The article by American Institute for Economic Research (excerpt):
Woodstock Occurred in the Middle of a Pandemic
– May 1, 2020
Was the difference that we have mass media invading our lives with endless notifications blowing up in our pockets? Was there some change in philosophy such that we now think politics is responsible for all existing aspects of life? Was there a political element here in that the media blew this wildly out of proportion as revenge against Trump and his deplorables? Or did our excessive adoration of predictive modeling get out of control to the point that we let a physicist with ridiculous models frighten the world’s governments into violating the human rights of billions of people?
Maybe all of these were factors. Or maybe there is something darker and nefarious at work, as the conspiracy theorists would have it.
Regardless, they all have some explaining to do.
The author’s summation statements are pretty clear as to his opinion: The contrast between 1968 and 2020 couldn’t be more striking. They were smart. We are idiots. Or at least our governments are.
My thoughts on this… John A. Brodie, The PositiVibes Network
People are quick to rush to judgment when they should be seeking enlightened solutions. It is seldom important how you arrived someplace, what is important is discovering the route to where you want to be.
We live in a very different world than we did in 1968. When I couldn’t go to Woodstock because of my lifeguard job I was very disappointed and about the only news I was interested in was Vietnam protests and music news. I have no recollection of any flu scare. Today we are connected by a worldwide web that makes what were once faraway places seem very relevant and present in our view of the world. Is this a good or bad thing? I would say it is neither. This has become a much smaller place to live this Planet Earth. This is just part of the natural evolution of our civilization. Even today if you are not “connected” somewhere out in the wilderness; you might not even know anything about Covid-19. But for us, in the loop most all of the time, it is the big story of the day. As such it is going to attract plenty of attention from the news media because we, as their audience, demand it. Sadly, the worse the news is the more people eat it up it seems. But to the point, we do all know about this virus and the danger it poses. I think many suspect that we can even look at it as a hint that things are out of balance on this planet.
One way or another we need to begin to re-imagine how we proceed into the future. This virus is just exposing the weak links and points of stress in the system. Sure, we could all choose to be unaware of the problem and many would likely die prematurely and unnecessarily. That’s fine too and that is what many want to do. Say it’s gone and take our chances. I think that is a little like playing Russian Roulette.
The next consideration is, what is the role of government? Should they be allowed to draft people and send them to a Vietnam? Should they be able to demand that businesses close? In both cases the consensus of mass opinion was and is yes for a while anyway. As to the ’68 flu and Covid 2020, lots of people know about the latter and that is why it has resulted in dramatic action. I don’t fault the news media because they are all just trying to tell the story with whatever slant they believe will be most interesting to an audience that craves the stimulation. The news business in our modern connected world is part of the entertainment industry. It is far more about audience size than thoughtful accuracy. Eyeballs and impressions are the bottom line.
Back to my main point, I think with any situation the key is always to figure out how to make the most good come out of the challenges at hand. A lot of healthcare people believe with denser world populations and easier travel over large distances, there will be more Covid-19’s in the planet’s future. What can we learn about the food chain (climate changes are a factor there as well)? What can we do to assure more people good healthcare and the proper nutrition to keep a strong immune system? Can we re-invent business to keep a lot of people tele-working saving tremendous amounts of time for people offering more free time. These home workers will be able to get a good home office tax break – it will hurt commercial real-estate unless office buildings are converted into mixed-use facilities – but look at the rent savings and expense savings for companies. The planet also benefits with less fuel being burned and the resulting reductions in pollution and carbon emissions.
We did a lot to reinvent this country in the 1960’s and this is a great chance for us to make even bolder advancements in quality of life in the 2020’s. It is totally up to us to determine the future we design for ourselves. This can all be for the best if enough of us can make it our dominant intention to focus on finding and pursuing the silver linings in the clouds of the day.
What’s Your Story? The Future Is Not Yet Written.
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