Graphic by Ratstachio.
January 2021
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Virus has definitely changed our world and will no doubt cause many of us to re-evaluate the way we live our lives. Most things will eventually go back to normal, but some may never.
How many of us who weren’t already die-hard “cruisers” would want to go on a cruse ship now? I don’t mean to disparage the cruise industry, who have taken a huge hit in this pandemic, but the news reports of ships being denied the right to dock in ports, with passengers confined to their cabins, still rings in my head. It would have been a little more tolerable for those passengers who had balconies, but can you imagine being confined to one of the interior cabins?
Although I’m not a germophobe, even I can acknowledge that the world is frankly, a very filthy place. Just think of all the common things we all touch every day, from elevator buttons, to door handles, to ATM buttons and handrails, how many times are those surfaces thoroughly cleaned, if ever?
The thing that gets us through life is the natural immunity our bodies build up over time from being exposed to everyday germs, combined with general hygiene practices like washing our hands. It’s kinda sad that it took a world-wide pandemic to remind all of us that we do need to wash our hands a lot more than many out there do.
A humorous anecdote; back in the summer I attended a medical clinic in Richmond Hill for a minor procedure, and noticed that in the elevator, someone had placed a plastic covering over the elevator buttons. I couldn’t help but thinking that unless someone was cleaning the plastic sheet after each use, what was the point of having it in the first place? To protect the elevator from getting sick?
Another lifestyle choice that may be re-evaluated is this current trend towards high-rise condo living.
Can we please get past the idea that everyone who wants a house also wants a big house with a big yard? Some of us don’t want big,
Let’s also make sure that we learn the lessons we failed to learn from SARS, H1N1 and even the MERS epidemic. It does make me wonder if this is why intelligent lifeforms from other planets haven’t yet made contact with us. Perhaps we’re still too stupid for them to bother.
Note: The name Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Virus, and not the China Virus, is specifically meant to differentiate between the Chinese people, who are victims of this virus, and the Chinese Communist Party, who oppress and violate the basic human rights of their own citizens.
