The Coronavirus Pandemic (Part 6) - by Moses

      So now it's April 2nd, 2020 and we see the worldwide number of Coronavirus cases at almost 1 million with roughly 50,000 deaths.  A staggering ill assessment by Donald Trump from what he was calling a strong flu in January right through to early March.  This is like out of the movie 'Outbreak' with practically no end in sight.  All we can really do at this point is to isolate as effectively as we possibly can, and with respect to keeping our sanity there is social media to keep us well informed.  Which brings me back to the first three parts that I wrote about this pandemic, that it could be G-d's wrath (a plague like that of the bubonic plague - capable of killing 100-200 million people worldwide over a 14 year period)  .  

  Spreading like it does begs the question;  Are we going to see off-breeds of the original strand of the known Coronavirus manifest as a threat to infect people in greater severity as to what we're seeing now (ie. a strand of the virus that has a 30% kill rate of the infected)?  If this is only the beginning then the population in North America could be devastated.  Already throwing out numbers like a possible 1 million deaths in America from this disease are probably in fact too conservative.  What we'll eventually have to accept is that our way of life in the Western World may have to change to accommodate safe practices in almost every way we go about our business.  How crazy do germaphobes look to be now; the Howard Hughes of this World, and any other influential paranoid as they were so deemed as recently as 3 months ago.  Our perspectives will surely change as this virus grows, as to what other measures we can take to ensure our health and safety on this matter.

  All I can think of are the Health Care Workers; the Doctors, Nurses, Orderlies, First Response Teams and other Hospital Staff risking their lives to save ours.  When we think of why it's important to have Doctors (and other Hospital Staff) we are now aware as to why.  If this is a test from Hashem (the Creator of the Universe) himself then we're royally screwed.  How many people in the world operate with morality?  The inference is obvious, like in the time of Noah there are very few people that are righteous in a spiritual sense.  How many unspoken sins?  How many hypocrites populate the mainstream population?  Too many to count.  Not to be negative but when I think how common place it is in North America to see someone with a tattoo, or to see someone who takes a kickback in their daily functions as a rule of thumb.  Isn't it accepted that 1000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean is a good start?

  Let's try and live through these times as homo-sapiens with purpose and vigor (determination), not let our minds take us to a shallow existence.  Will we survive this scare as a people?

  As a Jewish man I recount the Passover every year during Seders.  At home now with no family gathering I'm wondering how Rabbi's see the poetic injustice of recounting the story of the Passover in which each Rabbi's take (Rabbi Eliezar, Rabbi Tarfon, Rabbi Jose, and Rabbi Akiba) on how severe the 10 Plagues that befell Egypt could really have been in those times?  Each Rabbi had his own take as to the severity of how many plagues the G-d most high was capable of delivering.  How do Rabbi's under different names today make similar analogies in the modern day with respect to the Coronavirus, while keeping in perspective our Exodus from Egypt and the plagues of that time (all at the same time)?
   

The Coronavirus Pandemic (Part 5) - by Moses

      How many people are benefiting from the essential workers that are currently in place.  The police departments, fire departments, hospital staffs, coffee employees, sanitation workers, and the rest of our essential service workers are risking their lives going out to do their jobs every day through this crisis.  

  It's funny how people take for granted the simple idea of having their morning coffee at the coffee shop.  What would we do if they closed their doors to the public?  People in North America are somewhat ignorant to the idea of the services entailing risk through this crisis, and they bitch and moan when one of their freedoms (like picking up their morning coffee) are threatened.  What we need through this time is to give kudos to those that are still in the workforce serving the general public.  When we see people go to the grocery store and buy half of the meat section to feed THEIR family, realize this;  It's not only offensive to the common man, it's offensive to G-d himself.  How many people are taking this period of history seriously?  Staying safe means to isolate the best you can, and to have some level of compassion for your fellow man.  We may not be perfect beings, but to deny another of their basic freedoms is slanderous.  I'm not referring to the closing of a coffee shop through this period (and having to suffer through this possibility), but rather denying someone who's on the streets their basic freedom of the right to life.  It's hard for someone in the police force to assess this situation.  Someone who is vagabond still should have the right to life and the freedoms provided by their Nations' Constitution.

  What worries me through this time is that people will be round up and quarantined in F.E.M.A Camps with no regard for their freedoms instilled by their Nations' constitution and scapegoated in the realm of population control, stricken with no recourse to their right to life.  It's easy enough to combat if you have a comfortable dwelling to get through this nervous time, however to a vagabond this time is like living in hell.  How bad is it if you have to draw from unemployment insurance and receive only $40,000/year in Canada (from an $80,000 job) when you can get your house in order, look after things that you didn't have time for when you were at work, and still watch Cable T.V?  Keep in mind that there are poverty stricken areas in cities across North America that still have to function.  Do we perpetuate someones' suffering when they don't even have the means to pay their rent through this time or do we give bursaries to the poor to get them through this time?  

