Arrogance

Just a quick thought here, but I’ve noticed a common characteristic among what I will call “pro-interventionists” during the coronavirus pandemic…

In areas where coronavirus restrictions such as lockdowns and mask mandates have been strict, and the impact of the virus has been relatively light, human intervention is automatically credited for low coronavirus numbers. Yet in areas where the impact of the virus is also light but there have been little to no restrictions in place, human intervention (in this case, the lack of it) is written off as having any impact at all.

We’ve all seen it. Location X has implemented strict measures to “control” the virus, and also enjoys low infection rates, fatality rates…what have you. Proponents of such controls will immediately trumpet, “It’s working!”, while conveniently ignoring locations doing just as well or better without the same sort of restrictions. They will just as conveniently ignore locations which implement similarly strict controls and still get hit with severe COVID-19 outbreaks.

It’s working!

And I’ll grant that there are likely other variables at play in the inconsistencies between such outcomes, even when similar measures are in place. Actually, that’s kind of the point. When the degree and type of intervention is constant and the outcome is different, you can be pretty sure that the degree and type of intervention isn’t the critical variable.

This is what scientists do when they really, really want to be sure a virus is contained. But sure…your t-shirt mask is helping “stop the spread.”

But some human beings still insist that broad government imposed mandates such as locking down, wearing cloth masks, and not going to vote in person (but still going to protest) are the reason the virus is waning in some areas, all while ignoring the failure of such mandates elsewhere. I think it is the height of arrogance to ignore this lack of correlation and claiming that something as clumsy as government should get the credit for controlling something as pervasive as this virus.

“Of course my mask mandate is working! Our numbers are down because of it!

“What? Our numbers are up? It’s not my fault! Mask harder!”

The truth is that we’re only human, and we’re not in control of this world. To the Earth and the Universe, we are no more than fleas which will be shaken off when our time is done. We need to get over ourselves.