When I was a preschooler in the early 50s I used to play a game to amuse/ terrorize myself where my bed was safe and everything surrounding it filled with monsters, alligators, fire or other unknown hideous things. I would imagine my family and friends isolated in their own beds afraid, unaware, and vulnerable. I’d picture scary scenarios where sleeping siblings would bounce out of bed and fall prey to the ogre, where a crying baby would be rescued from a crib, where life-sustaining food and water would be secured by my heroism. In our house it was possible to communicate by tapping on the pipes, a method our dad employed to demand we keep the noise down. Even though we knew nothing of Morse Code (except that it existed) I would fantasize that we would communicate using it. I’d further picture an elaborate system of communication consisting of string and soup cans to share needed information (an early version of iPhones...which in another bed somewhere was some tech genius baby imaging wifi and then inventing it.)
The game was pretend but the fear was real. Grown-ups would painfully explain away the monsters and ultimately my faith in adults would allow me to sleep peacefully and be able to use the bathroom, get dressed, race downstairs without giving it a second thought. It was an early lesson of the value of fact versus fiction.
Today in the year 2020 I find myself in a world where for many people around me, there are no facts. Everything factual is questioned and motives imagined. A considerable segment of the population has ignored facts that are clearly in evidence before our eyes. We have reached a stage where all news can be regarded as fake to serve our own purposes. The truth or a lie carries the same weight. There is no downside to lying. There is no such thing as proof. Sources are questioned and conspiracy theories run rampant. ‘You believe what you believe, I’ll believe what I believe.” Except, somewhere in there is a FACT. It’s fertile ground for an evil virus to reign siege on a society so skeptical that it has lost its true North.
So here we are. The coronavirus pandemic has become a parallel of the game I played as a child. Our homes are the beds, COVID19 is the monster, the heroes are medical and essential individuals sustaining us, the entire world is in the game, scientists and truth tellers are the grownups. We as people need to be the unsuspicious citizens who accept reality and believe in scientific facts. Although I haven’t personally seen the invisible virus I’ve seen the incredible damage it is imposing on neighboring countries, states, cities, towns, and neighborhoods.
It’s hard to comprehend the misery and devastation around us, yet here on our bed/home it’s not evident. This could all be a bad dream or a game that our mind is playing. A patient, trusting parent could elevate our irrational fear of something so invisible. I wish! It’s time to stop being a petulant child and listen to the facts as presented by the highest trained and trusted experts. Forget about our preconceived beliefs and political petty inclinations and do what is asked of us. Learn and appreciate the facts, put in the time, seek expert advice, value credentials, stop listening to those who tell lies. With childlike openness, we may be able to save ourselves and maybe save the world by making it a more intelligent, cooperative, better place.
The game was pretend but the fear was real. Grown-ups would painfully explain away the monsters and ultimately my faith in adults would allow me to sleep peacefully and be able to use the bathroom, get dressed, race downstairs without giving it a second thought. It was an early lesson of the value of fact versus fiction.
Today in the year 2020 I find myself in a world where for many people around me, there are no facts. Everything factual is questioned and motives imagined. A considerable segment of the population has ignored facts that are clearly in evidence before our eyes. We have reached a stage where all news can be regarded as fake to serve our own purposes. The truth or a lie carries the same weight. There is no downside to lying. There is no such thing as proof. Sources are questioned and conspiracy theories run rampant. ‘You believe what you believe, I’ll believe what I believe.” Except, somewhere in there is a FACT. It’s fertile ground for an evil virus to reign siege on a society so skeptical that it has lost its true North.
So here we are. The coronavirus pandemic has become a parallel of the game I played as a child. Our homes are the beds, COVID19 is the monster, the heroes are medical and essential individuals sustaining us, the entire world is in the game, scientists and truth tellers are the grownups. We as people need to be the unsuspicious citizens who accept reality and believe in scientific facts. Although I haven’t personally seen the invisible virus I’ve seen the incredible damage it is imposing on neighboring countries, states, cities, towns, and neighborhoods.
It’s hard to comprehend the misery and devastation around us, yet here on our bed/home it’s not evident. This could all be a bad dream or a game that our mind is playing. A patient, trusting parent could elevate our irrational fear of something so invisible. I wish! It’s time to stop being a petulant child and listen to the facts as presented by the highest trained and trusted experts. Forget about our preconceived beliefs and political petty inclinations and do what is asked of us. Learn and appreciate the facts, put in the time, seek expert advice, value credentials, stop listening to those who tell lies. With childlike openness, we may be able to save ourselves and maybe save the world by making it a more intelligent, cooperative, better place.
No comments:
Post a Comment