The world has gone mad! This corona virus pandemic is insane. Children are out of schools now while businesses are opening up and gathering them up together in a different location in order to feed them lunches in case they have no food. There is no hand sanitizer left in stores because people have bought it all out but have no need of it because government has required many businesses to shut down or implement "soft quarantines". People without babies are emptying shelves of baby formula in order to sell it in the black market while babies- who DEPEND ON THIS FOR SURVIVAL- may have to go without?!?! Churches are refusing to gather. People aren't allowed to travel over state lines? And what does everyone do in their spare time? Make toilet paper memes and wonder about what they will do with themselves. People are PANICKED. Things are intense.
Frankly, I'm conflicted. And maybe scratching my head a little bit too. Do I not know something? If you look at the numbers, the regular flu has a much higher death rate than the corona virus. I am not saying the Corona Virus is not a big deal...but I am saying people need to CHILL OUT A BIT. Media outlets are feeding the frenzy and we are letting them. And all of a sudden, we are living in a totalitarian government that dictates to us how we must live. I'm calling a foul.
Also- let's not forget: (You KNOW I have to say it!): Corona Virus has had 7, 098 fatalities worldwide since December 2019. Abortion has led to 125,000 fatalities worldwide EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. On the abortion link, you literally see that number moving up every second. You literally SEE death happening, in real time. Where is the panic there? Where is the intensity to prevent deaths? Where is the FRENZY people?!
I know that this whole Corona madness is going to have serious implications in every single sector of business and life for many months to come. It is hard to foresee how this is going to play out in the long run. The whole world has come to a screeching halt over this corona virus and frankly, I wonder if the effects of all this business shut-down will have more serious consequences than the actual illness for the American people.
While the world screeches to a halt, what will we do? We will continue to live as we live every day. I will continue to make food from scratch to feed my family, using the food I have on hand. We will continue to get as much sunshine as these March days allow. We will continue to wash hands and live life. We will continue to educate our children at home and go about the work that needs to be done every day. We will continue to squeeze in the pleasantries that can fill the cracks around the edges but probably not find more cracks to fill because this whole 'self quarantine' thing looks a lot like how we do life anyway.
The other thing we will be doing is praying for those people who are struggling during this time...
Not just those who are sick, but for those who are sick and those who, if sick, will have a more difficult time than others.
For those who are...
Not just those who are sick, but for those who are sick and those who, if sick, will have a more difficult time than others.
For those who are...
out of work
not getting paid
and all the repercussions that those two things entail ( ie *A HECKUVA LOT*)
wondering what to do with the children/grandchildren who don't have sitters and don't have school either
unable to get groceries
unable to worship
unable to feed their families or get necessities
unable to get surgeries
unable to fulfill obligations or activities they had looked forward to
who are stressed and scared and wondering what they are going to DO.
And also for those who have so many things TO DO- whose jobs are not on pause but on fast forward- nurses, doctors, etc.
There are many people in need of prayer.
And also for those who have so many things TO DO- whose jobs are not on pause but on fast forward- nurses, doctors, etc.
There are many people in need of prayer.
I'll leave you with this quote from an essay C.S.Lewis wrote in 1948 called "Living In the Atomic Age" that I have been reflecting on...it really does apply.
"In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. “How are we to live in an atomic age?” I am tempted to reply: “Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.”
In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors – anaesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.
This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things – praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts – not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.ng sensible and human things – praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts – not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.
He then goes on to compare the Christian view versus the naturalist view, and then concludes the essay this way:
It is part of our spiritual law never to put survival first: not even the survival of our species. We must resolutely train ourselves to feel that the survival of Man on this Earth, much more of our own nation or culture or class, is not worth having unless it can be had by honourable and merciful means.
The sacrifice is not so great as it seems. Nothing is more likely to destroy a species or a nation than a determination to survive at all costs. Those who care for something else more than civilization are the only people by whom civilization is at all likely to be preserved. Those who want Heaven most have served Earth best. Those who love Man less than God do most for Man.
