OLD MAN IN THE CAVE v. COVID 19 VIRUS

Well, what do you think so far? The protests, I mean. Those who support our president, do or die, the president who promotes the words of wisdom known as Virus Trutherism? Paul Krugman wrote about it today in The Times. Krugman, it is safe to say, is no fan of President Donald Trump, who has said, among other things, that what “you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening”—Time, July 24, 2018.



For those who missed Trump’s infamous “1984”-like exaltation: Not to worry. The protesters know it all, even to the point of death. Never fear, President Donald Trump speaks the truth, not only to his base but to all of us. Bring out the old, and shelve the new—those tiresome beliefs of modern times. Comforting. But what would Trump’s Republicans have done during the Black Death? No one could have hidden back then, like today. That is what we do today. Once upon a time, anyway, when tiresome beliefs were still fashionable.

The theory of the contaminated air, was the reason why the physicians wore long noses full of smelling herbs.

Speaking of the old days, according to “scholars” at the University of Paris, the Black Death came into existence on March 20, 1345. The cause? A triple conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars in the 40th degree of Aquarius, said History.com.

Is it any wonder the president doesn’t trust modern-day experts? Look at what happened when the king of France, Philippe VI, turned to the experts, members of the University of Paris, and its prestigious colleges. Discover Walks Blog said that while these experts believed the plague was linked to contamination of the air, as Aristotle did, others accepted the alignment of the stars.
      Photo Attribution 3.0
The stars played a role. Were there science deniers, too? Sure. The planets, and the stars, the educated said, were significant. Discover Walks confirmed this. Should we go back? Who needs the educated, right? Alignment of the stars? That is probably why President Trump ignores science. Since the beginning of time, experts counsel this and that, but the president knows his gut.

In days of old, upstanding, “grog” drinking people, hung out and knew their gut, too. The knew what it needed. Just listen to the “experts” from back in the day. They thought this and that, but knew nothing at all:

“The special conjunction between Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn was interpreted as unfavorable,” said Discover Walks. “The observation of a comet three years before the start of the epidemic was also considered as a bad omen.”

While astrology, the study of the movements of celestial bodies, and their influences on human affairs, is no longer considered a viable exploration by many, the Babylonians were, in fact, sophisticated astronomers who believed that what they saw above actually influenced events on earth. Today's scientists believe that the Babylonians' two-hundred-year cyclical cycle of planet rotations sparked Archimedes clockwork mechanism that predicted eclipses (see post for YouTube video).

Discover Walks also said that the theory of the contaminated air was the reason physicians wore long noses full of smelling herbs. And recent discoverers speculate that the Black Death plague spread by coughing.

But again, the bird mask is another disputed fact. Today’s “experts” believe the long noses weren’t really around until two hundred years later, well after the Black Death pandemic. Unbelievable. Or, as Grandma used to say, “They’re educated idiots.”

Yes, this belief is more a family refrain than anything else, a tag line my uncle used whenever the college graduates came out to help the rank and file. My grandfather’s brother, an Iowa Public Service employee, turned off customer’s utilities wherever they couldn’t pay their bills, among other things. Whenever the college graduates came to help during power outages or whatever, the family heard all about the educated idiots.

After college, though, I too become an educated idiot: “You’re not very smart, are you?” my grandmother said one afternoon as I sat visiting. Stunned, I said nothing. 

Why wasn’t I very smart? I am not sure, but I was the first and probably the last family member to ever graduate from college. I’d become just like my uncle’s bain, an annoyance. But do not fear, the President of the United States isn’t an educated idiot, despite having attended college. What would my grandmother and uncle think about Donald J. Trump? I can’t imagine they would agree with him on his COVID-19 response. 

An interesting fact has emerged. It comes by way of history, a history that does not include bird-faced masks, or radioactivity, but cornmeal.

The Old Man in the Cave is in trouble. His wisdom is under attack. President Donald Trump demanded that governors reopen churches, synagogues, and mosques “right now,” and threaten to “override” state leaders’ restrictions if they do not do so by May 24, 2020, said CNBC:

“The surprise announcement marked the president’s latest attempt to ramp up the political stakes surrounding the country’s coronavirus recovery efforts. He is facing a tough reelection fight and as he sinks in polls against apparent Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

“Trump said it was an ‘injustice’ that some state leaders have allowed ‘liquor stores and abortion clinics’ to stay open amid the Covid-19 pandemic while closing houses of worship.

