Wednesday, April 15, 2020
RE: COVID-19..... DO YOUR OWN THINKING
This is because no one..... NO ONE, has the data of who now has, or has previously had, Covid-19 and never knew it or just thought it was hay fever. Without that data, every news conference is a joke. Every prediction is a farce. Every precaution is suspect.
You may disagree with me, right?
Well, in 1952 nearly everyone on our town of Salina, Oklahoma had the flu, and it was horrible. Some people died. Yet, here I am 68 years later and feeling pretty good for an aging dinosaur. I have also had a violent case of malaria in Ethiopia, dysentery about ten times, dingue fever, hepatitis B, and a dozen other minor plagues, and God brought me through that. I have been threatened by a NYC street gang, I have lived through the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, and been dead center in a Marxist coup in Ethiopia. My time has not yet come, and the Almighty was mighty enough to make sure I made it this far and wrote this blog post on April 15, 2020. I may die tonight, but it will not be as a statistic of the US State Department or Dr. Fauci. No expert can predict my destiny. I will die on God's time, not theirs.
If I, a descendant of Dutchmen, Irishmen, and Cherokee Indians, can make it this far by the grace of God, so can you. You need to do your own thinking. You need to try to recall flu pandemics in the past during your life time. Did the nation come to a halt? Did the Stock Market crash? Did we all get banished to our homes?
Answer: NO, and we survived. Sure, a number died, but that is history as to the flu.
We were quarantined, but only if we were sick. Well people were not herded around like we are now.
The hyper response in the USA and Europe has turned life upside down, and we are now looking at significant numbers of people dying of suicide, depression, drug overdoses, and the results of being mentally locked in a tomb with no escape. Economic collapse is also staring us in the face.
The effect of being alone at home by force is new to Americans of all generations alive today. People my age, 77, can recall hearing their parents and grandparents talk about quarantine, but none of us alive experienced this before. The only people who have memories of mass quarantine are those, like missionaries, who lived in Africa or Asia in recent years when mass quarantine was the only way to control cholera epidemics etc.
I sit at home and go nowhere. I get bored. I feel blessed and lucky that I live on a large property in the country here in Texas where I can at least go for a walk without threatening anyone of worrying the sheriff. But, when I go to town for a prescription, or to mail bill payments, I go into a near panic mode. I urinate just before going out the door so that I can do everything in town and get back home before my aging bladder demands unloading again. I wear a mask when the nice lady at the pharmacy brings my prescription out to me in my car. When I get home and pull up to the gate, I feel relieved that I survived without being too close to people, people whom I NEED in order to survive mentally and emotionally.
Then, I think of the people in Austin, Texas nearby who live in even more terrifying panic over the people around them as they live their life and take care of business. Some still go to work. Some go shopping. My son-in-law shops for us every three weeks at COSTCO, and we all try to get along without the variety of a regular supermarket. But, how is it to have to ride the subway in NYC in order to keep life going? Those people have to KNOW that they will probably get the virus.
But, how much of this mental struggle is because our leaders, driven by the fear of not doing enough, went way overboard on the precautions? Could the sparsely populated states and counties have been allowed to take fewer precautions because
they don't have subways in Padukah, Kentucky, and they are not stacked 80 stories on top of one another in Omaha? Why did we all have to go directly to jail, do not pass GO, do not collect $200?
So, here is an interview with Victor Davis Hanson by the Hoover Institute. Victor Davis Hanson is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution; his focus is classics and military history. When men like this are allowed before the microphone, we hear a much more rational discussion of this epidemic.
I sit at home and go nowhere. I get bored. I feel blessed and lucky that I live on a large property in the country here in Texas where I can at least go for a walk without threatening anyone of worrying the sheriff. But, when I go to town for a prescription, or to mail bill payments, I go into a near panic mode. I urinate just before going out the door so that I can do everything in town and get back home before my aging bladder demands unloading again. I wear a mask when the nice lady at the pharmacy brings my prescription out to me in my car. When I get home and pull up to the gate, I feel relieved that I survived without being too close to people, people whom I NEED in order to survive mentally and emotionally.
Then, I think of the people in Austin, Texas nearby who live in even more terrifying panic over the people around them as they live their life and take care of business. Some still go to work. Some go shopping. My son-in-law shops for us every three weeks at COSTCO, and we all try to get along without the variety of a regular supermarket. But, how is it to have to ride the subway in NYC in order to keep life going? Those people have to KNOW that they will probably get the virus.
But, how much of this mental struggle is because our leaders, driven by the fear of not doing enough, went way overboard on the precautions? Could the sparsely populated states and counties have been allowed to take fewer precautions because
So, here is an interview with Victor Davis Hanson by the Hoover Institute. Victor Davis Hanson is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution; his focus is classics and military history. When men like this are allowed before the microphone, we hear a much more rational discussion of this epidemic.
