Alice: But I don’t want to go among mad people.
The Cat: Oh, you can’t help that. We’re all mad here.
I feel as though I have joined Alice on her bizarre acid trip into the heart of Wonderland. A world where everything is nonsense. Nothing is what it is, because everything is what it isn’t. (L. Carroll)
A world where reason, facts, and personal liberty are trampled by hysteria, lies, and good old-fashioned bullying. Daily I find myself on the verge of pulling out what hair I have left, as I wander through this strange upside world in which left is right, good is bad, and light is darkness. Society seems to have abandoned rational thinking and given itself wholeheartedly over to groupthink . To quote Agent K from Men In Black, “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it.” This seems to be a reinterpretation of a similar quote from Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, but the idea is the same. When people are together accountability disappears, and mob mentality ensues. This is why we elect leaders that are supposed to be the cooler heads in the room, but they seem to have decided to encourage the current hysteria. What their motives are I will leave up to you to decide, but unless we reverse course, not adjust, not acquiesce to the “new normal”, but turn around and go back to what is good and proven then I am uncertain what our future will look like. Daily I ponder the current state of the world, the nation, and even my own neighborhood and I wonder these three things…
At what point did we reject reality and objective reasoning? I contracted covid19 in December of 2020. It was definitely not a pleasant experience, but all in all I would put it on par with a moderate case of the flu. I had a couple days of mild fever, chest congestion, and muscle aches. The cough started on day 5 or so. Oh, and I lost my sense of taste and smell during its duration. I am not playing this down, and I understand that each person is a different case, but this could also be said of the flu, or a cold, or bronchitis, or any other illness for that matter. To say that each individual is different is an obvious statement and in no way is a reason for panic. And yet after displaying symptoms and testing positive, my wife and children began to get texts from co-workers and friends saying things like, “I’m so sorry to hear about your husband/father.”, or “I’m so sorry to hear the news. If you need anything let me know.” These people acted as though I had contracted Ebola, which has a fatality rate of about fifty percent. They behaved as though I was on my death bed, and the next call would be with the date and time for my funeral. The reality is that I was in no real danger of dying. The reality is that according to the CDC, if covid19 were left untreated in someone of my age (45) and general health (good/no co-morbidities) it has a fatality rate of .02%. You read that right! On average, for my demographic, sitting at home, and not calling the doctor covid19 has a survival rate of 99.98%. Did you know that there is a one in six thousand chance when flipping a nickel of having it land on its edge? That’s a .016% chance. In other words, the chance that I stood of dying form covid19 was only four one-thousandths of a percent greater than flipping a nickel and having it land on its edge. I know percentages can be tricky because if you’re in that .02 % its 100% for you, but the chances are so low it’s not even worth thinking about. Do you wait with bated breath every time you flip a nickel onto the counter to see if it lands on its edge? I didn’t think so. I am tempted to lay out the numbers showing no excess of deaths in 2020 but will leave that for you to look into. I would recommend watching Dr. Genevieve Briand’s video on YouTube. It’s titled “Covid-19 Deaths: A Look at U.S. Data.” I have given up on presenting facts and data to members of the hysterical mob because…
At what point did we start embracing empathy over facts? I am not anti-empathy in anyway. It has its place for sure. But you’ve probably heard the saying that the “facts don’t care about your feelings.” This is true to the n’th degree, and yet our society has become hyper-empathetic. Take masks for instance. Numerous, NUMEROUS studies prior to covid19 revealed that masks did little or nothing in preventing the spread of viruses such as influenza. In fact, in the beginning, officials told us that there was no reason to use masks because of their ineffectiveness. Then, they decided to change their minds without any data to support their flip flopping. How would they reconcile their hypocrisy? They claimed it wasn’t about protecting yourself, but about protecting grandma. Do you want to be responsible for killing granny? You need to put yourself in their shoes and realize the danger it poses to the elderly. (again, watch the video from Dr. Briand). This enabled the empathy crowd to abandon their mission of fighting to allow the homeless to live, eat, crap, and inject illegal drugs on the streets of America and pursue a new crusade: mask up America. They literally equated it to being at war and doing your part. As if wearing a mask was akin to the young men who gave their lives storming the beaches of Normandy. And if you didn’t mask up? Well then, you’re a murderer. Grocery stores jumped on board, businesses, airlines, you name it. And if you didn’t step in line you were bullied and shamed into submission, or sometimes worse. But what are the facts? The fact is that when properly fitted N95 masks are pretty effective. Up to 97% in fact. However, for long period wearing many have one-way valves that allow your breath to escape. Not doing much good in preventing aerosols there. Surgical masks? Not very effective. They have 44-50% penetration, and their loose fit allows jetting that actually increases the velocity and spread of aerosols. You see they were really made to prevent large droplets from falling from a doctor’s face into an open wound, or to prevent splashing of fluids into a surgeon’s nose and mouth. How about all of those wonderful cloth masks that people use as an accessory to their ensemble? They are almost completely useless. They have 97-99% penetration, and also cause jetting of aerosols. The CDC and WHO say that most transmission occurs when individuals are in close contact, less that 6 feet, for 15 minutes or more. What does this mean? It means masks do little to nothing, and you won’t get sick in passing while at Walmart. But wait there’s more: Due to lockdowns, business closures, school closures, and mask mandates we are seeing record increases in domestic violence and domestic abuse, child abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, drug overdoses, as well as an increase in suicide and suicidal thoughts, especially among teenagers. That’s right! High schoolers are killing themselves or thinking of killing themselves in record numbers! Not to mention the destruction that has been doled out to our economy. People have lost their jobs, their businesses, and their livelihoods. They can’t pay their rent, pay their mortgages, or feed their families. But hey! That’s ok because you can virtue signal and pretend that you’re making a difference by hanging a piece of flimsy fabric on your face. The reality is you are destroying lives by perpetuating the mask madness and the covid19 hysteria.
