I've been out of the game for awhile. I deleted social media, stopped reading news articles, and avoided politics for the most part. It was exhausting at best, plus, I was always more interested in ideologies and philosophies anyway. I'd rather read a cringey book on communism than argue over what politician is the lesser of the evils.
Still, I don't want to be that passive person who doesn't care about what's happening in the world unless it affects them personally. I've always found that selfish. At the same time, I don't think keeping up to date on what politicians are doing and saying is productive. I've never felt I could do anything to help in situations like that, which is rather demoralizing. It only serves to makes me feel small and helpless, as if my life revolves around the whims of a career politician only focused on reelection.
I did continue conversations with people and I don't mind a friend informing me of something that's happening, it's more personal than reading it from their facebook status, or worse, hearing it from a biased news site.
Doing this improved my life, undoubtedly. I learned to better live in the moment, and I put in work trying to understand, utilize, and expand my circle of influence. I improved my communication skills and I was happier for it.
But then covid-19 hit, and I was no longer able to be ignorant. New mandates popped up all over the place and the world started looking darker, more violent, dystopian even. I couldn't stay silent as people's rights were being ripped away, even though the system is designed to encourage that. Don't speak up or you'll be putting a target on your back!
in the past, the thing that has kept me sane when exploring the world of politics was the idea that one step out the door would have you finding yourself in a much more harmonious world than the news and social media like to portray. Your neighbors don't think you're a piece of shit for the conservative sign on your lawn, and hopefully you don't think that of them when you spot their liberal one. Your family loves you regardless of your differences. Your friends are your friends because they respect you. And most importantly, the world isn't plotting against you. Most people crave peace, not chaos.
Covid-19 has changed that.
You aren't allowed to hug your grandma anymore, and if you do you must not love her. You will wear your mask, line up for your shot, stay indoors and put your life on pause for two weeks, two months, two years. Maybe even for the rest of your life. Your neighbors will rat you out for having a guest over, local businesses will go bankrupt. You will forget what fresh air smells like.
Enjoy your stay!
How anyone can not be actively paying attention - and with that, being seriously angry - is beyond me. Unless you're living in a bubble of indoctrination with a side of bread and circus, you must see how horrible this is. You can't even justify it with 'the greater good' when more people have suffered from the measures the governments have taken than from the virus itself. Loneliness and depression are washing over your loved ones, kids are not developing properly, lives have been taken, jobs have been lost, and we are all more disconnected than usual.
The virus is only in part to blame for all of this. It's the worlds reaction that escalated the situation and continues to do so, now bringing in vaccine passport, turning what started with 'two weeks flatten the curve' into a life of fear and avoidance.
I am infuriated by all of this and I hope you are too. It's gone too far and it's time to fight the real enemy - the government.
Not some silly virus with a 99.7% survival rate.
