Why I started 2022 with a COVID-19 booster
My theme for 2022 is "believe"; what’s your theme?
Happy New Year to faithful readers of The Racket News, and to any new readers who have joined us recently. I am really grateful that David, Jay and I have a nice little gig here (hey, we don’t do it for the money) to write whatever we want, with no mouth-breathing editors puffing over our shoulders.
This morning, I’m feeling a tiny bit “off” with a tiny elevated temperature and a sore right arm. Yesterday I got my Moderna booster, to supplement my original J&J shot back in April. The theme of the year 2022 for me is “believe.”
There are a thousand reasons not to believe anyone, and 2020-21 offered more proof of why people should live self-guided, paranoid, and suspicious lives. Why would the CDC lie about omicron figures? But why did they make such a drastic revision to the numbers? Should I believe the old numbers, the new numbers, or just discard anything the CDC says because they are an arm of the government.
The government lies to us constantly. It’s made of politicians and behind-saving civil servants at the executive level, where the media is fed. The media is a collection of personalities with their own egos, who possess the digital equivalent of Rolodexes filled with “go to” sources. For decades, health beat reporters went to Dr. Anthony Fauci for epidemic/pandemic issues. But Fauci’s importance grew to the point where his word became gospel; and we know he played fast and loose with the truth, because he wanted people to do what he wanted, not know for themselves.
From every tempest in a teapot to Crossfire Hurricane, the government and its mandarins have told some whoppers and the media has either debunked or amplified them, depending on their own opinions of the cabal in charge at the time. If Ron DeSantis were a Democrat, he’d be the savior of Florida, but instead, he’s a science-hating devil, though he comported himself with more transparency, ethics and care for the citizens of his state than former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
I know all these things to be true, that the media, the government, the drug manufacturers, and the people at Walmart who jabbed me yesterday have their own lives, their own wants, needs, egos, problems, and agendas. But in 2022, I refuse to believe that people with whom I share a nation, a neighborhood, a heritage, are evil. There are some truly evil people in the world; I’m no fool. But the evil is just as likely to be someone in your town who is struggling with demon-inspired drugs and jealousy, with homicidal or suicidal thoughts, than it is to be some suit-and-tie type on Capitol Hill.
In 2022, I refuse to organize my life around various paranoias. Instead, I will believe in the positive. I believe, for instance, that the Moderna booster will enhance my ability to resist COVID-19 omicron better than J&J alone. I didn’t have to feel a bit off this morning; I could have merrily continued unboosted. I might have gotten another bout of COVID, I might not. I believe COVID-19 is more a neurological issue than a respiratory one. The brain fog, fatigue, lasting effects, immediate loss of smell and taste, and selective destruction it wrecks doesn’t seem like a snot-and-sneeze flu to me.
Even if I got it again and had no real symptoms, I don’t want it again. So I rebuked the demons of paranoia, believed that Moderna folks made the vaccine for my good (along with Pfizer/BioNtech), and got the booster jab. That doesn’t mean I believe the Russian vaccine, or the Chinese one is any good. It doesn’t mean I’m a soft-hearted do-gooder looking to placate the CCP and Vladimir Putin. It doesn’t mean I’m going to stop advocating for conservative beliefs and standing against unchecked liberal intersectionalism. It just means for 2022, I am standing on belief, not distrust.
God has this. He really does. I begin by believing that. What’s your theme for 2022?
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My 2022 theme at the moment is Leftovers. As in making sure that none of the food I had left over after our Christmas feast goes bad. Which feeds into my main theme for 2022: Growth.
I'm using the year to build upon some stuff I started doing last year and finally getting around to doing/investigating some things that have bothered me for years. My goal is to dial back the reactive-ness and save my breath and energy for more proactive ventures, which in this year means getting into better shape for the sailing season this spring (especially after my curremt tour on Leftovers Duty), finally unlocking the (to me) esoteric secrets behind music performance and music theory, and dusting off some older projects as a workbench for expanding my professional life into some new directions. And retiring the "well, actually" fellow who's grown in influence since the start of COVID.
I had the Moderna booster Dec. 17th. I had the J&J at the end of March. I put off the booster because I worried about feeling sick and I have commitments so it had to wait. I have avoided covid so far even as I watch all my neighbors and many friends get it. I was lucky and only had a sore arm after the booster. I hope you are feeling better quickly and thank you for today’s post. I have shared it and hope people take the time to read it. You shared a lot of my feelings about the last 2 years. One thing is certain, God’s got this. Be safe and be well.