And since there is nothing more uplifting to the spirits than a chubby baby.... I give you these:
Just doing my part in helping the morale. (you're welcome.)
13 comments:
Wow! I very much appreciate what you said. I have been thinking the same things. However, I did not think about how many babies are dying every day because of abortion. It is a very sad and horrifying thought. Also, C.S.Lewis made some really good points there.
Thanks for this post.
Rebecca,
I am a long time reader and respect you a lot. People cannot convey tone on the internet so please forgive me if I sound harsh but please I trying to say this in the gentlest manner possible without coming across as condescending. Please watch videos what Coronavirus is about from Italians who are living it and are in quarantine, or people in the US who are admitted in hospital and living it. The reason it got this bad was people did not take it seriously in the beginning.. I was visiting my old parents in the country of birth and came rushing back, booking a ticket at a lot more cost before the borders closed because my husband and kids are here. Luckily being a germophobe I carry hand sanitizer and wipes with me when I travel. But had to run around finding masks. My birth country has closed its borders too. I carried pulses, beans and rice from my birth country because I was not sure of the food situation here all the while dreading customs throwing them out.
I am not a big fan of the president, but most every reasonable person of any political stripe will not blame him or the leaders of the country or the world for draconian measures implemented that disrupt our lives unless they did not have another choice. I don't think it is media frenzy alone. Also while I am sure our views on abortion are similar I think we lose our audience if we compare pandemics to abortion. I am sorry if anything I said was harsh. You come across as very kind so I hope I have not hurt you in any way.
If 40 million Americans get the seasonal flu, a 0.1 percent fatality rate means 40,000 deaths. If 40 million Americans get the coronavirus, a 1 percent fatality rate means 400,000 deaths.
More people die from the flu because more people get the flu. The coronavirus is far more deadly; thus the need to prevent the spread.
Elisabeth~ thank you for your comment!
Anita~ if only all people disagreed so kindly, politely and with such gentleness- this world would be a far better place! Thank you for your comment! I appreciate your thoughts and agree with you that the corona virus is a big deal and very scary. I just feel very wary of the shockwaves that all these interventions may cause. I am afraid for those people who were not prepared to be without paychecks or food. I am shocked to "a dog eat dog world" as people hoard things. I wonder what the effects will be on individuals who do not get sick, on businesses that are not able to be open, to the economy at large as supply and demand shifts so violently, on the stock market and the value of the dollar, on trade and supply with China. On lots of different things- all that may be negatively impacted by this.
And especially if those interventions are not actually helpful: For example,
school kids are now out of schools for several weeks but instead of staying home, they congregate on the streets, go shopping and head to businesses and community outreach places to get lunches provided for them.
Anonymous- Thank you for the information. I believe the Corona Virus is spread in similar ways to the other viruses? I wonder if preventative measures taken by individuals without government intervention would be a better solution? As is evidenced by the amount of hand-sanitizer selling, I know people DO NOT WANT to get sick.
Rebecca, I too have followed you for years.
I have attached a link to an article that has permission to freely share I think this is a well written article. I agree preventative measures are good, however if you watch clips and see twitter post people are not doing that. Self isolation is Avery good way to go. We need to be careful of overwhelming the health care system.. it will be a very different world when this is over. There are also great stories out there of people who know need help and give them stuff. Yes there are hoarders but there are also people who go out of their way to help. Any way the article is below.
https://medium.com/@Jason_Scott_Warner/the-sober-math-everyone-must-understand-about-the-pandemic-2b0145881993
To all who want to understand me better: here is an article that says much more eloquently than I what I was trying to say...
https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/contagion-cooties-and-covid-19.html
Kim- you are absolutely right... self-isolation is a good way to go. As soon as the isolation started happening, people started doing a stupid 'corona virus challenge'.
Foolishness is rampant. Thankfully, that is just one side of the coin. Along with the foolishness and hoarders, I see also the community outreaches for meals, of people offering to help others out. Thank God that there are two sides to this story!
Thanks for the article!
