The real new normal may be that Americans will believe just about anything. Sure, the pandemic, or Plandemic according to some accounts, has produced enough conspiracy theories, sinister story lines, and political intrigue to not only generate some laughs, but also to leave many of us confused and disoriented. Of course, this gullibility stretches far beyond the limits of Covid-19. There's something deep in the human spirit---perhaps the compelling, mysterious ego---that shoves many of us to the edges of fact and fiction as the originators of of some revolutionary idea. A couple of examples---
Recently several observers published pictures of beach crowds violating the social
distancing restrictions. There were large groups of sun-bathers, surfers, and other
beach bums frolicking up close and personal. Soon after, someone posted a
beautiful color photo of thousands of people on a crowded beach, under the
headline, "Arizona beach goers stretch social distancing orders", or some similar
title. Dozens of people responded with criticism of those careless Arizona bathers.
Give me a break! Ocean beaches in Arizona!
Another had a ocean side theme. There was a picture of hundreds of people
swarming a beach in California. The same photograph portrayed beach people in
Florida. Another, using the same shot, was attributed to South Carolina, and
another the Gulf Coast. What a coincidence that so many quadruplets could be
pictured on beaches at the same time.
OK, I know human gullibility and naivete existed long before the coronavirus. I mean, Adam and Eve certainly fell for an incredible story when tempted in the Garden of Eden. It's really a rare day when we don't hear about, or more likely read about a friend or loved one being enticed by a get-rich-quick-scheme or pyramid program, short-cut to fame and fortune, or some other sensational discovery. In many instances, like the Covid-19 pandemic drama, they are incredible revelations or insider information that is just too juicy to overlook. Who of us wouldn't love to be remembered as the one who unearthed Solomon's mines in Mayberry USA?
Just the same, most of live live within fingers reach of the old information super-highway as a verification point of the incredible news we are often asked to believe. Usually the touch of a finger is the difference between what is fact and what is fake. We don;t do it because we like the sensational affect of sharing something hardly believable, the thrill of a roller-coaster as one pundit opined.
This Christian worldview that is supposed to be my life guide, addresses the human frailty of being naive and accepting anything that comes across our news screens---
The simple believe everything, but the prudent gives thoughts to his steps.
Proverbs 14: 15, ESV
The naive inherit foolishness. But the sensible are crowned with knowledge. Proverbs 14: 18, ESV
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching
ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will
turn away from listening to the truth and wonder off into myths. 2 Timothy 4: 3-4, ESV
How long will you gullible people love being so gullible? How long will you mockers find
joy in your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge?
Proverbs 1: 22, ESV
And, there are dozens more. They are part of the sadness these months under the mysterious puzzles of Covid-19. History testifies to our gullible ways. They existed even in the days of Solomon and the other Bible writers. We egocentric humans just won't learn. And, the new normal may be simply a repeat of the past, when we chase the sensational rather than wait for the facts.
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