so, over 2yrs into this, I've had to wear masks to fly a couple times. To go to the Jack Daniels tour in TN. I couldn't get Chinese in town for a while, or see a movie, not that anything really came out that I wanted to see in a theater anyway. I didn't go shopping, my kids went instead or I got things shipped to me. I had to wear a mask to get in to Bewilder a couple times, for a few seconds. I was exposed many, many times, and yes, I knew people who died from it, but not a one of them was the picture of health, or youngish, etc. I believed and still do that it's a real virus. I believed and still do that it was and did mostly affect older, less-than-fit individuals, with some outliers, as ALWAYS. I kept my distance from nearly everyone, but I do that anyway, because bell curves and whatnot.
Other than the rampant stupidity everywhere and the horrifying display of obedience to governmental, idiotic overstepping, not much of MY life changed all that much on a functional level. It makes me very, very sad to see how willing so many were to not only blindly obey, but how belligerently ignorant a lot of people were, and are, about the whole issue. Not a bit of question, not a shred of inspection, nothing, just aggressive capitulation everywhere. Our self-gratifying "leaders" disgusted me with the rhetoric, and so did my fellow citizen fanatics on both sides.
Things are going to change, even a casual student of history can tell you that-- what's more difficult to know is where we are on American civilization's arc. The rapidity and nonchalant dismissal of COVID as the Scourge To End All Scourges is notably intentional and repulsive. As usual, the loudest Chicken Littles haven't got much to say anymore, and will go unpunished for their hysteria and contributions to social dismay. Alas, alas, what a world we have built.
anyway. I can't sleep, so eff y'all