Featured image by Jules Perry. Follow the link for more of this artist’s work.
I looked around at the world and see the prosperity that I took for granted. I drove a car, lived in a house, was able to get food made for me on demand, used a supercomputer that I keep in my pocket with amazing features. I had the opportunity to engage in civil discourse and to voice my opinion without the risk of disappearing from life because I went against the opinion of the government. I saw full shelves of goods from all over the world that would never be available, and was paralyzed with indecision from all the available choices.
I used to work in the grocery business, and several times I would help someone find something, and they would complain that there were too many choices, that life was too complicated, and things would be better if there weren’t so many options. My usual response was, “sure, but living in a world where we had only one choice?” They would nod and we’d proceed to find the item we were looking for.
There is a lot that can be said about the use of capitalism and how it can be used as a tool by the powerful against the weak. We’ve abandoned our moral and ethical foundation in this country, and have focused solely on acquiring power regardless of who is stepped on in our scramble to the top. This mentality leaves the masses fighting amongst each other like crabs in a bucket, while the people who take advantage of that carry everyone along.
In socialist and communist countries, food production was a huge problem, and mass starvation was a normal occurrence as the people in power hoarded the best for themselves. They were more equal than the rest, and so the majority of people who weren’t part of the “party” were left to fend for themselves, or struggle for the few meager scraps that remained.
In 2020, we saw similar issues as the coronavirus spread across the country.
This pandemic has revealed just how fragile our machine is. Disruptions in the manufacturing supply coming mostly out of China, lockdowns causing restaurants and small businesses to order less caused overflows in our domestic supply and intentional dumping of foodstuffs in pits and fields. Riots and protests further damaging the safety of truckers and delivery people as companies weighed risks to their personnel and equipment, and a steady narrative of rage and fear from traditional and online media to keep you glued to your screen. All of these function to instill panic buying and hoarding, because after all, if everyone says that the sky is falling, wouldn’t you be a bit concerned?
The problems aren’t going to get better any time soon. The politicians are engaged in their routine pissing contests, trying to smear the previous administration as completely incompetent with “no plan.” (See the fact-check here). But the current plan puts us into July before people can supposedly return to normal, and have little info on reinfection. There is a study from the University of Minnesota that suggests that patients were susceptible after six months, thebmj.com has an article saying that protection last five months, but still risks transmission, and a Forbes article suggests as little as two months.
We are leaving the third and entering the fourth cycle. And I pray that it is a short cycle.
A Place 4Politics 