Cassandra Cargo Cult

 "For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth" Isaiah 21:6

There is something bizarrely comforting in exposing myself to the various semi-doomsday ideas that are circulating online. It makes my own life seem small and unimportant in all this, and in that, I find some peace.

Mostly we muddle through, taking each day in ordinariness, with the slight variations that arise in personal lives, and the world at large. Then some days happen that change everything, almost overnight, and we, and ourselves, are not the same again.

The last eighteen months have made us aware of how much the world can change in ways that most of us could not have anticipated. That doesn't mean that the projections of further wide-ranging changes, both catastrophically bad and jubilee-level good, are going to happen. But there were indeed people in the fall of 2019 warning us that a global pandemic was going to be rolled out. Of course some of these voices that been warning about this for years, so it was easy to dismiss them. It is perhaps just as easy to dismiss them now, for a different reason---now almost everyone is a prophet of doom in some sense. 

I'm always amazed whenever I catch wind of what is being proffered as the truth in mainstream media. White supremacists! Insurrection! Overthrow of the government! As much as I try to sort out the various conspiracy ideas on our side, I can only pity those on the other side, who seem to me lost in the most obvious of distractions and deceptions. If someone is still caught in that (and there are fewer every day) I know I can say little to help them right now.

Of course this is not to mention the health emergency, a subject I try to avoid on this blog. For one thing, I make a practice of not offering advice or commentary on issues that might affect one's personal physical well-being. What do I know is the truth? In a way I envy those who are caught in the mainstream matrix. So easily they can cast their truth on "science" and "experts", even as their use of those words seem like a Cargo Cult to me. 

Lately I have been listening to quite a few podcast videos and interviews about the health emergency, trying to get a grasp of the truth based on some evidence. There is some very fascinating information out there.

All I can say for now is that (1) I am not the least afraid of the bug, or any so-called Greek-letter variant of it. That is, I am not afraid of catching it, nor of any effect it may have on me. (2) I have no intention of rolling up my sleeve for any preventative therapy being distributed for it. (3) I am not intimidated by anything that may happen to me, or anything that may be prohibited to me, because of item 2. 

In short I refuse to be afraid. There is a great deal of debate on our side about the nature of the arm jab. Some believe it is extremely dangerous, and will result in a compromised immune system for any who accept it. They track the reactions and deaths ascribed to it. Others counter that this is part of the "fear porn" being shoved at us. That is the Establishment wants us to take the arm jab, AND also to be afraid of it at the same time. Among those with this point of view are those who think the arm jab is essentially a placebo. This latter view dovetails with a more elegant interpretation of Trump's role in developing it, which is a sticking point for those on our side who think the arm jab is fundamentally toxic.

The need to relinquish fear is the common thread among all paths through this maze. Our Lord told us as much. According to Scripture, our only fear should be of the Lord, and this fear is the source of all gifts of the Spirit.