Game Changer

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber 

Crowds of protesters and trolls on social media continue to rubbish the current pandemic as fake news of a hoax. What is it with these people? Agreeing to differ is one thing, denial in the face of indisputable evidence is something else … along the lines of which, as this is a public blog, I will refrain from speaking my mind any further.

People are dying; these are someone’s family members, best friends, kind neighbours … a cruel reality behind faceless statistics.

If people want to protest about society letting them down one way or another, yes, by all means go ahead, but a pandemic is bigger than any society, bigger than any of us; it is a worldwide threat with the potential to destroy all creatures great and small, humankind included, unless a vaccine is found.

That a vaccine will be found, I have no doubt although how long it may provide immunity remains open to speculation, especially given the changing nature of some viruses, and this one is new to even our most eminent scientists (not to mention doctors, sociologists, and other professionals expected to pick up the pieces.)

A reader writes that I should not criticise conspiracy theorists “…as you have done in the past if only because they are a positive force as opposed to the pathetic complacency that so often characterises human behaviour.” He or she may well have a point, but dare I suggest that any life force can effect change for the (much) worse as well as for the better?

GAME CHANGER

Out of the blue
it strikes without warning,
heedless of the cries~
of men, women, children
living their lives
by reasonably flexible rules,
no time for fools
blind to woods for their trees,
will do as they please 

Suddenly, all-change;
screaming brakes applied
around the world
any ambition, aspiration.
put on hold,
humanity left exposed, scared,
its powers-that-be
at pains to appear less uncertain,
frantic for a solution

Plainly, no quick fixes,
the road ahead, likely to be
as tough or tougher
than any recorded in history
while history, too, proves
that where there’s a will, a way
can be found, humanity's,
flair for invention rewarding us
with kinder tomorrows

A plague unlike any we've ever seen,
Covid-19 

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

Ship of Fools

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

It’s bad enough that there are still those who insist climate change is some kind of global-political conspiracy theory, but to believe much the same of the Covid-10 coronavirus when the World Health Organisation has recorded a million deaths, and still counting, is just daft.

As for those who are protesting about their Human Rights being undermined by various governmental safety precautions worldwide, that makes sense of a kind but is just selfish; everyone has the right to take risks on their own account, but no one is entitled to take the same (or any) risks on behalf of others, leastwise not without their approval.

Friends who happened to be in central London at the same time as a so-called Human Rights protest about Covid-19 restrictions in Trafalgar Square were appalled by the size of the gathering, no one wearing masks or making any attempt at social distancing; later, of course, they all piled out into the streets of London just as they had all piled in, no thought as to whether they might be spreading the Covid-19 virus.

Most conspiracy theorists and the like are either simply afraid of the truth or cling to the notion that any excuse is better than none when it comes to not doing whatever it is they don’t want to do, regardless of any potential consequences.

As general rule, I wholeheartedly support Human Rights worldwide, but not when it means putting other people at risk.

SHIP OF FOOLS

There is a Ship of Fools
that has sailed the oceans wide
for centuries, only anchoring
in harbours of the world
to pressure more fools into joining
those already on board 

Conspiracy theorists swear
its survival on High Seas means
we really must pay attention
to whatever fake news
they may well be as up for spreading,
as motives for speculation 

Captaining a Ship of Fools
is Fantasy, patron saint of all those
plainly preferring to turn both
blind eye and deaf ears
to suspect goings-on all but knocking
at their own front doors 

Fools are as welcome to points
of view as anyone else, but should
refrain from forcing it on others,
as they do who rush landfall
without a mask, thereby risk spreading 
the Covid-19 coronavirus  

Each to his or her own, yes, true,
but there are exceptions even to laws
written in stone, given all humanity
has a right to fair play - if only
along the lines of agendas reading
better safe than sorry ...

 Copyright R. N. Taber 2020

Take care, folks and stay safe,

Hugs,

Roger