So very astute, all of the things you've said here. I am definitely worried about covid. I've lost many friends to it, Michel was sick with it of course, and I am pretty sure I would have a very bad time with it were I to catch it. In the early days of the pandemic when people were calling it a hoax and attributing it to biological warfare, I found myself in quite a few debates about this. People were encouraging others to "get on with life" and "forget the masks," because it was all a big government ploy to take away our freedoms. Well--I never disagreed with that point. However, I would often say that traditional warfare involved weapons of mass destruction and other deadly things, and it as well is always a big government ploy to take away someone's freedoms. (Meaning that in every war, there are bad actors trying to do bad things and lives are lost trying to stop them.) But just because traditional war is the result of government ploys by crazy-ass dictators making a power grab doesn't mean you stand up in front of the surface to air missles and go "nah nah nah boo boo." I mean, come on. Machine guns fire real bullets. The covid virus really makes people sick. Doesn't matter where it came from or who sent it.
So yeah, I'm with you on every point. It's a tough world to navigate right now. I'll be dining at home myself, @riverflows, for quite some time to come.