What a time to be alive. I’ve found it increasingly difficult to find objective information amidst the noise. That’s due to the fact (or lack thereof) that most it is either partisan-fueled or blatant misinformation. Naturally, it seems be loudest at the extremes. Criticize one and automatically you’re grouped in with the other. Right now, for that reason – and more – I find both repugnant.
On one end, there are protesters ignoring any form of medical advice, deeming any decision made my authorities as either conspiratorial or an egregious assault on their “freedoms”. On the other, folks are those looking down upon even the slightest form of protest. Likely, many of them are the least unaffected – monetarily speaking - by current events. Celebrities and others of that ilk encourage the masses to just “stay home because we’ll get through this together”. They do so while “cooped up” in their estates. There was never a whole lot of “we’ll” from the get-go. This crisis, like others, hasn’t gotten bad enough for people to behave better, which might explain why there is so much hubris, elitism, and judgement.
By allocating blame, each feeds in to the very same game they allege to disdain. I wish the need to “do what’s right” would supersede the desire to “prove who’s right”. In reality, every decision is politically calculated. Exemplary behavior would require humility and genuine leadership, of which our authorities on both sides are lacking.
Admittedly, my normal disposition is strongly anti-establishment. But it takes little to no interest or knowledge to see the inconsistencies from the agendas, actual action from rhetoric. Politically speaking, their very existence is to serve us - and our best interests – though there is hardly any indication of that, especially considering their only lies in doing whatever they can do to preserve their current status. If you don’t believe me, have a look at your email inbox.
“Governments show thus how successfully men can be imposed on, even impose on themselves, for their own advantage… Thus the State never intentionally confronts a man’s sense, intellectual or moral, but only his body, his senses. It is not armed with superior wit or honesty, but with superior physical strength.”
Henry David Thoreau
Since mid-March, the rules to the game have shifted. Weekly, if not daily, we wait for updates. The bureaucrats get to create the game and its rules, but don’t have to participate. How very convenient. In doing so, they determine who is essential and who is not. The majority of them (especially the career politicians) have no idea what it’s like to take a pay-cut, lay-off employees or have one’s own business get shut down. So they keep talking.
In the meantime, the masses continue to blindly stumble along - like zombies in the urban trance –turned off and tuned out until told to do otherwise. Then, once the siren sounds, it provokes reaction, leaving us one move behind them. Our lack of proactive thinking and doing keeps them in charge of the game. Nowhere is that pronounced than when it comes to them setting directives for our personal health.
“They rarely read books and seemed almost proud of their extraordinary ignorance. Immature though they were, they had the knack of steering clear of suffering, strong excitement, or any of the more overwhelming emotions. They were the scions of a certain breed of men: men who have succeeded in subjecting large numbers of humanity not through intimidation or violence, by the sheer paralyzing power of inaction.”
Yukio Mishima
How and why bureaucracy has the right and/or the expertise to provide guidelines for my health is beyond me. There’s not one ounce of integrity nor credibility to back any of their guidelines. There never has been. But it’s all “in the name of the greater good” and that’s been evidenced through decades of data manipulated to mask lies and conflicts of interest (i.e. margarine, Ancel Keys, Foods Pyramid…). Conduct a Google search on any of one of your civil servants. Then, tell me if you want them to have any influence on your personal health.
In the last 30 years, obesity has become its own epidemic in the U.S.. Today, obesity-related diseases are the leading cause of death in America. That trajectory parallels their directives and influence on the food industries. Like anything, as obesity has become normalized, it’s become easier to accept. Children developing Type-2 Diabetes was unheard of 50 years ago. No longer is that the case!
One would think that this epidemic should have garnered more attention by now, especially during a pandemic where those with obesity are associated with a higher risk of becoming severely ill from COVID-19. Still though, the media outlets neglect to report on this. It’s the elephant in the room. Maybe we should find a different way to acknowledge this elephant though because one bite at a time might not help.
“People have become separated from their bodies. They stress constantly, lose sleep, and eat badly and they behave badly. They are no longer whole. They need the iron mind.”
Henry Rollins
We’re still in the midst of this pandemic. It’s late May and we have more data than we did two months ago. One would think that might help in making more informed decisions. Since the onset, authorities have publicly and repeatedly stressed the importance of personal health. Their recommendations have included spending time outside and exercising – while social distancing, of course – because doing so improves one’s health.
Sure, I can get behind that.
Notice, there are “no recommendations to limit physical activity”, but there certainly are actions….
What I can’t get behind is what happened next door from my house two weeks ago. Three men were heeding those very recommendations and exercising at a - mostly unused - outdoor park. They were spotted (or worse yet, reported by a passerby) by local park patrol. Police and patrol rolled up and hit them with an immediate fine. Despite their best efforts, any opportunity for a dialogue was quelled. Each of them got slapped with a $700 fine. That’s $700 per person.
Their reasoning for such an exorbitant and 100% arbitrary number is that fines are doubled during COVID-19. Did such a fine ever exist for exercising in the park prior to COVID-19? Last time I checked, vagrants used the very same exercise to sleep night. Many an evening I’ve seen officers pass by these folks camping out without ever doing a thing. Perhaps, they were choosing to not notice. Either way, it would be nice to hear a plausible explanation for $700. Right now, apparently civil discourse isn’t a viable option.
We have even more information than we did two weeks ago when those three guys were fined. Things look like they might be opening up. So what did city officials decided to keep the inconsistencies rolling and lock down the exercise park entirely. Meanwhile, on the basketball court next to it, there have been many a pick-up game. Adjacent to that is a football-field size patch of grass that sees its fair share of action each afternoon. 80% of the time I’ve worked out there, I’m the only one. The rest of the time, there is only one other dude there. To this day, I have yet to see droves of people flocking to the pull-up bar.
Do you think you know better?
Do you think you know?
Do you think you know better?
I don't think you know
Bully
So, here we are, two months into this and, day-to-day, paradoxes still abound. Officials continue to blabber on about the importance this or that and act on that by doing the opposite. They encourage maintaining healthy habits so they shut down parks and beaches. Meanwhile, fast food chains remain open.
Pre-pandemic, there were those who were adamant that they lacked “ the time” for exercise and since have exchanged that with “lacking the the tools”, trading one excuse for another. I wouldn’t know for sure, but there seems to be plenty of folks in prison who have had the same predicament for years but seem to be making due. Yet still, we cling to any possible reason we can to neglect our health as opposed to seeking every possible reason to protect it.
Life is no more uncertain now than it was a year ago. COVID-19 has affected everybody in some capacity. Personal health is not defined by exercise alone, but movement is one way (if you’re able to do so) to maintain it. Most importantly, your should be defined by you not a bunch of insincere bureaucrats who, when it comes to your health, have no idea what they’re talking about.What convinces you that they do now? If you did listen to them in the first place, you’d likely be far worse off than necessary.
So, keep cruising in the passenger seat, coasting along for the ride or take initiative. Grab ahold of the wheel. Be discerning. Be proactive. Be in charge. Which seat you choose influences which direction you go.
In a society where #quarantine15 is trending (and even celebrated), the greatest form of protest you can engage in is taking responsibility for your own health because without that, how can you truly be free?
