On the essential survival guide to Covid...

After some two years of pandemic, assuming that you are in the sensible demographics who believe that Covid is real and Covid can kill, we should all know about the in's and out's of Covid, the symptoms, the variants, the test kits, the treatment, the prevention, the works. Well, if you don't, you should at least start with the CDC website to find the more definitive source of truth. Traditionally reliable news media like CNN could be a safe bet too. I'm not going to regurgitate any of those. 

Remember what I say about the power of reduction to allow our brain to process large volume of data (truthful and imagined/fake)? Well, here's a few things I do to keep my sanity:

1. Read from official sites for info (CDC is a good start). Any other pushers (including some who flash their credentials - "I'm A Doctor!") who claim to know better, they don't. Ignore them.
2. Don't read social media about anecdote of so-and-so (who's the friend of a friend of a friend or some such) about Covid. You're just wasting your precious time. If you can't verify and prove it and have the incident checked by hospitals and researchers, you should consider them fake or simply half-truth. Half-truth can oft be just as dangerous as totally fake account.
3. Don't respond to any forwarded messages from social media. It's 99.9999% certifiable junk. Again, you're just wasting your time. 
4. Even if you don't believe Covid (or the vaccines) is real, you should at least have the decency to respect others that believe in it. Afterall you do want others to extend that courtesy to you as well, right? The motto: To Each His Own.
5. Further to (4), respect others' choice. Even if you don't take the vaccine or wear a mask, you have no right to stop others from doing that. On the same principle, no one can force a mask on you, so extend that same courtesy to others.
6. That said, Private means Private. That means when a private organization (wink wink, employers, stores/shops, restaurants) sets the rule, they can do whatever they want. You sign on the dotted line the employment contract, and you're bound by it. And a shop can decide not to do business with you. Period. So, stop whining about your First Amendment Rights. You are free to bring it elsewhere. They have their First Amendment Rights too, as much as you do.
7. And for those who do believe in the vaccine, the social distancing, the face masks, etc, it's been working well for two years, so keep at it. But, there's no point trying to convince those who after two years are still not convinced. You will never change their hearts and minds. So, leave them be.
8. WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT HAND-WASHING ANYMORE!?!?!!??! Is it because it's just not visibly controversial enough for social media?!?!??!

My rule of thumb, is one of disengagement. Much as I disavow social media, I would rather have less vitriol. Then again, there really is no point in yapping the same response ("Me Too!") or clicking likes button a million times. Well, maybe for someone who seeks to be an influencer, it matters to them, but I don't give a damn, nor should most of us non-influencers. Bottomline is, it's just useless bits on the web. 

Think of it another way, five years, ten years, even just one year from now, no one gives a flying rat what you have said (unless you're caught with your pants down, metaphorically or literally speaking). So, all these so-called social media participation is just a colossal waste of collective time that these mass of people could have employed more productively elsewhere. 

Covid the virus will keep mutating. We know that will happen. (Hey, even seasonal flu mutates often.) We humans have to learn to live with it. It's not the end of the world, so stop whining about the hardship as an excuse to squeeze more money from the government. Take the vaccine (or not), it's up to you, but get your arse off the couch and back to work. Covid is no longer an excuse to say you're afraid to work or to provide for yourself, if you have half the self-respect you think you have.

 

PS - The cynical side of me does want a policy that sends those people who refuse the vaccine but get sick to just go home. Maybe they'll die, maybe they'll live, but hey, they want their freedom and choice, and that's the ultimate freedom they can ever get. Somehow I find it hard to feel sorry for them for getting really sick or even die. Their names can enter into the year's Darwinian Award, and they would very well win.