I would like to talk coherently about the flu, but with so much conflicting information floating across the world, it's difficult to know what to say. So, I'll start by saying that this flu is a real disease.
I don't know where you lived, but I grew up in southern California. Flus made the rounds every year, and I probably got the flu every other year. Although I always recovered, every year thousands of people died from the flu.
The common logic for us was: "If you're sick, stay home!" There was no mandate to push on us. If we had a cold, the measles, the flu or any other contagious ailment, we stayed home. It's silly, if not stupid, to go out and share diseases.
Am I afraid of the covid flu? No. I might have had two strains of it while on travel. Guess what? I stayed in the trailer until I got well. I might have gotten a third strain, and I stayed home. I understand the covid is a real sickness. But I did what I did as a kid and, in each event, I got well in record time. Also, after every trip, Carol and I self-quarantine.
Early on in the pandemic, N95 face masks were touted as being a major factor in controlling covid-19. But what do we get at the stores? These flimsy little corrugated paper things we hang in front of our face. Some folks tell us the masks mainly protect the wearer. Others say they primarily protect others. Yet others say they don't protect anyone at all. And ....
Oh, let's get off the mask thing. Nothing is for sure about masks anyway.
Early on, we were told that if 75% of our population gets the shot, we can control the covid. Woops ... make that a double shot. Oh, my goodness, perhaps a third round might be necessary. Now we're talking about annual boosters. But in all instances, the injections are touted as the cure for the disease.
Oh-oh, millions of people are getting the shots and wearing masks, but the pandemic is getting out of hand again.
Now we're being told that an apparently healthy person with no covid symptoms can make a person who is "fully-vaccinated" sick. How does that work? Aren't the first, second and possible third shots supposed to protect people?
For many years, it was common knowledge that when a person got sick and recovered, he or she was naturally immunized against the disease. It's been verified around the world. Verified in the home in which I grew up, and I have nine siblings.
But now we're told that the immunity generated from a man-made chemical is superior to the natural immunity created by human bodies after fighting off the real sickness. Incredible.
What if we've already had and recovered from covid-19? What if our temperature is normal? We're told it doesn't matter, get the injection anyway. Again, incredible. Apparently, many of our citizens never studied critical thinking. Logic is no longer part of our culture.
Covid-19 and the variants are real diseases. Multi-thousands of people have died of it. But flus have killed people for thousands of years. So let's be wise. If we're sick, stay home and don't spread the illness. But let's also tell the whole truth.
In courts, witnesses formerly were asked, "Do you swear (or affirm) to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" Most people answered with, "I do."
What's that got to do with the pandemic?
The death numbers related to covid are questionable. I've recently seen several reports making statements like: "The provisional death count is ...." And "Thirty-five more people have died of covid-related diseases." In both cases, some officials are trying to ferret out the truth.
The main problem here is that the real disease, however it got here, has become a political football. Misinformation, misstatements, misunderstanding and outright false statements have made the rounds from many people, and we're frustrated with the unknown.
We don't have many answers, yet some good guidance is rejected.
So let me say this. If you need or want medical assistance, get it. But don't force your choice of remedies on those who don't want them. And don't argue about it, but keep this in mind: Fully vaccinated people are dying of covid and the variants while millions of unvaccinated people got sick and recovered.
So, what's really going on?
-- S. Eugene Linzey is author, speaker, and mentor. Send comments and questions to [email protected]. Visit his web site at www.genelinzey.com. The opinions expressed are those of the author.