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COVID-19: The Social Experiment

Someone please explain, what is it about the need for human interaction that motivates people to go to such extreme lengths to “socialize”? Is it their suppressed childhood abandonment issues? The feeling that the mommy and daddy figures or the perceived perfect family dynamics will somehow disappear into the fog of nothingness again. Observing this mindless spin of “connection” has prompted even the most sensible of persons to become blinded by an insatiable need for sensory stimulation. It is that same touch that has propagated the spread of one of the deadliest diseases known in our modern era. Simultaneously this time has also allowed for the most introverted among us to speculate quietly, yet curiously into the WHY regarding the unscientific, illogical, headstrong reasons for “togetherness”. Delving into the unproven psychology is both intriguing while at the same time wildly fascinating to those who simply enjoy the pleasure of distinguishing the difference between Emotional Determination vs. Tacit Withdrawal. There is no right or wrong many say, but is that really true?


The simple pleasures in life have catapulted from an occasional period of respite and relaxation to a clamoring cry for pacification. The sounds of “I need a vacation” are screaming to decibel levels unheard by the human ear during any time in history. It begs a series of questions: What is it about one’s life that is so stressful now? Is it the manifestation of quieting thoughts silenced by the years of VIP status memberships shuffled through ticketing lines paraded into teal waters? Has the trauma always been there, only to be masked by bottomless mimosas enjoyed on the balcony view of “paradise”? Is it really possible to disassociate from yourself? It stands to reason, then, that our society deals only with the façade of the person we meet face to face, if the real one is feigning to be elsewhere. The realness of the friend, husband, wife, adult child, co-worker, or neighbor has been masquerading through life wishing to be abroad. If my uncalculated deductions are wrong, why do people literally fight the person who is directly responsible for facilitating their safe arrival to bliss? If my honest appraisal of matters is slightly skewed by cynicism, why is it necessary to drive 100mph only to arrive at a fitness center that is closed? Are the routines of annual life so constricting that people literally feel suffocated by masks? Contentment should be found in the present, but many live in a mental space of freedom. Freedom from past commitments, regret even. They only visit reality as much as their W-2’s allow them to. The clocking in and out of life is simply to provide the funding appropriate for the next destination. These trips to nowhere are merely a temporary escape from the marathon of endless agony pulsing through the veins of an overstressed heart. Enough is enough. Isn’t now the perfect time to take stock and evaluate what it is one is running from? Who is the one still chasing you? Give oneself the ability to cut the apron strings of the fear that grips every decision made. It’s literally killing people! The selfish need for hedonism is contributing to untold lives lost. Individuals who will never see white or black sand for that matter. People who have prematurely gasped their last breath while their unborn grandchild has yet to take their first one.


Boldly speaking, here’s another perspective. Belief in conspiracy theories are usually fueled by fear of the unknown. They are gripped and taken hold of by people who have a semblance of tragic pasts but lack the first-hand experience with it. True, there have been atrocities committed by the most powerful and influential of entities. The goal for whatever rationale they have reasoned on was also guided by the same fear that gripped its subjects. Fear of losing power, money, or reputation. This may have forcibly pushed a part of society, “the unprivileged”, into a realm of disconnecting from institutionalized concepts. They would rather do things their own way because any failure would be by their own hands. They could live with that notion. The control would be taken back and redistributed to new generations taught how to work hard and work alone. The problem with that thought process is the inescapable need for services provided by the same untrusted establishments who instilled the fear. This vicious tug of war has been an ongoing cycle of many communities only to be extricated by the polarization of a shared enemy. With those contextual ideas in mind, many of these same “common folk” work at the front lines seeing this plague affect untold families. They are the nurses, caregivers, transportation agents, food service and hospitality hosts among other mediocre paid members of society. Although their personal moral fiber may be guided by fear, the thought of not being able to come home to their elementary school aged children pushes them to a place where they have no choice. Immunize or die! Their options are limited because they may be the only provider for the family, as multi-generational as it is. Their housing accommodations do not match the space needed for everyone to have a comfortable living space, but their love and generosity toward loved ones drives them to do their best. They work in fear, barely sleeping, trying throughout the day to wash the bacteria off of their soul. The unknown of daily living is their new normal. Vacations were never on their radar because they can barely make ends meet. These are the same ends that may cost them their life. Yet, they press on. A fraction of this group has taken the stand of martyrdom. Feeling like those who stand for nothing, fall for anything. They have walked away from careers, new regulations, and what they view as workplace bullying. Taking away their rights, in their opinion, is what makes their employers wrong. They step aside, not knowing how they will feed their family, make ends meet or pay their outstanding debts. What they do know is that they will not be muscled into a way of life that violates their human right to choose what to do with their own body. An age-old test of moral fiber has been brought to fruition by the ones who turn the page on daily life for millions. The heartbeat of the planet has slowed to a muted beat, a growing silence that many fear will lead to failure.


