The Spector of Suffering

Here we are, many months into this pandemic, with no end in sight.  When it first began, I think many people, including myself, thought it would be a short-lived problem.  But now as we get into it further and further, there is no end in sight and thousands of people have died and continue to die.

You would think that people would come together during this terrible time to fight against this disease.  Not so.  More than ever, there is arguing, fighting, corruption, protests, riots, and dispair.

One of the things people are arguing about, is whether or not wearing a mask slows the spread of COVID-19.  Most experts agree that it is beneficial to wear a mask, so in some areas there are mask mandates, which means you have to wear a mask whenever you are in public.  Many people are extremely angry about this because they think masks don't help and they think the government is trying to control them.

I could be very wrong, but it is my own speculation that people who don't want to wear a mask have never experienced an exceptionally painful, life-threatening illness.  Because let me tell you, I have experienced such a thing, and I would do just about anything to prevent having to go through that again; the least of which is wearing a mask while in public. 

I have had illness where I literally couldn't move without getting very dizzy and vomiting.  I layed on the couch for two days and barely slept because of excessive stomach pain.  I have been to the emergency room and to several doctors who did little but tell me it might be an inner ear problem.  My point is, once you have been that sick, you appreciate a healthy, pain-free life so much more, and you fear feeling that terrible so much that you will do a great many things that might even remotely prevent it from happening again.

From what I hear about COVID-19, it can be quite painful, and also have a negative impact on your health for the rest of your life.  So you bet I am going to do simple things like wear a mask and wash my hands and not have close contact with a lot of people.  I know what it is like to suffer to the point that life is almost unbearable, and I am eager to do what I can to prevent myself from feeling that way again.

Those who are not eager, probably have never suffered to that extreme, or don't believe there is actually a pandemic.  In any case I would say, it doesn't matter to me if there is actually a pandemic.  Just the threat that there might be is enough to make me change my behavior slightly, if only to have a chance to spare myself and others from suffering.  

Once you have been through hell, you never want to go back.   You many have survived, but until you do die, you will live with the spector of suffering.