Purple-Striped Elephants to the Rescue

Try to imagine some purple in between those lines on this sweet, but rather enormous animal because for some strange reason, I couldn’t actually find an image of a purple-striped elephant?!?

I just don’t understand it. I really don’t. It’s completely selfish behaviour and it lacks common sense which seems to have gone right out the window with COVID-19. At a time when you might think that the world would unite to help bring about an end to this God-awful pandemic, people seem more divided than ever. As usual, at the heart of all of the dissension lies politics and religion—the very things which in the western world claim to be democratic and enlightening, but in reality are quite the opposite.

Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and opinions and there are certainly many of both, some quite polarizing, floating around right now. Where individualized thinking goes awry, however, is when it affects others and THAT! my friends, is the problem. Let me give you an example…

If you believe that purple-striped elephants are flying around the Universe waving banners of hope from their trunks as they propel themselves fiercely through the atmosphere with their gigantic, floppy and adorable ears, then hey! who am I to say otherwise?! I mean, I might think that you are a little kooky and eccentric, but I would have no problem with that UNLESS you told me that those very elephants required half of my life savings to continue their noble flight. In other words, I’m okay with your beliefs as long as you don’t force them onto me in some fashion. Interestingly enough, that very argument is the one that polarized folks are fighting against—the notion that the government, health officials and fellow conspirators are wrongly ‘forcing’ them to follow COVID-19 protocols. Many of these same folks are convinced that the coronavirus is a hoax of sorts and that leadership is using it as a means of controlling the world population.

I will admit that I, myself, have some hard and fast questions about a few things with respect to the virus and I don’t believe that we, the people, have been told EVERYTHING that there is to know about this pandemic state of ours. Yet, the truth of the matter is that worldwide there have been 2.4 million deaths over the past year and some. That devastating number suggests that SOMETHING is certainly killing off 0.03 percent of our fellow human beings. Some argue that that percentage of deaths is minuscule, and that we ought to be more concerned about the “seasonal flu (whose) strains kill about 0.1 percent of people who become infected,” according to a New York Times article from August, 2020. By comparison, it appears that there is truth in thinking that the flu is more deadly given our present statistics. However, it should be noted that in the early stages of COVID-19, a W.H.O. official from the same NY write-up “asserted that the global case fatality rate for people infected with coronavirus was 3.4 percent, a startling figure.”. Add in the new and rapidly spreading variants of the coronavirus and our 0.03 percent is likely to climb back up toward that jaw-dropping number. Not good.

The ultimate question is, are ANY deaths really acceptable and if so, and/or due to inevitability, how many deaths are we as a whole willing to ‘allow’? Moreover, if these deaths are somewhat preventable by a handful of inconvenient protocols, are we not as a single race inclined to step up and help stop the spread, especially with respect to our most vulnerable members of society? Unfortunately, some individuals clearly *DON’T* feel that it is their duty to respond accordingly to the guidelines which have been set out; instead, they feel that it is their right to do as they please without regard for other compadres around the globe who oppose them. Hmmm.

After some careful thought and consideration, I have come up with a solution to our recent and very divisive attitudes and the gist of it is this: Go ahead if you must and absolve yourself from ANY and ALL things COVID, INCLUDING any kind of medical interventions or assistance. Let me explain further…

See, many of our healthcare systems and workers are overloaded due to COVID cases which they are desperately trying to manage. Whilst healthcare’s pleas to the public were initially welcomed and rewarded with candlelight vigils and all, they have silently withered away in lieu of many mounting conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, doctors and nurses have continued to sacrifice their own health as well as that of their families for well over a year now, so that the rest of us can hopefully survive and thrive through this fretful disease. Thus, I figure that those selfless workers need not be burdened with folks who don’t believe in the virus and its deadly wrath. After all, if the coronavirus is no more deadly than the flu and/or it doesn’t really exist, than those people who believe their rights are being infringed upon by COVID-19 restrictions shouldn’t have the right to take up hospital beds in the very system that is struggling to keep people’s loved ones alive. It sounds like a pretty equitable and simple solution to me. *IF* the virus isn’t a threat in some beholders’ eyes, then there should be no worries for them about coming down with any of the tell-tale symptoms or requiring any kind of healthcare assistance as a result. Fine with me. As a self-proclaimed sheep follower of pandemic protocols, I’ll happily save a hospital spot or two for either myself or my loved ones, a few of whom are at great risk of becoming deathly sick from the virus. That way, my lamb-like rights won’t be infringed upon in return, even though the state of things will likely perpetuate with some of us acting responsibly and some not.

Indeed, all that is needed now to settle this nonsense for once and for all is a sign-up list for those individuals who wish to pass on COVID-19, INCLUDING treatments and care options. Pen, anyone? OR, is it FINALLY time to stop with the, “I have the right to do what I want, when I want, how I want with whom I want.”?