Rebecca,
Thank you very much for your kind response. I feel especially now when people disagree completely or partially on the internet or in person, we tend to speak over each other or not be able to convey our thoughts accurately. So a bit of kindness goes a long way. After all regardless of all our opinions, we all want the same things. Our families, friends, communities and country and the world to kick the virus. So once again thank you for the kind response. Wash hands, stay safe and pray is my mantra.
Rebecca,
First of all, Erin is LOVING having Corynn as a pen pal. It’s AMAZING the things they have in common! Wow. I’ll bet you and I would have a lot in common as well and wouldn’t have to look very far. I think this post was well written and says what I would say as well, but not so eloquently as you said. I don’t think you “dumbed down” the scariness of the coronavirus or underplayed it or anything. It’s true the media will hype up ANYTHING so yes that is true and everyone would have to agree with that. I’ve gone back and forth about all of the hype. My husband is the supervisor of the emergency preparedness department in several districts in our county so he is the “head hauncho” right now...he and his nurse supervisor over him. That being said, his wife (me) is not even stocked up on toilet paper and yes, we are running very low. Am I gambling? No. I actually tried to get some but Sams was out (thank you, frantic shoppers). But his wife also knows that if we run out of toilet paper, cut up towels will do just fine. And if some reason we can’t use our washing machine, then a nice old tub and a plunger works great and lots of fresh air is to be had while washing clothes (been there, done that). What’s sad is the people who don’t KNOW how to cope during a pandemic. Those who don’t can, or put away, or buy the things needed for this time (not so much toilet paper but how about a 25 pound bag of spelt grains? Or Oats?) Perhaps this will awaken people to the need for old fashioned living, learning about survival and yes, coming together as a community to help one another (checking on the elderly and such). And by all means, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together if at all possible!
Overall trusting that God is sovereign! He is in control!
Yes we will continue to self quarantine. That’s the life we have always lived.
Hugs, Monica
And I hope it didn’t sound like I was underplaying it either...I understand that if proper precautions weren’t made, this thing would go rampant (and is but even more so) and spread like wildfire...even though the death toll isn’t high, who wants a year round flu that affects almost everyone on the globe? So, yes I understand precautions. My point is I’m not understanding the hoarding (like Rebecca said) and the focusing on things like toilet paper and just seemingly no common sense where it is needed. And that it’s sad that Americans don’t live slow, self quarantined lives anymore but are all in to a corporate world and going, going, going. But alas, that is the way it is. I will always think I’m from another era!
Even living in the city, literally 10 feet on either side from neighbors, our way of life hasn't changed much either. We homeschool, have a garden, work from home...basically social distancing before social distancing was cool :D
Buuuut, we still rely on grocery stores and the basic infrastructure of the city even if we don't need to go out more than once a week and it is frankly both annoying and greatly concerning me that half my city is non compliant with the protective measures. Starting today at midnight we are being told to "shelter in place" largely because we were only getting a 50% compliance rate.
I've said for years and years that the better and more natural way to live life was to get back to the family farm model. It's been my lifelong dream. That's one of the reasons I follow your blog, actually. Ah anyway, a long comment about nothing really. So I'm just here, appreciating what you share of your life and thanking you because you really brighten up my day and help me hold on to my dream.
Monica- I agree! Perhaps this is a good time for people to learn a new skill that would allow them more independence and security. I hope that this will be a positive outcome to all of this. Prayers for you and your family... a husband this in the thick of things must come with its own level of stress!
Angela- I liked your 'long comment' but it certainly wasn't about nothing! Thank you for sharing your thoughts! As much as we are in the country and have a family farm model- we are still very dependent upon grocery stores too. We happen to be reading through the whole Little House on the Prairie series now and let me tell you- it is a GREAT series to be reading right now. It is really quite humbling to see how much the Ingalls' had to endure (and did so CHEERFULLY) and how little they truly had and how self-sufficient they truly were! Prayers of health and cheer are with you!
Very well said, Rebecca. I don't think very many people are looking at the bigger picture. And so few people understand our constitutional rights. What we're experiencing is tyranny not a quarantine! Anyway, I'm terrible at expressing myself well even in a face-to-face conversation so I'll stop there. Much love!
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