Which brings me to my last question: When did society decide that it’s primary goal in life was to pursue leisure and safety? I’m not going to go down the rabbit hole of leisure time because I could write a short book on the topic, but suffice to say too much is not good for you, and the more you work the more leisure time value increases. There are plenty of studies and medical articles you can read on the topic. Or simply take a look at Mike Rowe’s page and read all about his experiences with work ethic.
No, what I want to focus on, especially in light of our current situation, is safety. Of course, certain safety rules are important: look both ways before crossing the street, don’t take candy from strangers, don’t do drugs, etc. But these are really more in line with common sense. I’m talking about something different. I’m talking about the fact that there is no reward without risk, anything worth having is worth working for, no pain no gain. These may be considered platitudes, but they are far from trite or banal. They are in fact based on a very unmovable fact of life: nothing is free. Every day we perform cost-benefit analyses. We weigh the reward for every action. If you are willing to risk more the rewards will be greater. Of course, so will the consequences for your mistakes. But here-in lies the essence of true liberty: personal responsibility. I should be able to reap the rewards for my risks and good choices, but likewise should have to pay the price for my poor choices. As a result, I grow, build character, and am shaped into a productive member of society. But the current thinking is quite the opposite. Our society believes that life should offer unlimited reward with absolute safety. You should be able to go into massive debt, to obtain a degree that has no value in the current marketplace, and then expect the rest of society to pick up the tab. Why? Because it’s simply not fair. Or so they say. It is actually very fair. You made a bad choice, and you pay the consequences. Can’t get more fair than that. Choose a degree or trade in a field that has potential, and that job will be waiting for you when you get out. And unless you are the cream of the crop it likely won’t be in the six-figure income range right off the bat. You’ll have to start at the bottom like everyone else. You get out of life what you put into it. But they think that they should be able to do whatever they want without consequences and with maximum reward.
This mentality doesn’t just apply to economics. When was the last time you saw the bike racks at your local public school? Not sure about your neck of the woods, but around here they are empty. In fact, kids rarely even walk to school anymore. Why? Because parents feel that it’s just too dangerous. I mean hey, kidnappers are waiting behind every tree, and crouching in every bush, right? Wrong! According to federal statistics your child’s chance of being kidnapped are 1 in 300,000. That’s not to say that you let your kids loose like it’s Lord of the Flies. You teach them good behavior, and rules that will keep them out of trouble. Don’t put yourself in a position to be kidnapped, and likely you won’t be kidnapped. Likewise, you probably won’t be the victim of a violent crime, unless of course you’re a drug dealer, in which case your odds go up considerably. Make good choices. So why do people freak out over things like kidnapping and violent crime? For the same reason that they are freaking out over covid19. They listen to the people who are immersed in that field. Let me explain.
