The Pantaloon : Dunces And Chances : Brother Wagwit 

The Pantaloon
Edited by Brother Wagwit
Earlyish in the 21st Century

Dunces And Chances

Pandemics Have A Lifespan. Idiocy Does Not.

Most problems (political, social, financial, health, relationships, etc.) can be addressed and resolved with behavioral modification. The metaproblem is that modifying personal behavior is an inconvenience because most people are not willing to assume the responsibility to improve their own wellbeing. It’s more convenient to have someone else find answers and fix a problem than it is to modify, even slightly, a habitual behavior.

For the sake of argument, let’s say the problem at hand is a deadly pandemic. Said pandemic, like every other one that’s come along, has a lifespan. A simple, easy, and effective approach to safely ride out the duration of a pandemic is to observe and maintain specific preventive protocols that include consistent, purposeful behavioral modifications. This however, requires vigilance and discipline, efforts that the vast majority of people are not willing to exert for any length of time. And aside from all the precautionary measures and medical miracles, time, the right amount of time, is what will determine, with finality, the natural end of a pandemic. Like people, viruses get bored too, and move on to other things.

So, if someone is not willing to do their part to attenuate the spread of a pandemic by taking the necessary behavioral precautions for a couple of years; and if there’s a vaccine that helps to avert the more serious repercussions of a viral infection; why not get vaccinated in the first place? And if someone has already committed to being vaccinated with a first dose, why won’t they follow up with the second dose to complete the immunization process and curb the potentially severe outcome of not modifying their behavior?

If you really want to pussyfoot the definition, yes, you could say that when a person insists on a habitual commitment to idiocy as part of their day-to-day behavior, that person is in possession of a challenged intellect. But Wagwit thinks it’s best to call a spade a spade and just call that person an idiot.

Historical reference is not an exact science but it gives us enough information to infer that pandemics have a general lifespan of two years or so. Historical reference also gives us a good benchmark for the prevalence of idiocy throughout the ages. Thankfully, pandemics have expiration dates. Unfortunately, idiots are forever.

Chancy dunces and dicey chances.