 “‘I’t’s not right,’ Trump said. ‘I’m calling houses of worship essential.’”

Is it fair to compare the radioactive poisoning seen in Rod Sterling’s teleplay, “The Old Man in the Cave” to Donald Trump’s response to the COVID-19 virus? Yes, for both exploit base fears instead of adhering to scientific fact. And both champion immediate gratification.

In Sterling’s adaptation of Henry Slesar’s short story, hunger overrides scientific fact. In Trump’s adaption of American exceptionalism, politics override scientific fact. Both result in death. While all died from radioactive poising after Major French fed them tainted food, many will die after Major French, err, President Donald J.Trump, feeds them white lies and deadly fabrications.

An interesting fact has emerged from all of this, though. It comes by way of history, a history that does not include bird-faced masks, or radioactivity, but cornmeal, the ground corn that makes cornbread, fried mush, and polenta. There is a difference, of course. “Polenta” is usually made with coarse-ground corn, which leaves the fat and bran intact. This northern Italian food includes a fried mush with spaghetti sauce instead of breakfast syrup. But corn is corn, and its B3 vitamin is “bound,” making it unavailable for use in the human body.

Thus, wherever untreated corn is a staple, Pellagra is common, a disease caused by a lack of vitamin B3. Tortillas, for example, processed with lime (pickling lime), release the niacin. Without this alkaline processing, though, especially with nothing but untreated corn to eat, inflamed skin, diarrhea, dementia, and even death can occur.

What does this have to do with COVID-19? Well, an interesting fact has emerged. In the 1900s, pellagra ravaged the American South. An employee of the federal government, conclusively showed that the infliction came from the food. The solution? Replace the local corn-based diet with better food. But guess what happened when Dr. Joseph Goldberger, a Hungarian immigrant employed by the federal government, proved this to be the cause of the problem? Nothing.

Do not keep your distance from others. Get as close to people outside your household as much as possible.

The New York Times found all this out first (go figure), and especially Paul Krugman. He said that “many Southern citizens and politicians refused to accept this diagnosis, declaring either that the epidemic was a fiction created by Northerners to insult the South or that the nutritional theory was an attack on Southern culture.”

People were dying left and right, and the good folk couldn’t have cared less.

Krugman linked this fact to an article in Jstor by Mary Katherine Crabb. And if you follow the link here, an entire world of fact-based reality emerges. You can read articles in Jstor for free sometimes, and the publication is worth a look. In these trying times of COVID-19, police brutality, and Black Lives Matter, it is worth remembering that science matters. And wonder aloud: HOW HAS FACT-BASED REALITY BECOME SUSPECT?

The last major edit of “OLD MAN IN THE CAVE v. COVID-19” was at 3:30 pm, June 23, 2020, and President Donald J. Trump had another political rally planned in Arizona. More will probably follow, and more will die—the difference between those who will attend, and those who will not?

THIS:

• Keep your distance from others. Stay at least six feet away from people outside your household as much as possible.
• Wash your hands often. Anytime you come in contact with a surface outside your home, scrub with soap for at least 20 seconds, rinse and then dry your hands with a clean towel.
• Avoid touching your face. The virus primarily spreads when contaminated hands touch our nose or mouth or eyes. Try to keep your hands away from your face unless you have just recently washed them.
• Wear a mask outside your home. A mask protects others from any potential infection from you. The more people who wear masks, the more we all stay safer.

v. THAT:

• Do not keep your distance from others. Get as close to people outside your household as much as possible.
• Do not wash your hands often. Anytime you come in contact with a surface outside your home, do not scrub with soap. And if you must, do it quickly, less than 5 seconds, rinse and then dry your hands with whatever you can find to wipe them on.
• Touch your face often. They say the virus primarily spreads when contaminated hands touch our nose or mouth or eyes. Touch your face whenever, especially if you haven’t washed your hands for a while.
• Do not wear a mask outside your home. A mask protects no one from potential infections. The more people not wearing masks, the better.

And the other?  Sanity and science.