So here I am journaling on a blog viewed by few, writing only for me, As it should be. Perhaps this will be read later by my kin. On that chance, I'll try to write about this profound moment in history.
It's not the first time humankind has been ravaged by a scourge. History chronicles many. The Black Plague, The Spanish Flu. Nasty, viscous snippets of RNA that wiped out large numbers of people around the globe. But this one is different for other reasons, primarily because of our culture, our political systems, our economies and out technology.
It is a small world. Air travel transports people and their vectors around the globe. The COVID 19 virus might have originated in Wuhan China, but it could have spawned anywhere there is poor hygiene, human contact and zoonotic opportunity. Breakout in a mega-city providing all of the above and an International Airport, as well as a secretive government, has made it what it is.
Maybe it came from eating bats or pigs or swine or birds, all of which have been associated with recent killer flu's. Here's an idea! EAT PLANTS. Been doing it for 5 years now and I'm better for it. I don't call myself a vegan because people on both sides of the practice extort the word for their own aggrandizing or hate filled purposes. Not that I care what other people think. It's just that I don't care. Think what you want. So will I. To my point, if you don't eat animals you do not expose yourself to zoonotic disease... except from those who do.
Our cultures and societies are causal. Massive cities, exponential human growth, centralized food production and economic interdependence. The conditions have been ripe for awhile. And 100 years ago, the Spanish Flu of 1918, was not that long ago. Still we forget quickly. We prepare poorly as a result.
There are no vaccines, no antidote. We self distance, isolate, sanitize, mask, glove, pray. Just like they did in 1347 with the Bubonic Plague. Interesting factoid. The first recorded case of that particular virus was in China...in 224 BCE. History repeats itself.
And that brings us to technology. For the first time in human history we have the technical ability to beat back these viruses and, hopefully this time we will not forget the lesson. We will prepare for the future scourges with all the genius and AI and cooperative human spirit we can muster. Frankly, I do not doubt our technical abilities. I doubt our human foolishness. Today the press and the politicians are making hay with our fear and our misery. At their own peril.
We will remember this time.
It's not the first time humankind has been ravaged by a scourge. History chronicles many. The Black Plague, The Spanish Flu. Nasty, viscous snippets of RNA that wiped out large numbers of people around the globe. But this one is different for other reasons, primarily because of our culture, our political systems, our economies and out technology.
It is a small world. Air travel transports people and their vectors around the globe. The COVID 19 virus might have originated in Wuhan China, but it could have spawned anywhere there is poor hygiene, human contact and zoonotic opportunity. Breakout in a mega-city providing all of the above and an International Airport, as well as a secretive government, has made it what it is.
Maybe it came from eating bats or pigs or swine or birds, all of which have been associated with recent killer flu's. Here's an idea! EAT PLANTS. Been doing it for 5 years now and I'm better for it. I don't call myself a vegan because people on both sides of the practice extort the word for their own aggrandizing or hate filled purposes. Not that I care what other people think. It's just that I don't care. Think what you want. So will I. To my point, if you don't eat animals you do not expose yourself to zoonotic disease... except from those who do.
Our cultures and societies are causal. Massive cities, exponential human growth, centralized food production and economic interdependence. The conditions have been ripe for awhile. And 100 years ago, the Spanish Flu of 1918, was not that long ago. Still we forget quickly. We prepare poorly as a result.
There are no vaccines, no antidote. We self distance, isolate, sanitize, mask, glove, pray. Just like they did in 1347 with the Bubonic Plague. Interesting factoid. The first recorded case of that particular virus was in China...in 224 BCE. History repeats itself.
And that brings us to technology. For the first time in human history we have the technical ability to beat back these viruses and, hopefully this time we will not forget the lesson. We will prepare for the future scourges with all the genius and AI and cooperative human spirit we can muster. Frankly, I do not doubt our technical abilities. I doubt our human foolishness. Today the press and the politicians are making hay with our fear and our misery. At their own peril.
We will remember this time.
