Assuming the Best
There is this odd assumption that no matter what happens all will be fine. If kids have to wear masks in school, which thwarts their social development, the sheep just brush that off and say, “oh that’s not a problem, they will get over it, probably very soon at that.” Or when, equally horrifying, reports come out saying the average IQ drops 20 points for children who have had to have the bulk of their education conveyed through a boob tube. Most sheep either don’t believe the report (“not believing” is usually the first phase of denial) or saying it really doesn’t matter, “they’ll make up for it.”
“It just wasn’t long enough to make a real difference,” is also a common sign of denial, and “assuming the best” morons. Sorry, these people are morons. In the sheep’s defense, it is true that nearly every article found through Google says all of this is nonsense (dangers from masks, lower IQ etc.). But what else can you expect from the mainstream media? They are in on it for sure. It is a closed system.
Remember “two weeks to flatten the curve”? That’s one tactic used in getting people to assume the best. Present all bad stuff in small increments. By the time two weeks go by, and the curve isn’t flattened, and another two weeks go by, and then another, and then another and we are still waiting for the curve to flatten, then you have to start thinking differently. But it seems that most people forgot about the first two weeks, and kept waiting for their reward, like Skinner’s lever pecking pigeons, “it’ll come, it’ll come, just two more pecks!—two more weeks.”
Another tactic used is relying on this fully misunderstood concept of “thinking positively.” Thinking positively is a general “state of being” as well as a useful mind technique if you don’t really know the outcome of a difficult challenge and you have a tendency to catastrophize. It is not intended to be a tactic of denial, or a replacement for critical thinking. No matter where our spiritual focus is, we still have to navigate through the material world (unless we have transcended out of our material body, which usually means we are dead). Sometimes we do have to consider what is actually going on in this physical realm. You never should allow fear to take over, but being ignorant of certain “appearances” that you experience could get you in a pickle. For those of you who do prefer to remove yourself from the cause and effect universe, and actually can do it, more power to you. But if you are one of those, you wouldn’t be reading my articles.
If you are aware of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, most people in the opulent West live in the upper levels of the thing. As long as the oppressors don’t knock us down to the base levels, where food, shelter, and water are the primary concerns, people are rather resilient. Actually, now that I am thinking of it, when people are knocked down just a few levels from the top they go bonkers and lose most patience. Maslow forgot the “material things” level, which is where most of us are firmly ensconced. I think a big part of the Covid/Vax/Lockdown/Masking experiment was to see how far they could squeeze by denying people these higher levels. It seems squeezing at the “human needs” level (Belongingness, and Love Needs) could go pretty far; people didn’t seem to care much about those things. But if there was a “material needs” level, I doubt if much squeezing would be tolerated. That’s why they were sure to keep Amazon, Costco, and other big box stores open. The limited access to “stuff” would have been too much to handle.
Speaking of Maslow’s pyramid, it now appears quite out of date. The bottom levels are indeed important for survival, and people still do respond to the “psychological needs” but largely unconsciously (meaning from a conscious operational level people don’t seem to think much of it, but unconsciously and archetypally, if these needs are not met people will definitely suffer.) The same can be said for the self-fulfillment needs, but consciously few people seem to give a crap about “self actualization,” however, unconsciously they are desperate for it.
I think this is why people (primarily sheep I am speaking of here) don’t really think much about important things like “is it really necessary to mask children in school?,” or “how long realistically can I avoid seeing my elderly parents in that nursing home?, or gather with friends over coffee?, or attend church or synagogue or mosque?” People seem to be more concerned about rather menial and materialist things like video games, TikTok, cell phones, and pushing to the top of social status.
This phenomenon of believing “everything will be fine, no need to worry, it will be over soon,” is a product of the “parent/child” relationship those of us in the West (primarily) have been indoctrinated to function in. We assume we are being taken care of and no matter how bad it gets, we are told it won’t last long and won’t be too painful, “just do what mommy and daddy say to do and you will be fine.” So we basically live the lie (some of us.)
Of the shrews I have spoken to about the rollout of the “virus,” and the subsequent rollout of the “vaccine,” many of them caught the contradictions right away. They were not being paranoid; they just simply did not buy something that, from the get-go, seemed not only dubious, but ludicrous. They came to these conclusions simply because they, as a rule, do not take anything presented to them without applying their own critical thinking—they don’t assume anything is correct just because it is said. They have grown up, and no longer take mommy or daddy’s word at face value without scrutiny. We all should do this, all of the time.
Sure, there are some things in life we can just assume, as long as those things are not all that important. Like if someone gives us a cookie, we don’t have to have it analyzed to see if it is poison (well, it DOES depend on who that person is who gives it to us!). A killer virus potentially wiping out the entire planet of human life? A vaccine developed in only three months with a new, potentially dangerous, mechanism? I would think we all should think twice about such things.
How about understanding the motives that clearly lay behind statements like “flatten the curve” and “stay six feet away from other people” or “we are going to lockdown your place of business for two weeks, then all will be fine.” Why do people believe such things? For the same reasons stated above. To be a good child you must listen to parents, and to be an exemplary child you don’t make waves, you accept whatever they hand down to you, and you are uncomplaining: “It will work out, just be patient and calm, daddy knows best.”
Assuming the Best
As a teacher with nearly 80 private students, it feels like stepping into the front line in a war every day. I have students who can't talk, meaning they are so hesitant to speak that they don't speak at all. I have students who have rare heart conditions, or some form of autism, or can't look anybody in the eye. Some parents are desperately trying to fix the situation by getting their child to respond to, "How are you today, Addison?" The parent gently says, "Addy, tell him how you are doing." Some parents are MIA, and leave it to the poor grandparents (themselves utterly unable to comprehend a world where kids don't speak) to teach basic manners. These grandparents can't understand why children act like glitchy robots. Occasionally, there are times when I feel like I'm in Hell. What did I do in my former life to warrant watching innocent 5-year-olds struggle to speak or wrestle with a heart condition?
If you've experienced abuse, bullying, manipulation, belittling, etc., you recognize it instinctually and are deliberate in placing trust carefully.