By Kimberly Tompkins
I cannot recall a time where we have been so challenged to adapt, adjust, refocus, and find a way to survive the ‘new norm.’ By no means am I calling COVID-19 the most difficult event in human history, but I believe it is the most difficult challenge of our generation. This is a chance to show generosity of spirit, grace towards those with differing opinions, and unity with those who do what is best for their fellow citizens. Choose kindness always and do not argue with ‘donkeys,’ as the old fable reminds us:
The donkey told the tiger, “The grass is blue.” The tiger replied, “No, the grass is green.”
The discussion became heated, and the two decided to submit the issue to arbitration, so they approached the lion. As they approached the lion on his throne, the donkey started screaming: “Symbol Your Highness, isn’t it true that the grass is blue?”
The lion replied: “If you believe it is true, the grass is blue.”
The donkey rushed forward and continued: “The tiger disagrees with me, contradicts me, and annoys me. Please punish him.”
The king then declared: “¢The tiger will be punished with three days of silence.”
The donkey jumped with joy and went on his way repeating “The grass is blue, the grass is blue…”
The tiger asked the lion, “Your Majesty, why have you punished me, after all, the grass is green?”
The lion replied, “You’ve known and seen the grass is green.”
The tiger asked, “So why do you punish me?”
The lion replied, “That has nothing to do with the question of whether the grass is blue or green. The punishment is because it is degrading for a brave, intelligent creature like you to waste time arguing with an ass, and on top of that, you came and bothered me with that question just to validate something you already knew was true!”
The biggest waste of time is arguing with the fool and fanatic who doesn’t care about truth or reality, but only the victory of his beliefs and illusions. There are people who, for all the evidence presented to them, do not have the ability to understand. Others are blinded by ego, hatred, and resentment; the only thing they want is to be right even if they aren’t. When ignorance screams, intelligence moves on.
The original author of this fable is unknown, but it resonated with me as I see all the arguing in the news and on social media. Stop arguing with those committed to ignoring you but be kind. Move on. You will never go wrong taking the high road.
The theme of acceptance and forgiving of the ignorant is a strong one.
Unfortunately with the high infectiveness of the Delta Variant of Sars-Cov-2 virus, getting to 90% vaccinated in our society has proven to be not quite enough to recover our crucial Hospital capacity toward other procedures.
We legitimately still need some of the remaining unvaccinated 10% of our society (as the only group who still have more they can do) to come around on this issue and get vaccinated. Until then, absent other effective tools aside from the vaccine, we will not have this pandemic brought under control.
The unvaccinated are 30x to 50x more likely to take up Hospital beds with COVID-19. The vaccines have VERY high measured effectiveness combined with VERY low measured adverse reactions. This makes it fair play in this case, for the vaccinated to continue to put what is truly necessary pressure on the unvaccinated, at a society and community level, to help us all get this done.