​With Cures Like This, Who Needs A Disease?

It was about a year ago when my supervisor was chatting with me and my co-worker. He said, “Did you hear they cancelled the NCAA [basketball] tournament?”
 
“March Madness? You’ve got to be kidding!”
 
And thus, it began.
 
You know the story, so I won’t put you through the torture. I’ll just share one recent anecdote: a couple weeks back, in the midst of a global dramatic drop in cases and deaths, a student of mine (I’m a full-time online teacher) asked how he was to complete an assignment. It required the student to go to a grocery store and answer several questions regarding where different types of food came from, how much they cost, how they were displayed in the store, etc. 
 
The student (a high school senior) said he wasn’t comfortable going to a grocery store, because he has young siblings “and we’re taking Covid really seriously.” Aside from shock and anger at those who have caused children like this to be afraid of going to the grocery store, it got me thinking: When will it end?
 
At what point can we “go back to normal” and all that entails? From my observation, some people will NEVER go back. There are people who will ALWAYS wear masks, NEVER go to a concert/game/etc. again, and generally live out their days enslaved to FEAR. The media groomed us for this nearly from the beginning with the mantra, “The new normal.”
 
That’s what this has been about from the very beginning: FEAR. I wrote a couple blogs about it nearly a year ago now. Aside from the obvious facts that told me that the vast majority of the population had nothing to fear from The Virus, I had recently experienced a miracle (truly a deliverance) from fear of sickness that plagued me from early in my childhood. That made the wanton barrage of FEAR that much more repugnant to me. 
 
So, we have an entire planet bound by FEAR. It’s been obvious to many for a long time that facts (“science and data”) actually have very little to do with public health policy. For example, here in Minnesota, the governor has decided that it’s safe to have outdoor gatherings of 150, but the ball stadiums can have 10,000. What data determined this? And why can’t I find scientific studies that prove cloth face masks are an effective tool against spreading this (or any other) virus? I could go on and on.
 
While I think some politicians truly are drunk on the power they’ve gained through this, I think many (I don’t have any idea what fraction) simply have too much invested to go back now. Nobody wants to admit they’re wrong, so any steps toward loosening restrictions are done in tiny fits and starts. 
 
Have you ever heard a politician admit they were wrong? Me neither. So to say something like, “You can quit wearing masks, since they clearly have a negligible effect on the spread,” is unthinkable. Instead, they’ll do something like let kids start going back to school in person once in a while, but everyone has to take xyz precautions, because “experts” say we should (despite an appalling lack of that pesky “science and data” to back it up).
 
Despite the best efforts of many in power, the statistics are leaking out about the collateral damage of the reaction to The Virus. The reaction (NOT The Virus) has killed far more teenagers through suicide than will ever die of the actual illness. Elderly people have been closed off from their families—how many have died of that, rather than The Virus? I just heard it reported that 2021 is expected to be a big year for divorces. Mental health issues have gone nuts across the board. I could go on and on.
 
Faith comes by hearing, and when you daily ingest news reports that follow the template, “[Good news about The Virus] BUT [FEAR-filled worries of what might happen],” it’s no wonder that a nearly zero-risk kid is afraid to go to the grocery store. 
 
There are plenty of dangers out there, yet most people historically have lived their lives anyway: they ride in cars, fly in planes, eat foods with proven links to disease, etc. Why is this so different? By riding in a car, do you deny that car accidents are real? Yet in the past year, it seems that anyone who questions the talking points on The Virus is accused of pretending it’s not real, not loving their neighbor, killing Grandma, etc. 
 
I’ve heard that some people in the Twin Cities have yard signs that read, “In Fauci We Trust.” Aside from the obvious idolatry (there’s plenty to go around on all sides), the fact that these people will do whatever one man says is pretty scary to me. Apparently, until Fauci says it’s safe, these people will continue to hide away, stroking FEAR as if it’s a beloved pet.
 
Nearly a year ago, someone in power at the time commented, “The cure can’t be worse than the disease.” Well…it was, it still is, and it will continue to be, as long as we allow it.
 
What will it take? Apparently, the vaccine isn’t enough. Who holds the golden keys to freedom? Fauci? The CDC? The World Health Organization? CNN?
 
If you’re waiting for them, I have bad news for you: It’s never coming. As long as you live your life by what the media, politicians, and “experts” tell you, you’re in for a miserable existence. 
 
A friend of mine is fond of the following story, and though it doesn’t mention FEAR specifically, it applies:
 
One evening, an elderly Cherokee brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealously, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. 
 
“The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”
 
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
 
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one that you feed.”