Safety is a Lousy Goal

For centuries to come, archeologists will excavate and analyze the artifacts of the Late Great Covid Generation with inquisitive fascination and dumbfounded bewilderment.  As they break through the Earth’s newly formed crust comprised of masks, syringes, and vaccine passports, the experts will wonder:  Why do some of these exhumed skeletons show signs of debilitating, chronic terror while others appear to rest blissfully at peace?

One has to wonder; if the SARS-COV-2 Petrie dish had been unleashed on the earth before the dawn of the internet and 24x7 cable news, would the globe so readily have rallied around hysterical panic and blinded acquiescence to governmental domination?

In terms of pandemics, Covid-19 certainly circumnavigated the planet at a dizzying rate while displaying precision-engineered adaptability to spread.  But in terms of epidemics, it doesn’t tip the scale when you consider global, morbid death clouds like the Justinian Plague, the Black Plague, or even HIV/AIDS.  

Not to mention, as truth is revealed specific to the staggering number of reported false positives and the compounding interest of comorbidity factors, the precise number of deaths caused by SARS-COV-2 will most likely be adjusted downward for years to come.

As of August 2021, approximately .05% of the planet and .19% of our country have died with Covid-19 listed as the cause of death.  Compare that with the Black Plague which catastrophically consumed over 15% of the world population and ask yourself:  Were they as afraid as we are?

When people you know to reply to statistics like these saying; even the loss of one life is one life too many, then insist straightaway we reduce our highway speed limit to 25, resurrect prohibition and close down every fast food and soft drink conglomerate on the planet.

Most likely, their anger will rise as quickly as their fear while they scoff at such monumentally life-preserving measures.

Built to Last or Frail as Glass?

I grew up in the ’60’s and ’70’s when appliances were called Durable Goods for a reason.  I moved out of my parents house at age 22, and we still had the same dishwasher, fridge, and stove as the day I was born.  It’s not because we were poor:  Stuff just didn’t break. 

Fast forward to a few years ago when my wife and I replaced our dishwasher and fridge.  I don’t want to shame the multi-billion dollar corporate behemoth, but the manufacturer’s name rhymes with Gerbil Eclectic.  In almost no time at all, most of the little plastic bits, rollers, and hooks began to break.  

Today, as the top drawer of the dishwasher, the bottom drawer of the freezer, and the cold meat drawer of the fridge no longer work, I have to ask:  With all our matured technology, why are we building things less durable than we did 50 years ago?

Have we done the same with our citizenry?  Has our once hearty, robust populous that bravely fared Dust Bowls, World Wars and the Great Depression become so sensitive and frail that a negative Tweet sends them rifling through the medicine cabinet looking for relief?

Today, nothing seems very durable — including us.

Safety Culture

It is fairly obvious who fears the virus the most:  It’s the Gen-Y and Gen-Z’ers.  But why?

They are the most vigilant mask sheriffs you will find.  They will be the first ones to paint a sign and protest anyone who dares bare their face in public.  They are the ones who have banned local family members from in-person visitation for well over a year.  

Zoom was not conceived to serve households that reside in the same Zip Code.

And, God help those Y and Z’s who have borne young children in this dystopian simulation.  Shot or no shot, they are raising a generation of newborns and toddlers who are so severely under-socialized, there is no telling how the long-term effects will manifest — not to mention the utter disconnect from the immense blessing of what an extended family provides.

But, I keep asking; why?

And I keep hearing; it's our fault.

These Gen-Y and Z’ers grew up in the safest, most sterile, bubble-wrapped environment no previous generation could ever have imagined.  It was the era of 18-point car seats, nursery monitors, hand sanitizer, helmets, floaties, bowling alley bumpers, and SPF 80 Sunblock.  

Don’t struggling baby birds gain their strength by slowly and forcefully shattering the shell that encases them?

We didn’t let our kids climb a tree because they might break their arm, forgetting that getting your cast signed was the zenith every kid aspired to in 5th grade.  I still vividly remember when I was about that age, repeatedly running down a steep hill and falling on purpose — hoping to break my arm.  I can still feel the depth of that psychotic disappointment as I safely tumbled to a stop each time, almost as if I were in a deleted scene from Fight Club.

I guess it was by sheer luck I survived my childhood despite my parents' perpetual inability to correctly answer the nightly public service announcement on television:

It’s ten o’clock.  Do you know where your children are?

Today, the answer to this question is: Yes.  I am monitoring them right now in their room using Google Nest.

As we train our children to recoil from friends, tighten their masks and practice human distancing, who is asking if this inhumane behavior might be worst than the virus?

Peril Breeds New Life

Various types of trees can not germinate unless their seeds are exposed to a forest fire.  Serotinous Cones, produced by trees like the Lodgepole Pine, contain a treasure chest of seeds that are encased in the cone.  These pine cones are sealed shut by extremely thick resin and will never open under normal climatic conditions.  

However, when these pine cones are exposed to the heat of a forest fire, the resin melts, the cone opens, and a plethora of seeds are released.  Behold, the birth of future forests!

In our hyper-safety, allow-no-harm culture, who among us stops to ask: In our ardent mania to avoid all measurable risk, have we somehow stunted the flourishing of future growth?

Not All Giants Are To Be Feared

The biblical account of David and Goliath is a fascinating study on so many levels.  We routinely focus on brave, young David, who shuns the protective armor demanded of him and heroically faces the giant with a sling, a small stone, and no mask.  

Everyone knows how the story ends.  Yet, we rarely stop to consider that Goliath, perhaps, was not as ferocious as advertised.

Brilliantly researched by Malcolm Gladwell, we learn of a Jewish endocrinologist who purports:  Because of Goliath’s great size, he most likely suffered from a rare, genetic condition which caused him to have impaired eyesight.

Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?

~Goliath to David

How could a sling and a stone be confused with sticks?  Could it be the fearsome giant had a major weakness no one considered?  Could it be that this same giant the entire Israeli army feared needed Coke-bottle glasses to see ten feet in front of him?  

Today, could it be we need the wisdom of Yukon Cornelius to realize the beast is not ferocious at all, and instead confidently announce:  Bumble’s Bounce!

Could it be that the very risk we’ve been avoiding is precisely what’s necessary for new life to spring forth?

Christians aren’t afraid to die.  That’s what makes us so resilient.  

To live is Christ, and to die is gain.

~ The Apostle Paul

This does not mean believers live recklessly, don’t believe in viruses, and taunt death to swing its sickle our way.  But, a life addicted to safety, protection, and coveted bliss is nary a life to be esteemed nor remembered.

She Lived Safely

~ Was etched in no tombstone ever

So while people strenuously stave off risk to postpone the trip to heaven, Jesus said things like:

In this world, you will have trouble 

And:

I have come to that you would have an abundant life

So, as we yield to heaven and reveal that eternal kingdom now, we can hold loosely to this world while holding tightly to one of Jesus’ primary goals: 

Father, may your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

I recently heard a woke pastor say, If Jesus was here today, he would certainly wear a mask.

That must explain why Jesus gave the blind man a seeing eye dog, the crippled man a wheelchair, and placed flowers on Lazarus’ tomb.

Safety is a lousy goal.