The news did not come as a surprise. The experts and those in the loop have been hinting that the measures will have to become stricter. Today, the prime minister made it official. He stood in front of the cameras and with an almost sincere look on his face, he declared that we will no longer be able to leave out homes, unless there is an emergency. He declared that our children will not be returning to school for at least a couple of months, and he declared that all non-essential activities should seize. All that, for our own good, for own protection and for our own health. Or is it?
This is a lockdown similar to the one we had last March, only this time we already are aware of what to expect in isolation, and we have lost the hope of these measures being effective. We tried all kinds and levels of isolation which showed progress only during the isolation period. We accepted the frustration and tyranny of constantly being forbidden to live normally. We already know how it feels to be away from our friends and family, and we all lived the awkwardness of meeting someone and not knowing how to greet them in human terms. Once again, we will bow our heads and we will follow the instructions we have been given, and we will hope the not us, nor people we know will lose the battle with the virus. We are ready to get into the dark tunnel and hope that we will make it to other side, where we are told there is light.
In the era of misinformation, fake news, and Facebook, we are constantly being bombarded by articles, charts, data, figures, experts, statements, instructions, and opinions. I am sure that somewhere in that mount of data, one can find the truth. But one can also find lies and deception and bias and fantasy. The reader does not know what to believe, everything sounds true. But it is not. Facebook has trained us to continue reading the topics that we like, the opinions that we like and agree with, and we have been trained to ignore those opinions that are not like ours. We are becoming more polarized than ever, we are being more misinformed than ever, we are being manipulated more than ever, and our knowledge of the truth and the world around us is shrinking to non-existence. Our willingness to resist and fight for our right to be human has been restricted to a button press, a thumbs-up icon that represents our agreement, and it represents the full extent of our capacity to fight those that are stealing our lives from us.
Not knowing what to believe and what is the truth has become our status quo. I have no faith in anything that I read or listen, I have no will to accept it and no strength to fight it. I am becoming cynical and bitter, watching events unfold in front of me and having no will to question or fight. I am watching my children being deprived of their education, growing up as uneducated non-thinkers, fascinated by the social media and the glamour they may provide. I am watching the sick not being able to receive medical care and being left aside to heal their own wounds. I see the mentally challenged being left alone, isolated and confused, heavily medicated and heavily silenced. They are left to become the responsibility of a good Samaritan that may call them, visit them, or treat them with some kindness. I am watching people being terrified to exist The state has placed the responsibility of the organized society to the good will of its citizens.
The state has no responsibility, focusing solely in saving their careers, in pointing fingers, and in covering their own asses.
The lockdown exercise has been tried many times so far and it does not work. But the state insists in showing the same complacency by doing nothing else but that. It has been nine more than ten months since we first heard about this virus, and with all the deaths from all these cases in all the countries in all the continents, we have learnt nothing other than to hide our head in the sand and hoe that we won't be seen. After all the funds that have been allocated for the protection of the simple people, we could not find another protocol to face the pandemic. We chose to invest these funds to the few corporate pockets that will appear as saviours and will produce the vaccines of liberation, but these vaccines will not be ready in time and will not work for the next mutation of the virus. The same vicious circle with the flu. But that is what the virus does, it mutates, and we have known that for decades. But still, we are placing our faith to those that proclaim themselves experts and they use fear as bargaining chip to increase their income.
I have stopped watching the news, I have almost stopped using social media, I do not believe in political systems and ideology. The human race has managed to trick their own kind in destroying themselves. My only hope and my only faith lies in the psychic and mental strength of the simple people. We can help, protect, educate, support, love each other. Just as easy as we can deceit, kill, destroy, steal, and lie. It is the choice we make that characterizes our personalities. How do we use our hearts and our minds? Do we help our struggling friends or do we see an opportunity for riches? Do we truthfully try to resolve the problem or do we lie in order to cover ourselves? Do we lend a helping hand or do we give a push over the cliff? The answers can be found in the honesty of each person's soul, and we all know what we would do or what have we already done.
Within this rambling there is a message that I am trying to get out. It is simple, it has been told before and it is really effective: Don't be afraid to be human, we are our only hope.