We also are encouraged to do our own thinking for a change. Stop believing all the "experts" you see on the media, and especially stop believing all the posts on Twitter and Facebook. Indeed, stop believing all the posts you read here on blogs like mine. A blogger who claims to have special knowledge simply does not have special knowledge. He is pushing fake news.
Psalms 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Consider the Psalmist David on the subject of plagues.
Psalms 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
In verses 3 and 6 the word "pestilence" is used. In verse 3 it is called the "noisome pestilence." This means a plague that is aggravating and virtually naughty. There is something naughty about Covid-19 as we hear alleged experts predict millions will die, and now they are saying we are about to peak, and where are the millions of dead bodies? They claim they over estimated on purpose to scare us into obeying their rules for survival. Oh yes, and the farmer hauled another load away.
Back in the days of the cattle drives in Texas and the western USA, cowboys would actually hang a man who intentionally stampeded a herd of cattle being driven to market. The reason was that there was only one reason to stampede the cattle. That was to steal part of the herd and hide them up a canyon to be rebranded by rustlers. Why are we being stampeded? Does someone want to rebrand America?
News sources, and adversarial politicians on the Left, are not scientists, they have never set foot in a real research lab, and they are not medical experts. They are told by the editor to go get a story that will shock the viewers, and they go find some bit of banal news from the Covid-19 world. This story is then massaged until it is white hot terror, and it is dumped on you. And you, bless your dear pin head, panic and change your whole way of life to minimize being one of the victims of the fake news predictions.
News sources, and adversarial politicians on the Left, are not scientists, they have never set foot in a real research lab, and they are not medical experts. They are told by the editor to go get a story that will shock the viewers, and they go find some bit of banal news from the Covid-19 world. This story is then massaged until it is white hot terror, and it is dumped on you. And you, bless your dear pin head, panic and change your whole way of life to minimize being one of the victims of the fake news predictions.
Now, the alleged experts are predicting that we will never be the same people or culture we once were because of the epidemic. What a lot of horse leavings. The Great Depression was a horrible time with immeasurable suffering socially and culturally, and many people died and were displaced. My Dad was one of them. But, America came back, and we are the same people doing the same things with the same people.
One comment in the video by Victor Davis Hanson is worth more discussion. Back in the 1950s when I experienced a big flu epidemic as a kid, the whole world was more humble, as Victor mentioned. We did not think we knew all about it and what was coming. Our leaders were not claiming to have fantastic experts surrounding them giving them flawless advice.
We were far more humble people then, vain as that might sound. We knew that information was always suspect. We all accepted the fact that there were unknowns, and we all pretty much came up with our own notions of taking precautions. We washed our hands, avoided crowds, and we stayed at home, all without being stampeded by Edward R Murrow and Gabriel Heatter. Please stop believing all the stories, statistics, and predictions of the media and the talking heads.
And, understand please the Donald Trump, in his daily briefings, is trying to make himself a national hero so that he will be reelected. Trump is the least humble man in the whole US political system, and his pride causes him to doctor and twist the truth regularly in his favor. If God sent Trump to save America, as some of you Christians claim, then God needs to explain why he could not find a better candidate for the job.
One comment in the video by Victor Davis Hanson is worth more discussion. Back in the 1950s when I experienced a big flu epidemic as a kid, the whole world was more humble, as Victor mentioned. We did not think we knew all about it and what was coming. Our leaders were not claiming to have fantastic experts surrounding them giving them flawless advice.
We were far more humble people then, vain as that might sound. We knew that information was always suspect. We all accepted the fact that there were unknowns, and we all pretty much came up with our own notions of taking precautions. We washed our hands, avoided crowds, and we stayed at home, all without being stampeded by Edward R Murrow and Gabriel Heatter. Please stop believing all the stories, statistics, and predictions of the media and the talking heads.
And, understand please the Donald Trump, in his daily briefings, is trying to make himself a national hero so that he will be reelected. Trump is the least humble man in the whole US political system, and his pride causes him to doctor and twist the truth regularly in his favor. If God sent Trump to save America, as some of you Christians claim, then God needs to explain why he could not find a better candidate for the job.
So, how do we survive this era mentally and emotionally?
Answer: Verse 1 above- Dwell in the secret place of the most High God- under the shadow of the Almighty. If you try to trust in God and panic at the same time you will become a spiritual schizophrenic. You must choose one response or the other.
I can hear you tell me that you are not panicking. I have had a number of people claim they are not panicking. Well, I can tell you how to determine if you are really trusting in the Lord. Answer the following questions:
How many times a day to you hit the Drudge Report?
Do you watch President Trump's daily news briefing?
Do you read everything on Facebook about the epidemic?
When you get into your car, do you turn on the radio to talk shows where Covid-19 is being discussed?
When you are with your family, do you talk about the epidemic all the time?
Now, based on your answers to the questions, are you dwelling in the secret place of the most High God?
Hmmmmm
