It’s grim - to start a new year, tweeting about the pandemic. But here we are.
I’ve spent the past months coming to terms with the fact that most of my neighbors - & a huge swath of America - know of Covid’s lethality, & simply do not care.
They know it’s a very real threat.../1

2/...to their health/lives, & to the health/lives of others. And they do not care.
They don’t.
They care about their wants. Their level of enjoyment of the moment. That’s what they care about.
Not whether they’re sick or dead.
Or whether their loved ones are sick or dead.
3/ It’s nihilism. And it has taken root in our society.
We must grasp this, so that we can stop expending energy trying to get them to care.
They won’t.
They don’t.

I’ll share just one example, from within my own circle.

My daughter is an equestrian. Quite good, actually...
4/ And we had to stop her training at the barn she’s always known due to their lack of vigilance with Covid (she’s at a different barn now). But she’ll still mask up & go visit the horses she trained & loves.

Just before Christmas, we brought peppermints to the horses...
5/...& ran into her old trainer. A lovely young woman, who can not grasp why we are no longer at the barn - despite how well we’ve known each other (for years now).

She knows our reason, she believes Covid is real, yet - doesn’t understand why we’re reacting the way we have.
6/ It’s a “priority” thing - that’s the difference between us.

Regardless, we exchange our “Merry Christmas” greeting, and I ask her about her holiday. She takes a deep breath and says she’s flying home to be with her parents.

“I know it’s bad,” (meaning Covid spread), “but...
7/ “... I don’t want to be here. It’s Christmas.”

I ask her if it’s worth it, if this is then the last Christmas she ever has with them. Or any holiday, for that matter. What if they die?

“We talked about it, and it’s worth it.”

And with that, the line is drawn...
8/...between her version of humanity & mine.

I haven’t checked in w/ her since. Maybe she made it home & back w/o infecting herself or family. Even if she did, I’m certain she is unbothered in her spirit. She is sleeping fine.

And THAT worldview - that full embrace of nihilism
9/...on a mass scale, is what I have come to terms with.

I will not spend my time or energy trying to convince her or others to abandon their worldview. It’s a waste of my life. And to me, the breath in my lungs - my LIFE & the lives of my loved ones, are too precious to waste.

More from Society

Imagine if Christians actually had to live according to their Bibles.


Imagine if Christians actually sacrificed themselves for the good of those they considered their enemies, with no thought of any recompense or reward, but only to honor the essential humanity of all people.

Imagine if Christians sold all their possessions and gave it to the poor.

Imagine if they relentlessly stood up for the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner.

Imagine if they worshipped a God whose response to political power was to reject it.

Or cancelled all debt owed them?

Imagine if the primary orientation of Christians was what others needed, not what they deserved.

Imagine Christians with no interest in protecting what they had.

Imagine Christians who made room for other beliefs, and honored the truths they found there.

Imagine Christians who saved their forgiveness and mercy for others, rather than saving it for themselves.

Whose empathy went first to the abused, not the abuser.

Who didn't see tax as theft; who didn't need to control distribution of public good to the deserving.

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And here they are...

THE WINNERS OF THE 24 HOUR STARTUP CHALLENGE

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The winners 👇

#10

Lattes For Change - Skip a latte and save a life.

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Congrats Chris on winning $250!


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SayHenlo - Chat without distractions

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Built by @DaltonEdwards, it's a platform for combatting conversation overload. This product was also coded exclusively from an iPad 😲

Dalton is a beast. I'm so excited he placed in the top 10.


#7

CoderStory - Learn to code from developers across the globe!

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Built by @jesswallaceuk, the project is focused on highlighting the experience of developers and people learning to code.

I wish this existed when I learned to code! Congrats on $250!!