The subject matter with which I have been wrestling is twofold. On one hand, there is my longstanding and continued concern regarding the inability of democratic governments to handle the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic appropriately – with the laudable exception of New Zealand, of course. This issue has now rissen to a new level of anger and frustration in light of the ever more powerful variants. And then, there is the abortion issue in Texas.

As if a pandemic wasn’t enough trouble already, the governor of Texas elected to follow the example of the White Supremacy Insurgency Terrorists of January 6th, 2021, and slide us ever closer into the abyss of Naziism. Well, fascism or totalitarianism anyway, while simultaneously making it impossible for a pregnant eleven-year old child who was raped by her own father to access healthcare.

The above mentioned abyss of naziism refers to the new state laws in Texas encouraging and rewarding citizen vigilante behaviour. There is now a cash bonus of $10 000 for every “successful” denunciation of any civilian who could be considered an accessory to an abortion.

In sociological terms that is called a self-policing society, which, among academics, is mostly discussed in reference to Gestapo activities in nazi Germany. Where the private sphere is affected, as in sexual intercourse and pregnancy, “deviance” can only be detected by people in private environments. Therefore, any neighbour, any house keeper, any baby-sitter can denounce you. As my dear mother put it in reference to her childhood in Germany, when her mother was “advised” by the school principle that my mother’s first name, Judith, was inappropriate and she should hence-force be called by the proper Germanic name of “Mechthild”, anyone could fabricate a story about you. Anyway, my mother’s observations as a teenager in Nazi Germany (she was 10 years old when the Hitler Gang assumed elected (!!) power) were significant. As a child, she was baffled by the sudden and unexplained disappearances of some of her classmates, girls who had been her playmates for years. When she asked, her teachers would only say that the families had moved. Being raised more on philosophy than religion, it was much later that she finally understood that those girls had been Jewish. As for the teachers? Denial and fear, powerful mechanisms to keep the general population obedient and quite. And, one should never forget, in my mother’s opinion, the power of revenge and retribution specifically among the otherwise powerless. Scholars say, that the Nazi regime’s GESTAPO (GEheimeSTAatsPOlizei, Secret State Police) was only as powerful as it indubitably was because of the voluntary input of everyday citizens. In other words, if your neighbour squeals on you, you wind up in prison and they get – so far only in Texas – $10 000.

Think about it. Do you really want that? Do you?

I find myself more and more discouraged regarding the future of Humanity. Watching the open-mouthed, Edvard-Munch-parents on news broadcasts hysterically screaming obscenities in protest of measures instituted to actually protect their children’s lives …

Others emphasising their desire for personal freedom. Of what? Considering existing mandatory vaccinations, seatbelt laws, stop signs, red lights, passports for International travel, and so forth, what do you actually mean? If you simply mean any sort of behaviour that suits YOU irrespective of the welfare of the people around you, well, you’re just a damn egotistical maniac and our so-called civilisation is doomed. If this is the personal freedom that our society values, than we might as well say good night.

For a little background information, it might be fun to review two major historical works. One, the older one, that goes back to the widely accepted premise that our modern European civilisation is being based on Greco-Roman-Judeo Principles, is explained in “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” by Edward Gibbon. The other one, called “Der Untergang des Abendlandes” (the decline of the occident) by Oswald Spengler, published in 1918 & 1922, might give you some interesting perspective into the white supremacy mindset.

This post has actually been sitting here in limbo for several weeks. Should I or shouldn’t I post? That is the question. Like dear old Hamlet, I was dithering. Ultimately, though, I wanted you to know how pissed I am as a scientist and as a human being.

How dare you reject vaccinations?

You don’t feel “comfortable, yet”.

You don’t trust the world’s most highly educated specialists?

I wish, I could just say: “Splendid, prepare to die, Stupid!”. Sadly, it doesn’t work that way. If you, yes YOU, reject global vaccination programs, ALL OF US WILL DIE.

If we continue to reject even the most benign measures proven to combat the spread of viral infection, e.g. wearing a mask, we are doomed to regress into the Middle Ages. The global economy will crash and we will all fight tooth and nail for survival … on top of the devastation of climate extremes …

Unless …

… we search through the records of human achievements and realise that it has been

KNOWLEDGE that saved us again and again.

If we study and learn and accept and adjust, it might be alright for a little while longer. Therefore:

GET VACCINATED AND WEAR A MASK so we can go back to work, study, and be stupid 🥳