  Religious epithet through this ordeal is starting to reach the mainstream.  The Catholic Church has even gone so far as to give drive-through confessionals to accommodate the population of people that believe they must confess their sins on a weekly or monthly basis.  This is truly hysterical when we objectify and realize that maybe, just maybe, this system of the perpetual sinner should calm down a little and just not sin as much.

The Coronavirus Pandemic - Health Care Heroes (Part 4) - by Moses

      We are seeing Health Care Workers around the world working around the clock treating its' populations by putting their lives on the line day in and day out in treating people that have the virus.  These men and women deserve medals for taking a chance with respect to their lives in treating a highly contagious disease.  While there are stories that showcase peoples' greed; like those hoarding grocery store supplies for themselves through this crisis, the positives are what I'm focusing on in this article.

  When September 11, 2001 came it was the NYPD and NYFD that stepped up to the plate and delivered as heroes.  Through this crisis Doctors, Nurses and all other medical personnel have been professional and have saved lives.  Period. 
  
   It's ironic; the masses look to the rich and famous for answers throughout their lives, yet when a health crisis hits we realize how invaluable having a strong health care system really is (independent of famous actors, famous sports figures, famous personalities and their roles in society).  Now that we see all professional sports shut down for the time being we realize that our health really does need to be preserved.  When one thinks of the value of a Doctor or Nurse we realize how vulnerable they really are in their day to day jobs, and why we shouldn't take our lives for granted as the death toll has steadily climbed. around the world.  Some very high profile people have been stricken with the virus, including Tom Hanks, Prince Charles, and many professional sports athletes, so the class structure on who got hit can't just be attributed to the poor.

  Regardless of the politics of the current situation we are still just human - imperfect beings.  The only entity that really matters in life or death decisions aside from G-d himself is the Doctor and Nurse team that saves a Coronavirus patient's life at their own risk.  If people have the compassion necessary to treat this disease we can hopefully change for the better as people.  This time is a true reality check for the common man.

The Coronavirus - Is this a Plague on Mankind (Part 3)? - by Moses

      The Coronavirus is now sitting with 308,000 worldwide cases and roughly 13,000 deaths as a result.  This is from the beginning of 2020 to today (March 22/20).  The American Media has promoted this disease as a possible plague on mankind.  The seriousness is there, unfortunately the kill rate is less than 5% of recipients of the disease, so plague can be taken out of the equation.  When Trump was briefed on the pandemic to come - at the beginning of January - he was told that this was a new pneumonia that could be treated if contained.  Unfortunately world leaders failed their peoples' by treating this virus as a token flu at its' beginning, Trump being the ringleader.  The disease is much more serious however, and while some modals project affliction at higher than 40% for their nations' populations, we're still not seeing the full picture here.  This pandemic looks to be a U.S Military exercise to bring nations to their knees when it comes to the inevitable cure, which will make some people (and/or companies and Governments) an enormous amount of money.  The question of whether the Coronavirus could be a plague is ironic considering that as of next week Jewish people around the world have to discriminate against having Passover Ceders to recite the history of our people in the time of Moses - a time which tells the story of ten plagues that befell Egypt and the diaspora of the Hebrew people.  The question I ask as Moses is this;  'Who's suffering is being exploited?'  I would say that G-d himself would have impacted us underlings in a much stronger manner if he truly resented mankind and the ways in which people sin.

  Here's the thing; each sovereign Nation has its own protocol.  Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark for example recite the beliefs of Christ.  Pakistan, Turkey, and Somalia recite the beliefs of Muhammad.  Italy, Greece, Ireland, and Croatia recite the beliefs of Christ in a pro-dominating way.  China, Japan and Korea recite the beliefs of Buddha.  India - Hinduism.  Thailand and Taiwan recite the Tai belief structure, and so on.  This pro-dominating effort to build up Nations needs a limiter in place to make sure we don't have massive breakdowns in multicultural Nations.  As a Jew I can't profess my views as being the only option.  I can only present the argument, an argument of which comes up in almost every instance.  This is hopefully felt by people so that we don't allow ourselves to alienate people from living their lives.  Let's be pro-active in our rationalizations and how we reason.  Keep in mind that as a Canadian or American there is still genocide among our Aboriginal Populations.  These gross acts of suffering are still being perpetuated day by day.  Now that there is concern of the homeless spreading the disease, what will happen to them?  Do we perpetuate these health concerns and put more people (those at the Sally Ann or other Hostels) on the streets?  This is why I think G-d put this blip on the earth for us to conquer.  Let's have some humanity on our poor and downtrodden, and have some level of treating this poverty issue in Canada and the U.S.A.