Sunday, January 24, 2021

Is vaccine really worth celebrating?

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 23, 2020-- This is one of those headlines that makes me go "Huh?", but such is life.)


As soon as a Covid-19 vaccine was announced, the debate began over who should get it first. To me, the answer was obvious: Give it to the politicians first. They want to be called "leaders"; let them lead for once.

This win/win solution should make everyone happy.

People who love government are generally going to be the people most likely to trust the vaccine. They probably believe politicians are valuable. They'd believe using the vaccine on the politicians first would be safe and would protect them.

Those who aren't as fond of government and politicians are probably not going to trust the vaccine as much. They'd probably be glad to see politicians used as lab rats.

If the vaccine is safe, the politicians survive and others can then try it. If it turns out the vaccine was a bit rushed, and not as safe as initially advertised, no real harm done. You can always recruit more politicians later-- if you must.

If this past year taught us anything, it taught us to not trust experts when politics is involved. If you are not skeptical about this first-ever vaccine for any kind of coronavirus, which was rushed through the process, then you haven't been paying attention to the history of pharmaceuticals. I want to see what happens over time to those who took it before I decide if I'm going to. Especially if it becomes mandatory.

I'm not anti-vaccine, but I'm anti-"mandatory" every time.

I'm not interested in seeing famous people getting vaccinated on television. How do I know that's really the vaccine and not glucose? Who makes decisions based on what famous people do? Most of them didn't get famous for being smart or making good decisions. If you follow the examples of famous people you're probably in serious danger. If they are famous for being politicians, it's even worse.

I suppose the cat's out of the bag now, though. It's too late to let politicians go first.

Now we are being told the vaccine may only be effective for a couple of months, and having been vaccinated doesn't mean you can dispense with the face mask and the anti-social "social distancing", nor will it mean the end of the shutdowns. So what's the point? Will this vaccine raise the survival rate from 99.6% up to 99.7%? I'm unconvinced.

Whatever happens, I wish you a very merry healthy Christmas!

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The truth can change


There are things which are true that you (and I) don't want to be true.

The pragmatist just says "Oh, well. That's how it is", but smart people see it as an opportunity to change what is true. Change it for the better.

It was once true that humans were denied the experience of powered flight. That's not true anymore (although the nasty TSA tries as hard as they can to make it true again).

It is true that I currently have a piece of metal (accidentally) superglued to my right index finger, making it harder to type. I'm hoping this truth will change in the next few days.

Maybe it's true that humans always impose political governments on themselves and others. If so, work to change that truth into something healthier.

Truth shouldn't be a prison. If there's a truth you don't like, do what you can to make a new truth. Make the old truth a lie going into the future.


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