Not to be confused with the outright unmitigated self-proclaimed, anti-vaxers. An actual term for individuals who refuse to be injected, coerced, or mentally steered by anyone who tries to alter the minds of free thinkers. Objectively speaking, outside of the walls of this pandemic, these are very likely people who are hard to convince of anything. Naturally, they are contrary to the “norm”. Off the grid, so to speak. Conventional thinking is for people imprisoned by the bondage of what has been taught in school, the government-funded institutions who give you a piece of paper to tell you it’s OK to function as a normal person in the real world. Manic thinking? Maybe. Society would definitely have collapsed by now if they were the dominant viewpoint and decision makers. But who’s to say that society hasn’t been collapsing already? Maybe they are just the voice of the voiceless, the part of the brain everyone suppresses out of fear of being judged. Their voices are strong, but misleading. Is questioning the things you’re being told to follow blindly wrong? It would be if the information was concealed, but it’s open for any non-illiterate curious-minded individual to read. If everyone “followed the leader” where would we end up? They wonder, who put who in charge? Endless questions regarding Sovereignty, yet a constant distraction from the issues at hand presently. The speculatory nature of these individuals is intriguing to the degree of concept only. In real time, posing questions against established, well-researched data is dangerous and ignorant. It puts the very ones at risk who work so hard to present the best options to the general public. Are there side effects? Always. The nature of the beast dictates that imperfection will be woven into the fiber of this broken society. The permanent and clear solution to the problems that plague man are beyond a vile and a pill. The real issue with society, as a whole, boils down to a moral issue not a scientific one. The rebellion that is infused into the bloodstream of the most vocal and angry of earth’s citizens has DNA linked to the earliest of times. No one is immune to the effects of sin.


How did this conversation translate into a religious tone? The answer is clear. If not for the Original rebellion in Eden by two human beings influenced by a source unknown to them, the human race would have never been on a spiraling downward track. Death is the enemy of all, yet the very thing we try to fight. Death is the undefeated champion globally. However, is submission to an Authority higher than us really that difficult to do? What if the existing authorities have been placed in their relative positions to be honored and respected until One chooses how to best position His Sovereignty in the earth once and for all.


Is relinquishing perceived control so arduous of task that it takes a virus to extract the very core of one’s being? The hidden ugly qualities of pride, ambition, rebellion, selfishness, and thoughtlessness haven taken center stage in what feels like a human social experiment. This shared saga, while feeling interminable will come to its end. Whether or not one believes in a Creator is the subject for another lively discussion. However, one stands to reason that something that came from nothing cannot simply vanish into nothing. The One who started the ball rolling is the same One who will stop it from becoming an avalanche of irreversible implications. It is possible for the same Being who gave life to give it again. Man has selfishly, yet temporarily intervened as a stumbling block on the road to eternity. At the right time and for the right reasons, the scales will be forever balanced. Vacations will not be what one has to take, but what one is given. The “unprivileged” will be granted proportionate property. An overdue gift for an underappreciated class. The rebelliousness connected to whatever class of people who disrupt the peace of society will be gone forever. Psalm 37:10,11 confirm the Almighty’s words that wickedness and the people who promote it will no longer influence PEACE.

 

Cherie Butler has been an avid writer since grade school. Her writing achievements include: “The Athena Review: Breakthrough Issue”, “Shadowed Hourglass” a collection of poetry and prose, and Diversity: There's a beauty in that too: A poetry collection and Mortal Mag for her piece “The Social Experiment of Gentrification. She resides in Maryland.

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