INTRODUCTION: PARIAH or FAMINE -- HARSHEST OF REALITIES

The first post is an Introduction-- I am the son of  European immigrants. I count myself as lucky to reside in the USA because life could be far worse. 

Plagues (or pandemics) seemingly occur one time per century. A prior plague (or pandemic, if you will) was the Great Flu of 1917-1921. That pandemic occurred after WWI -- it is judged to be a result of poorly sanitized, rotting corpses, or the poisoned flesh from the Great War. No one (at that time) knew what potential harm would follow as decomposing tissue was subject to earthen microbes in the place of routine burials. 

[The Great Flu wiped so many souls from earthly life, my suspicious nature started to ponder if  occurrences like this happened because (we humans) can't stand the sight of other more affluent souls.] 

While my father 'weathered the storm' more than 100 years ago, his mother (my fraternal grandmother) lived barely past the era. She succumbed to complications from the pandemic and abject poverty sometime around 1924. My father was nine, the loss scarred him for life. The tears that fell from my father's face on that dark day were as dark as most children feel when a favorite parent dies. His recall of that time period was one of harshest of realities. He recalls that his mother would save food for him after what meager schooling he could withstand from the local rectors of the local Catholic Church. The schooling of that period in that part of Europe was done by the (Catholic) Church. While our present period of time has shed light on the abuses of the religious-- people don't change much from generation to generation. Perhaps we are lucky to have the means to bring abuses to light and have justice served. 

The harsh and forbidding realities of that time seem trivial to us who have not experienced the pain. The present pandemic offers a lesson to ponder -- we still live our lives as if tribal rituals and opportunistic circumstances are the final arbiters of destinies. However, our collective consciences have been pierced by what was once believed as normalcy. There are parts of society that have evaded this "flu." 

The hidden truth evaded discovery since  it masqueraded as the SOP - or "I am too busy to care about your issue since I am dealing with everyone else's." While that sort of normalcy dictated privileged folk made rules for all, it was a lopsided system of rules. And, what comes as a replacement is a kinder, gentler, and far more civil tone from many average folk. While its is correctly argued that people don't change much from generation to generation, the truth is we that we now suffer collectively. When one country loses upwards of 500,000 souls to the pandemic, the chilling effect of death can lead to an effective weeping from the majority of survivors. We get the 'kinder gentler humanity' as the truth and not political rhetoric.

I truly hope the pandemic is brought to a screeching halt before January 2022--but somehow hope can't sustain me-- 

We need to act in unison and treat one another with love and kindness. 

                Rest in Peace --Mom and Dad. You did leave a positive legacy. We tend to learn slowly from our mistakes. At least, we learn...