Calm Your Hive

The feelings of stress and anxiety in our culture is almost palpable. I recently listened to a presentation by Joel Salatin where he described today's society as similar to a bee hive that has been jostled. The people, or bees,  are uptight and buzzing around looking to attack the threat without knowing what the threat may be. He explained this analogy better than I did, but it made sense. 

It wasn't long after the conference that I witnessed heated conversations from both view points. They all had some things in common: 

    - Heated emotion

    - Derogatory comments to anyone with a differing opinion

    - Limited understanding of the opposing views

They even admitted that they have no idea what "those people" were thinking. It's almost as if "those people" are inferior beings whose ideas must be squashed. 

Let's admit it. Life is hard and things seem to be especially tough lately. We are being forced to make some difficult decisions.

Just because someone makes the decision to get a vaccine or wear a mask doesn't automatically mean that they are a sheep, controlled by the government or overbearing. They could be... but it is not a given. 

Just because someone chooses not to get a vaccine or wear a mask doesn't automatically make them uneducated, ignorant or selfish. They could be... but one does not necessarily equal the other. 

I am going to share a few true stories of people that I know as examples of these tough decisions being made every day. Identifying details have been removed to protect those individuals. 

Story #1

This story is about a well-educated lady that (for reasons that I will omit to prevent identifying the individual) found herself paralyzed with fear by the Covid-19 virus spread in the United States. She secluded herself and her family as much as possible for about a year. She utilized computer screens as a poor substitute for human interaction. She wore a mask for any excursion outside of the house and got tested regularly for the virus. When the vaccine was made available, she did her own research and evaluated her options. She knew that the safety and efficacy data was limited. She also knew that she couldn't continue living her life this way any longer. She chose to be one of the first in line to become vaccinated. 

She did not make this decision lightly. 

Story #2

This story is about a couple. They chose to postpone earned income and take out student loans to study and earn degrees in the medical field. They used this knowledge to research and critically evaluate primary literature sources when available. They personally cared for patients with Covid-19 infections and those with injuries from the Covid vaccine. They were infected with the Covid-19 virus, recovered and returned to work caring for their patients. When the vaccine became available, they did their own research, weighed the risks versus the benefits and chose to decline the vaccine. Society has not made this an easy decision with venues, restaurants and social media demanding to know this personal medical information. They are even risking the possibility of losing the careers they worked so hard to achieve along with their primary source of income. 

They did not make this decision lightly. 

Story #3

This story is about a dedicated emergency room nurse. She was "in the trenches" from the beginning. She helped to intubate patients with Covid-19 pneumonia. She suited up and worked in a hot tent providing Covid testing for nervous individuals. When PPE (personal protective equipment) was in short supply, she reused her mask so often that the straps broke. She caught the Covid virus and recovered. She also held the hands and comforted scared patients as they experienced life altering vaccine-related injuries. When the opportunity came to take the Covid vaccine, she did her own research and chose to decline it.

Later, her hospital demanded vaccination for all employees. Her employer even joined together with all neighboring hospital systems to "convince" the employees that the only way that they will continue to work in healthcare would be to comply with the new vaccine policy. She evaluated her financial situation as she looked at those that depended upon her for food and shelter. She chose to get vaccinated in order to remain employed. 

She did not make this decision lightly. 

The people in these stories made different decisions and yet all feel alone, isolated and dejected for those decisions. They each had their own reasons for their choices but yet no one seems to care about the reasons, even if those reasons about personal, medical decisions should be considered confidential and respected. 

For the record:

 - I support your decision to get a vaccine. 

 - I support your decision to wear a mask. 

 - I support your decision to not get a vaccine. 

 - I support your decision to not wear a mask. 

 - I support your decision to eat cake for breakfast. 

I don't like to complain about issues publicly without offering a solution. I think I may have discovered a solution for Covid animosity and it even starts with the letter C.

     Coffee

Now, hear me out. I know that coffee cannot cure complications due to the Covid virus. Sitting together at a table, sharing a cup of coffee could help to mend some of the problems associated with Covid. The simple act of sitting face-to-face with someone, having a small distraction like sipping coffee, could result in re-humanization of that individual. They are no longer some crazy nut posting ridiculous stuff on social media. They now become the supportive friend that cheered you on at graduation, comforted you after a bad breakup or encouraged you to ask for that promotion. You could soon realize that having a different opinion about a mask or vaccine does not eliminate all of the many other things that you have in common nor remove the memories that you share. Rediscovering the human side of an individual could result in remembrance of their great qualities that you once admired. As the cup of coffee is gradually consumed and conversation continues, you may discover that being uptight over one difference in opinion has robbed you both of a great friend. 

You may even venture into the testy topics and discover that your friend has reasons for his/her decisions that you cannot help but respect, even if you still do not agree. Isn't that what we all want? Are we longing for someone to respect our opinions and decisions even if they don't completely agree?

So, let's start rediscovering our friends that we have lost to this divisive madness. I challenge you to invite a friend of opposing Covid views to meet you for a cup of coffee. You can even set up rules to avoid specific topics if they are emotionally charged. You may be amazed at how quickly the walls between you will start to crumble. 

We can beat Covid-animosity and return compassion to humanity one cup of coffee at a time. Let's Calm Our Hive!

*This post was not sponsored by a coffee company. Coffee can be substituted with another beverage if desired. The letter C correlation between coffee and covid was too good to pass up!