Themeattics

When a lot of remedies are suggested for a disease, that means it cannot be cured.

Anton Chekhov

Mandated vaccinations. Tax brackets. Censorship of ideas. Definitions of words. Spending policy.

These are the things we argue about nowadays. Now, despite the title, I’m not going to argue these things are pointless. That’s obviously untrue, they directly affect our lives in observable ways, which is why they’re so easy to use to get under people’s skin. And, if I’m being honest, even these things are too high-level. To get into the real red meat we’d need to go even more granular. COVID vaccine mandates, “Fair Share” taxation, whether tech companies can determine what is said on their platform, etc. The more specific, the easier it is to take a stand and plant your flag. By the same coin, the easier it is for outside groups to get us motivated and at one another’s throats.

It’s easier still due to the fact that we have such an enormously powerful central government. When the opinion of a person in rural Wyoming (but I repeat myself) has a direct effect on the life of a person in Manhattan, and vice versa, it’s easy to understand why we get so up-in-arms. These two people likely have significantly different lives. Different goals, different ideas of what determines a “proper” life. Trying to govern all of them under the exact same rule is a fool’s errand, which was the whole idea at the start of the United States. This place is too big to govern under one rule, let the states be their own governments with something limited up top to keep them safe and able to do as they please.

Now, obviously, we ran into some issues – that tends to happen when people don’t view others as people – but I’m not getting into that here. All I’m saying is, when the people who represent you live with you, they tend to understand what they represent. As the power of the central government grew and it began to creep into all aspects of our lives, “local” issues began to fade away. Who knows who sits on their local school board? Who understands what their mayor is doing? What does your city spend money on? Nobody cares about that when Washington can use an agency or decree to shutter your business.

A side effect of this growth is obvious – government has become a job. A well-paying job, at that. People make millions by calling the “other side” the enemy, then sitting around doing next to nothing but plotting how they keep their job. Oftentimes that’s by doing nothing, but I don’t really need to get into that. That’s not the point of this post.

What is, is this: all these things we argue about, the things they use to keep us hating one another, are nothing but symptoms. They’re the “easy” things, the parts we can use as weapons on one another to argue about endlessly, moving from one to another at such a rapid pace we don’t notice we’re missing the point entirely. Trump stole the election because he’s a Russian asset. Now he’s a facist. Now he’s not doing enough from the federal government to stop a virus spread. Now he hates everyone that doesn’t look like him. Now Biden stole the election. Now his son is taking bribes. Now he’s using a vaccine to control the population. Look, over there! Squirrel!

What the hell are we actually arguing about? It’s not vaccines. It’s not censorship. Take a step back and look at what modern political discourse has in common. Then take another step back and look again. And again. Keep going. There’s a lot of distance to cover to get at the root of all this. Yep. Keep going, I’ll wait.

I’ll admit, it’s taken me a while to get here. I think I’ve brought this up before, but I really think I’ve come to find the base of this all, and I’d love to hear from you guys if you disagree. I think, in the end, this all boils down to our take on the human condition.

On one end there are people who believe society defines humanity’s nature and that, with enough time and direction, the perfect people can be forged. People devoid of hate, of prejudice, of anger and distrust. As such, it is the responsibility of those elite who have moved farther along this path to oversee the system and help get the rest of us get to that same position on the path so that we can make the next step.

On the other end are people like myself, who believe that mankind exists in a fallen state and can never be perfected. We view all people, individually, as fundamentally flawed and therefore understand that they cannot guide us along a path toward perfection, no matter how hard they try. That isn’t to say we shouldn’t – and don’t – try to better ourselves, to reach for that idea of perfection, but we understand it cannot be obtained.

Take those two ideas and look at the all fringe squabbles we’re having now. Trace back every one and you’ll see where the other side is coming from. I felt pretty good about this one for about five seconds until I found the next question. The one I still don’t have an answer for.

How can those two groups be governed by the same system?

I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest.

Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience

I was in my Sophomore year on my way to Geometry when I first heard the news. I wish I could remember who stopped to tell me about the plane crashing into the first tower, but I don’t. I thought it was… not a joke, per se, but people being ridiculous. It was high school, after all. Then I got to class and watched the smoke billow from our small CRT TV huddled up on its corner of the wall. We got maybe five minutes of that before our teacher turned it off and we took the planned quiz. None of my classes after that talked about it at all. I didn’t realize the extent of what happened until I got home later that day. I don’t think any of us realized what that day would do us moving forward.

Remember all those little, temporary changes made to protect us afterward? Airport overhauls, increased security, information gathering networks, boosts to national security influence and power. They were necessary, remember? We were under attack. There was a clear and present danger. We had to do something. Then, when things were done, we could go back to normal.

Twenty years. Can you turn around and see that normal anymore? What did it look like? All minor changes, right? Minor losses. So we can’t see our loved ones off at the gate anymore. We can’t bring normal sizes of water. Lost an hour or so of time in our day to be sure we get through security. So there are new, overarching agencies that may or may not be checking our communication at all times. So we’ve pour trillions of dollars into making sure everyone is safe and secure.

Feel safe yet?

We’ve had twenty years, have we stopped radicalism yet? Has the world taken one great step toward Utopia? Everyone getting along now, no issues?

Alright, so we haven’t quite been able to bend human nature toward our ideals. No biggie, that stuff happens I guess. It’s hard, I get it. But we can absolutely exterminate a highly contagious virus. Easy peasy.

Just fifteen days to slow the spread. It’s just a mask. It’s just keeping away from one another. It’s just a shot. Just another shot and masking again. Just a third shot. Just an app to track your GPS location and take facial scans to confirm you’re where you’re supposed to be (Thanks, Australia). Just OSHA regulations to pummel any business with the audacity not to force its employees to comply.

I’m sure it’ll stop there. These things always do. The government is just here to help, after all. And hot damn are they great at it, historically.

Look, I say all the time I don’t want to get political, but when my president takes the time approaching the anniversary of 9/11 to tell his country to shut up and comply, I hit my limit.

What the hell is wrong with us? Have we forgotten that we’re going to die someday? Have we forgotten that there are bad things in the world?

But Tom, you say, not getting the vaccine is selfish. People who don’t are endangering people around them. Well, according to the director of the CDC stated that the vaccine won’t prevent infection or spread. It’s pretty obvious that it helps curb side effects, which is great! If that’s something you’re concerned with, by all means, have at it. No one’s stopping you. But if, as the CDC and data continues to say, there’s no real effect on transmission, why do you care who has it or not? Are you trying to tell me all this absurdity is for each individual’s own good?

Alright, I’ll bite. Where do we go from there? Mandating people keep themselves perfectly healthy at all times? Force exercise, ban certain foods, legislate a certain amount of sleep every night? My BMI is a little high right now, that puts me at higher risk of medical issues which would use hospital beds that other people might need. Better nip that in the bud.

I hate anecdotes but whatever, I’m angry so I’ll use one anyway. I personally know people who have dropped off the face of the earth since the pandemic first started. One in particular got vaccinated right away, had contact with people outside of their direct family, kept their children from going to parties, didn’t attend their friend’s wedding, and STILL came down with it recently.

How long will it take to accept that this is just a thing we have now? Is it worse than the flu? Yeah, in most cases. Does it kill people? Of course it does. Let me repeat this one so people in the back can hear it: we all die. Or, as my dad always said when I was growing up, “Life sucks, then you die.” There will be no Utopia on earth. You won’t live forever. You’ll get sick, you’ll get hurt, you’ll fail and suffer. Welcome to the world. The only control you have is how you, yourself, deal with it. The only option is liberty. Stop expecting other people to take care of you, especially the government. They don’t know you. They don’t want to. They want to live like kings. And so far, we’re doing a bang-up job of letting them.

They do not relinquish power. They do not relinquish control. If you learn anything from 9/11, learn that. Once you give it up, it’s theirs. That stuff doesn’t come back without going through dark times. I’d really we rather not go down that route.

So, please, just try to live. Truly live. Remember what that means.

Memento Mori.