I get it. I, also, have a healthy skepticism of government and their motives. Yes, the vaccine was rushed, is imperfect and we're all still learning as we go...
But, that is no excuse for, deliberately, spreading misinformation and politicizing this virus. I have friends who pronounce: 'This is not a vaccine' and refuse to wear masks, and I think that is not only the height of ignorance and arrogance, but also selfishness.
Covid is real (we know people who have gotten, seriously, sick and died). Vaccines, in most case, really help. If we've learned anything at all from this global pandemic, it's how connected and interdependent we are. Our lives, literally, depend upon one other, shouldn't we try to work together?
Frankly, when I read in the news about a man murdering his pharmacist brother, and sister-in-law, for administering Covid-19 vaccines, I get angry!
I realize it's a bit extreme to say this, but I do feel that all those vocally against vaccination, irresponsibly refusing to wear a mask, undermining science, and spreading conspiracy theories are partly to blame for these murders!
Enough is too much. Please, don't deceive yourself that you're thinking for yourself, by taking a position against vaccination and wearing a mask; you're only thinking of yourself. By fanning the flames of conspiracy theories, you are contributing to the needless chaos and death that surrounds us.
Why not instead consider how the coronavirus and the way we respond to it might offer us a “teachable” moment — a mysterious opportunity gifted to us in the form of a global health crisis?
By association, I think of Pascal‘s prayer: Teach us the proper use of sickness. Instead of complaining, resisting or living in paranoia, we might ask: How can this pandemic help bring out the best in us by granting us time and space — as world citizens — to slow down, turn inwards and meditate upon our interconnectedness?
We are living during a mighty, humbling and potentially transformative historical moment if only we can recognize it, that is capable of ushering in a newfound sense of community, as well as tenderness toward the vulnerability of all human life and its unpredictability.
Perhaps this poem I wrote might help to get my point across, better...
Corona Verses
We can’t simply return to how we were after a crisis—
our homes have become cocoons for radical transformation
Others lives, we finally realize, depend on us and vice versa,
either we change our ways, now, or perish alone-together...
And, if we survive, we might ask of this benevolent master:
Tell us, what new fast can we add to our days ahead?
The same way that Lent or Ramadan are spiritual reminders,
we should consider what sacrifice this pandemic asks of us.
What extreme limit have we reached, or trespassed?
As Laozi says: "Turning back is how the Way moves."
Don't bemoan your four walls, give thanks, for your necessary isolation
and pray to emerge from this chrysalis into a new consciousness.
