What IS going on?

The world is a very strange place these days. Who do we believe?

In this Covid-19 inflicted environment, facts are difficult to differentiate from fiction. Who, if anybody is telling ‘the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?’

Advice (or orders) change constantly, and such outputs from different authorities seem contradictory. The old oxymoron ‘Common Sense’ – it’s an oxymoron because ‘common’ it certainly is not –  seems to be even more absent than usual these days. Take the current situation of child vaccination; now let me leap in here to say I’m not taking sides, I have no expertise in the matter, no interests financial, or otherwise.  I’m just an arms-length observer, trying to make sense of both sides of an argument, and to watch what transpires. 

I don’t particularly follow mainstream media, having lost confidence in their pronouncements. I know that ‘blood sells’ is a driver for much of what purports to be news, and I realise that it is inherent in we humans to pay far more attention to bad, as distinct from good news. This I’m told goes back to our prehistory when a call of “Lookout, there’s a sabre-toothed tiger about to bite your butt” is more deserving of our reaction than a call of “Look at those beautiful flowers in the valley there”. I do however catch the odd glimpse of the news, and like a skin-clothed prehistoric character, the ‘call’ does have an effect, in spite of my 21st-century self telling me it’s all for maximum effect for the purveyor of the ‘news’ to sell advertising, to earn a quid. 

Now a little while back I heard/saw two conflicting pieces of reporting that produced a reaction of ‘Huh?’

First was the scene of a woman encouraging folk to get their children vaccinated. She was something to behold – very wholesome, attractive, youngish. Her full-faced open smile, bright eyes, and pleasant sing-song voice gave the very sweetest output of truth, and honesty. Her bright yellow dress added to the impression. My Lord, I thought – it’s Mary Poppins!

The second scene was a drab output in comparison. There was no visual to this one, just a dry announcement. This concerned the fact that an emeritus professor of medicine at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London had ‘expressed reservations’ about injecting very young children with the vaccine. 

Now I thought – here’s a contradiction. Surely the new, modern view, and presentation has to be the go. They know it all, are on top of the latest information and for goodness sake – Mary Poppins! He’s an old grey-haired guy, they don’t even show him on a screen – what’s he know, he’s history and that’s valueless nowadays!

But then I thought, hang on, Great Ormond Street, isn’t that the most revered children’s hospital anywhere? This guy is ‘Emeritus’ meaning he’s likely retired, he has no need to say anything to please management, or grant providers to maintain his ‘tenure’. He’s probably pretty well off so no mortgage tensions or anything of the sort…

Maybe Mary, even though she’s such a presentation, has mortgage tensions, a future to have to secure. This is only supposition of course; she could be descended from the Archangel Gabriel, she certainly looked like it.

But do we have the Covid-19 contradiction in play again? Who do we believe? I’m just an interested observer, pitying the poor people who are deeply involved, and have to make decisions involving those near and dear.

Again ‘What IS going on?’