Freedom over Fear in the new Substack app for iPhone.
With the app, you’ll have a dedicated Inbox for my Substack and any others you subscribe to. New posts will never get lost in your email filters, or stuck in spam. Longer posts will never cut-off by your email app. Comments and rich media will all work seamlessly. Overall, it’s a big upgrade to the reading experience.
The Substack app is currently available for iOS. If you don’t have an Apple device, you can join the Android waitlist here.