In my lifetime in America, I recall two enormously impactful times: the great recession and 9/11.
Until now.
Now, this COVID-19 pandemic takes the cake.
As I write this, there are over 440,000 cases worldwide and that number increases by the hour.
In Belize (where I live), the first confirmed case was announced two days ago, bringing the country into complete panic and fear. Inciting even animosity and violence aimed at the individual who traveled from San Francisco to Belize and unknowingly brought the virus with her.
It’s easy to get discouraged and fearful at times like these but I see another side to this whole thing.
We Hate Our Governments
Across the world, you can see the collective disapproval of democracy in their governments. According to Pew Research, the overall median approval vs. disapproval of democracy in world governments is 46 percent (approval) and 52 percent disapproval.
The happiest, in case you were wondering, are Sweden, India, and Tanzania at 79 percent while the least happy are Greece (21 percent approval), Lebanon (eight percent), and Mexico (six percent).
I’m not a political analyst or scientist but I’m human with common sense. There doesn’t seem to be any “perfect” government anywhere but more and more, I’m seeing the depletion of human rights and civil liberties, all at the hands of top government officials in conjunction with the rich.
Most people agree but, rather than admit their dissatisfaction with the way things are going, continue to bicker and have a stranglehold on their partisan beliefs, thinking their representatives are the best, without realizing they are all living lavish lives while we are struggling, suffering, suffocating under their regimes.
People are so busy “not being wrong” that they don’t realize that their blind faith in whatever the T.V. or their favorite politician says, is not for their good. It’s for the good of the rich, wealthy, and connected.
Since we are afraid (or unable or unwilling) to step out of our own political parties and stand on our own two (FREE) feet, we will never bring down a corrupt government.
I recall after 9/11, how I understood the need for the Patriot Act. I was blind by the pain, hurt, confusion, fear that happened when those towers went down.
I was willing to do anything I could to show solidarity with my fellow-Americans.
What I did, though, was not just allow, but approve, horrible violations of our Constitutional rights.
Since that time, I’ve learned and watched how governments use our fears and uncertainty and ignorance to take advantage of our population and voters.
We Are Growing Leery of Religion
More and more, people are moving away from organized religion across the globe. Religion often incites fear and intolerance; it is a tool to control society at large.
With the onslaught of technology over the past quarter-century, I suspect the reason millennials are moving away from religion is because they have grown up with access to true, real, factual and information and history that contradicts the premise of most all religions in the world.
Regardless of the reason, millennials are increasingly moving away from organized religion.
Other reasons organized religion is losing its followers could be because of so many religious scandals or extremism (such as Westboro), ultra-rich evangelists with multiple mansions, and unfair/inequitable government-religious connections.
We Are Shifting
While we are bombarded with media from both sides of the aisle, people who are looking at things with their eyes and minds open and able to disseminate factual information from fear-mongering, are seeing the division being promoted by the media, government, church, and social media.
Some of us – including myself – have stepped back from our die-hard liberal stances, realizing that our “be-good-to-each-other” and “we-must-help-the-less-fortunate” ideals are being exploited to further the Democrats’ agendas.
I like to think my Republican counterparts are feeling something amiss, as well. Their freedom to bear arms and promote open markets is also being exploited for the Republicans’ agendas.
Neither party is serving us anymore. They are them, we are us. Regardless of party.
Nature Is Taking It’s Course
It is with humbleness and appreciation that I sit in acceptance and marvel at how nature is supporting us, rather than not.
We as a global community have gone far beyond remedying the corruption in our global governments. As a part of nature, the organism of humanity has long been destroying itself and the weaker of this organism (the poor, frail, afraid), are unable to stand up for ourselves and friends and families.
When an organism becomes infected, it sends antibodies out to eliminate the threat. This is how I see this COVID-19 working in our favor. Of course, I will continue to take every precaution suggested by the WHO such as social distancing and working from home, but the earth only has so much capacity to sustain human life.
Not only is she cleansing her “system,” but Mother Nature is offering us a sobering opportunity to hit the “reset” button and start over, this time on the right foot and this time, without fighting amongst ourselves for bread crumbs from the rich, and corporate welfare (from both sides) that absolutely do not serve us.
I’m not being Pollyanna – I realize this is a very real and serious threat – but I feel this pandemic can serve some very valuable purposes when it is all over and we – the humans of this planet – would be wise to use it, rather than allowing our governments to use it on us the way they did with 9/11.
Cristina Johnson, Vagabond Writer 