I remember when I was four years old. There was a New Year’s morning performance in kindergarten. Of course, with the magical Ded Moroz (Father Frost) and his no less magical Snegurochka (Snow Maiden). It was just a fairy tale, but at the end of the holiday, I tried to explain to my parents that Ded Moroz was actually our janitor Ivan Ilyich. Unfortunately, I didn’t have direct evidence at that time, but there were several indirect clues: the voice, eyes, and shoes of the fairy-tale character were very similar to Uncle Vanya’s attributes. I was very upset that my parents didn’t want to listen to my arguments. They tried to convince me that Ded Moroz was real, and the janitor, who for some reason was absent from the performance, was just sick that day.
Many years passed, and I learned that my childhood desire to find an alternative explanation to what was happening against the generally accepted version is called a conspiracy theory. Like adult conspiracy theorists, I didn’t have irrefutable evidence at that time, and I failed to uncover the conspiracy. Ded Moroz was exposed later when I became a full member of the closed group of “adults”, where children are not allowed for their own good. In the end, I learned the main thing - being a conspiracy theorist is dangerous and unprofitable. No one will believe you anyway, and you will waste a lot of nerves and energy.
Later, much more serious stories replaced the harmless Ded, which were even harder to believe than in a fairy-tale character, despite all the official sources insisting on it. For example, what about the story of how two American astronauts were stranded on the Moon in 1969, spent twenty-one hours there, then pressed the “Home” button, took off, docked with the ship waiting for them in lunar orbit, turned it around, and rushed back to the Earth frozen in anxious anticipation. Do you doubt that it all happened exactly like that? You are a conspiracy theorist and a supporter of the moon landing hoax.
Or take, for example, the unfinished story of how the planet was struck by a previously unknown to science coronavirus, spreading at the speed of the Black Death and threatening all of us with inevitable and agonizing death … from a runny nose. As evidence: graphs of the virus spread, interviews with virologist doctors, and photos of newly built hospitals. Is that not enough for you? Do you think that the world media are deceiving you, the numbers are falsified, and there are no COVID-19 patients? You are a crazy conspiracy theorist, and taking your doubts seriously and discussing them is a waste of time.
To be fair, it is worth acknowledging that not all conspiracy theories can detect the janitor’s mustache under Ded Moroz’s mask. Many of them are unable to even bring a smile, for example, seriously claiming that the Earth is flat, all watchmakers conspired, and Australia doesn’t exist. However, it is not about them now, or about who is right: Holocaust deniers or builders of its memorials. I’m sure each of them has their own truth.
Every legend, whether it’s about Ded Moroz, Americans on the Moon, or the epidemic of the Chinese virus, has interested parties benefiting from most of us continuing to believe the legend as truth, while the minority is left with the humiliating status of conspiracy theorists. If we consider our civilization a closed system, it is logical to assume that as long as the beneficiary is not overthrown and the legend is alive, this situation is beneficial to everyone. In other words, we will all be better off if the Americans’ journey to the Moon is considered a fact that happened, and the coronavirus epidemic is a real threat.
The viral hysteria unfolding before our eyes has, if not authors, then a number of interested parties. At the same time, its main beneficiary is us, obediently wearing masks and washing our hands for 20 seconds. What is our benefit? There are many, but I like this version. Mass antivirus psychosis will lead to improved hygiene, which in turn will lead to weakened immunity, which will lead to higher mortality and a decrease in the world’s population, the importance of which I have already written about. Thus, a relatively inexpensive campaign successfully makes a significant contribution to solving the global problem of overpopulation of the planet. Is this beneficial to us? Individually, of course not. To civilizations as a whole - yes.
However, humanity still benefits from having a legend in which hundreds of millions of children believe. Do we all need a viral epidemic that is killing small businesses and slowing down the economy? No. However, apparently, we all together need it.
In your opinion, what other benefits could an epidemic bring to civilization as a whole?
Translated by ChatGPT gpt-3.5-turbo/42 on 2024-04-20 at 14:44