I work in the IT industry. Been working in it for almost a quarter of a century. As a result, I have seen a lot of things that the average person does not see. I have seen hard drives go bad, and data lost. I’ve seen hard drives bad right out of the box. I’ve seen hard drives die, and the backup hard drives die during recovery. As a result, I have a tendency to be paranoid about my data. I back up irreplaceable things such as photos and music in multiple places. This behavior is conditioned in me because I have a very myopic view of data storage. In fact, it’s all I see every day. However, the reality is that the vast majority of people on this planet will not experience these things. I recommend that you back up your data, but the chances are that you will never lose your data, and if you do your backup will be just fine. I have this view of this particular topic because it’s all I see every…. single…. day. This does not, however make it your experience. The same can be said for a police officer. Interacting with crime everyday does not mean that every person he meets is a criminal, although he may start to feel that way, and if you talk to them you might feel uneasy of about the neighborhood you thought was safe. Doctors who deal with illness, disease, and death does not mean that everyone is on the verge of death. When they see a covid19 patient in the ICU it is likely because they have other issues that have allowed covid19 to become a serious problem and has put them in danger of dying. So if you talk to them, everybody is in serious danger of dying from covid19. However, the facts tell a different story. But our desire to live a life where no one dies drives us to shut down our economy, close schools, and force mask mandates on the populace. I hate to tell you this, but maximum life expectancy has changed very little in several thousand years, and even with covid19 there were no excess of deaths in 2020. Let that sink in a little before moving on.
I feel like I am bird walking a little bit here and don’t want to lose you. My point is that life is not safe. And it shouldn’t be! Without the ability to take risk we cannot advance as individuals or as a society. I understand the concern at the beginning of this current outbreak. No one knew what to expect from covid19, but as data began to roll in, rather than adjusting and moving back to our normal way of life we doubled down on all of the things that actually didn’t work, simply out of fear. We listened solely to doctors with a narrow view of society because they see it through their own very specific career lens. Our leaders at all levels, who were trusted to take all of the data from all areas and compile a plan that is best overall failed to do so, and instead encouraged the panic.
How do we fix it? At some point the populace will need a good slap in the face to bring them back to their senses. Unfortunately, the more time goes on the more difficult this becomes. Is it possible that this hysteria will reach a crescendo and fizzle out? Yes. Eventually, but I fear that we are not anywhere near that point yet. Things can get much crazier than they currently are, and with talk of a vaccine passport to travel, or even go to an amusement park I fear that we have not even begun to witness the mass hysteria that our population is capable of. Think about that. A vaccine passport for a virus with an overall survival rate, regardless of age, of 98.5% If you care one iota about your personal civil liberties or those of future generations, then that should scare the lemonade out of you.
How can you make a difference? First and foremost, pray. As a Christian I believe that praying should be the first thing that you do, not the last. Second, educate yourself. Stop allowing yourself to be spoon fed the data. Look it up for yourself. We live in an age where information is literally at everyone’s fingertips, but hurry because big tech is censoring this information as fast as they can. Strive to be the most informed you can be, and don’t just to satisfy your bias, but look at both sides. See what the real facts are, and not just opinions or narratives. Third, speak up. If you stay silent then nothing will be done, and when they come for you there will be no one left to speak for you. Read the poem “First They Came…” by Martin Niemoller.
We may be few, but you can make a difference. The founding of this great nation proves it. As Samuel Adams said, “It does not take a majority to prevail . . . but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”
Resources:
Covid-19 Deaths: A Look at U.S. Data: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TKJN61aflI&t=3044s
The Great Barrington Declaration: https://gbdeclaration.org
Danish Study on SARS-CoV2 specifically, shows the ineffectiveness of masks: https://thefederalist.com/2020/11/18/major-study-finds-masks-dont-reduce-covid-19-infection-rates/
Efficacy of Cloth Face Masks: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33015206/
Masks Are Neither Effective Nor Safe: https://www.technocracy.news/masks-are-neither-effective-nor-safe-a-summary-of-the-science/
Cloth Masks: Dangerous to your health? https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150422121724.htm
COVID-19 prevention may lead to record low flu rates, CDC says: https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2020/09/18/COVID-19-prevention-may-lead-to-record-low-flu-rates-CDC-says/9241600379387/
Coronavirus on Surfaces: What's the Real Risk? https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200903/coronavirus-on-surfaces-whats-the-real-risk
CDC Data Shows High Virus Survival Rate: 99%-Plus for Ages 69 and Younger, 94.6% for Older: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/09/25/cdc-data-shows-high-virus-survival-rate-99-plus-for-ages-69-and-younger-94-6-for-older/
Odds of Dying: https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/all-injuries/preventable-death-overview/odds-of-dying/
Here’s how the media is misreporting COVID-19’s death toll in America: https://nypost.com/2020/10/17/how-the-media-is-misreporting-covid-19s-death-toll-in-america/
CDC Director Compares Rate of Suicides to COVID-19 Deaths: https://townhall.com/tipsheet/micaelaburrow/2020/07/28/redfield-says-more-abovebase-suicides-than-covid-deaths-n2573278
My Grandchildren’s America: http://www.mygrandchildrensamerica.com
“First They Came . . .”: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/martin-niemoeller-first-they-came-for-the-socialists
Human Lifespans Nearly Constant for 2000 Years: https://www.livescience.com/10569-human-lifespans-constant-2-000-years.html
