We live in a society where the "Look at the Science" weapon is carried and swung by many. But so often those swinging the club have a mind that is as set as was the case with the religious authority who confronted Galileo. "The earth is the centre of the solar system - case closed."
In "the Virus is the problem" vs "the virus is an indicator of underlying problems" debate, there is a seeming veto on even thinking about or probing the "underlying issues" question. Major hypocrisy is in action! And a shocking betrayal of solid progress is taking place!
Are humans a generic commodity? When something like Covid hits, a perfect "scientific research" opportunity presents itself. Humans aren't a generic commodity. Outlooks and lifestyles and circumstances and habits differ. Why are some people untouched? Why are some mildly touched? Why are some seriously impacted? And why do some die? How much effort is put into trying to isolate answers to these questions? The same question can be asked with foot and mouth disease incidents. Do we get out the gun and incinerator or do we think and explore?
When hundreds of people are impacted by a communicable virus, the stage is set for valuable research. If the project is unhampered by an establishment veto, given the breadth of thinking generated in a large group of human minds, lots of theories are going to emerge and then those theories can be truly tested with the Scientific Method - sincerely looking for answers rather than pandering to the party line. A lot of useful insights are sure to be uncovered, some unpopular but true. Costly flaws in established human systems may be revealed. Common customs in diet and action may suddenly get bad coverage. Power and economic structures such as Galileo confronted may resist. But the goal is to get smart vs staying ignorant and taking the "mysterious and unexplained" hits.
At some point, will the human efforts to "flatten the curve" be seen as a bad joke of "flattening the economy while bragging about delaying AND stopping the tide"?
If the goal of "Sustainable Biological Equilibrium" is the agenda of the Big System, akin to tidal forces at play, the King and all his Men may not prevail - and swimming lessons might be advised!
Leaders and media and the masses can think and hope for anything they want but eventually the hard logic of experience is going to prevail. Having a truly open, concerned, and active mind can keep you out of a lot of messy hassles. Human history provides hundreds of examples of where the human herd has thought it had all the cards on the table prior to slamming into the brick wall of experience.
The world is big and history is long and any one person is tiny and his expiry date is rather quick. Natural systems have been around longer than humanly designed and constructed systems and if an individual realizes there is a clash between natural and human systems, there may be little that can be done in the short term. Especially when it comes to changing the direction of the mass herd. Human systems may be young vs natural systems but they are still old and big vs a current individual! But very often, being aware of reality, at least, even if such is uncomfortable vs living in dreamland, can allow the individual to maneuver and avoid some of the flying goods when the shit hits the fan - a somewhat regular occurrence. And in the Big Game, accurate knowledge is so much better than dumb ignorance! The Scientific Method is a marvel so long as the term hasn't been hijacked by the bigots!
In the Covid situation, it can be argued that the whole world has caught a highly communicable "mental virus". The "virus" has spread around the globe. A violent reaction is occurring, and the reaction is the thing that may well kill "Old Man Society". Is it worth considering if the "virus" is the problem or whether there are underlying issues that have created a perfect culture bed for the virus to settle in and grow? Is the "virus" an enemy or a teacher? As for Covid - is it possible in future when people are surveying the rubble that someone will ask "What caused this mess?" And someone else will say "I have no idea." The impact of the "mental virus" may swamp the "covid virus" into insignificance!
