Normalcy, or how not to worry too much about the measles
Normalcy, or how not to worry too much about the measles
Not too many people in my own circle are familiar with the term “normalcy”, not even my dear wife and best friend Yvana who does so much of the writing and editorial work on some of the articles I have written over the years.The slogan “return to normalcy” as far as I recall was a term coined by the late Warren Harding. Harding was the 29th president of these United States of America from 1921 till is untimely death in 1923.
Harding campaigned against the Democratic nominee James Cox and won in a landslide with campaign slogan “return to normalcy”. It meant return to sanity end America’s involvement in (foreign) wars, get back to work and actually make America great again long before a certain Donald Trump coined that campaign slogan. Anyway I not here to tell you what to think, whom to cheer for or anything political but I want to focus on the “return to normalcy” as related to public health and health in general.
For this “short” I want to focus on something that I deem utterly insane.
The debate heats up in the Netherlands once more, most particularly in the city of Bergen op Zoom in North Brabant whether children should be should be expelled from attending school or a daycare facility when they aren't vaccinated against the measles.
Without downplaying the inconveniences or outright concerns you might have with the measles or milder forms of the measles, very, very, very few children die from it or suffer from long lasting effects of the measles and once you have had it, you most likely will build a very strong immunity against this viral infection that will last you a lifetime , yet just when Sars Cov2 hit our neck of the woods a lot of people lost there sense of reason, proportionality the ability to carefully make the analysis of what it is and how dangerous this “novel” virus was.
While Sars Cov2 in its early iterations, especially the Delta variant may have been of serious concern for certain age groups and just in general for people with a compromised immune system, the ailment when diagnosed early enough could have been effectively treated but instead common sense was thrown out with the proverbial bathwater. And “we” are at it again, being scared for no good reason other than perhaps perverse financial incentives or simply having forgotten the past. As a kid growing up in the seventies, I had the measles and it just meant in general that you did not have to attend school, yes you got a fever and not all was pleasant but I did not die from it.
At the same time if you are from my generation or before, you will hardly recall having had a classmate which had a peanut allergy or suffer from “air pollution” let alone “climate anxiety”.
No we were much tougher then, more resilient and had parents that knew more about the pains of growing up than parents in general know these days. Also our (family) doctors were not trying to expel or tried to drive any childhood disease into extinction. You would go on your bike or walk to school alone or with friends not being driven by your helicopter parent in their SUV each day and we generally turned out quite okay as responsible adults. But having said all of this, what has been brewing of the last 20 or so years is a growing societal anxiety and that is causing all kinds of issues and prevents us in general of conducting ourselves as grown men and women.
You cannot and I certainly do not want to point my finger to any specific person or group of individuals as even I sometimes have my anxieties but we can try to do something about it.
Not delving right now in “solutions”, that is for another article but just pointed it out and perhaps as small tip you may want to try some of the supplements, we like to highlight in our next blog article.
For now, keep cool be thankful for even the small things that make you happy and come back next time for yet another “short” blog article by me.
PS: I know the weather may suck but, you know what? It will suck for more people than just yourself so enjoy good company, especially during this Pentecost weekend.
Enjoy it while it lasts!
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