Paul's Heart

What Kind Of Argument Would You Prefer?

We were in the single digits of cases of Covid19, when I began mentally preparing for what was likely ahead. That was January of 2020. Being immuno-compromised, it is in my best interest to know about outbreaks that can impact me, and the best way to prevent contracting a virus or at least protect myself as best possible.

It has been over a year and a half, twenty months, that I began precautions and planning. Soon after, as the recommendations came, to wear a mask, keep a certain distance from others, and for the life of me, I will never figure why we needed to be reminded of this, but to wash our hands.

Just as the express lane of a highway gets you to the same destination as the other lanes being travelled, I got my information from a medical “highway” of knowledge, my doctors, a.k.a the express lanes, and the rest of the information from reputable sources. And most times, like the both lanes of the highway, both of my sources got me to the same place, occasionally there were some detours, and when that occurred, I stayed in the express lane with my doctors.

What I am going to state now, is not fact, well at least not to you, reading this, it is purely anectdotal, a story, unless you personally know me that you can confirm this, it is not science, so other than my words, there are no facts. But I can tell you, this is the truth. Twenty months, wearing a mask, distancing, washing hands, staying away from indoor activities as best as I can, I have not contracted Covid19 (as I quickly run to knock on wood). In other words, I took the advice, that my doctors and others recommended, and used it, and it has been successful to this point.

Hence, the first equation, 1 + 1 = 2. It is something that can pretty much be agreed on. And as simple as this equation is, it should have been this simple in dealing with Covid19, just as we had with SARS, swine flu, MERS, and others. Instead, a different kind of math occurred, resulting in an argument equivalent as saying 1 + 1 = 3. While the calculation is clearly wrong, it is close enough to have a strong debate, or a hot argument. Sides soon emerge, agreeing with fact, that the correct answer is 2, while others cling to not just the possibility of the answer being 3, but willing to make it work.

This kind of argument was troubling, because it would lead to where we are today. What would have otherwise just been another virus that we would have had things in place to deal with, politics was introduced into a health crisis, where it had no business being put. The fuse lighting that stick of TNT? A president only liked by half of the citizens, rushing in quick defense of the president before the first attack from any opposition. Realizing this was going to be more serious than anticipated, and this is on video footage forever, the president downplayed the seriousness from beginning on, even as cases climbed and people died. I do not want to get lost in weeds here, because this stage is not my point. My point was, just as the erroneous middle equation, things were close enough to make the argument, and keep it going, and sometimes, quite angrily.

But here we are, twenty months later, and like an Abbot And Costello routine, a different type of argument has emerged, and now it is a matter of, is this the type of argument you want to keep having, because just as absurd as 1 + 1 = 5 is, so is where we are at in August of 2020, and there seems to be no end, although we have the methods and the means to do so.

The problem with the Abbot and Costello routine, is that Lou Costello actually made it work, three different ways. The video is much more compelling than me explaining it and showing pictures, but he could divide 7 into 28 thirteen times, multiply 13 times 7 to get 28, and add 13 seven times and get 28. And this was before “new math” came along.

But this is where we are today with Covid19. There are people making a similar argument style to Covid19 as Abbot and Costello did with math. Just like that, likely to make you want to pull your hair out.

Science is not perfect. Science is not the truth, it is about finding the truth, and that means that there will be mistakes along the way. I know way too many people who did not take the precautions that I did and came down with Covid19, and too many who died from it. I also know some who did follow the precautions, and whether fatigue or letting their guard down, came down with Covid19 as well. And even fellow Hodgkin’s survivors with issues similar to mine, came down with Covid19, amazingly, hardly any casualties that I am aware of anyway. And that I will attribute to the way we survivors are more concerned about our health given all we have gone through.

I am truly disgusted at the efforts at this point, which now have our situation heading way worse than last year. Seriously, referring to a mask as a muzzle? Do those making that argument even know what a muzzle is and what it is used for? Not even close. Arguing that freedom and liberty are lost? Get out of here. I am as free today as the day I was born 55 years ago. The dichotomy between arguing over public health and liberty/freedom is ridiculous, as liberty and freedom have nothing to do with surviving Covid19.

But like I said, after arguing for twenty months that 1 + 1 does not = 3, I neither have the patience or the will to argue with anyone trying to make sense that 1 + 1 = 5.

The only correct answer to the equation of 1 + 1 = 2. If we are to get through Covid19 once and for all, wear the damn mask. Get the damn vaccine. Stop spreading the virus, keeping distance and washing hands. We were once at the point just a month ago of 11,000 cases a day after being over 200,000 a day back in the Winter. We are now back over 130,000 and skyrocketing. 1 + 1 = 2 damnit!