Essentially, Non-Essential
All animals are equal. Some are more equal than others.
G. Orwell, Animal Farm; 1944
Who is keeping you out? Who is it that told you that you were non-essential? Was it an ineffective supervisor, an ego-centric bureaucrat, or maybe even a braggadocios family member? If it feels like it’s a slam, it is. It’s a twist on an age-old problem. How efficiently and effectively can one group of people influence public opinion in a way that makes the others look and feel sub-human? We are free to get a second opinion, are we not? Doesn’t everyone deserve a chance to be included in the in-group?
It really isn’t an exclusive club, we can self-designate. We can simply declare ourselves to be essential, and wha-la, we are. Of course, there is a form that the state will require, a DNA sample to collect and a fee that they will need to pry from our hands. But to the best of my knowledge, there are no entrance exams, no jack-booted thugs checking credentials, no stooges tracking our movements. My apologies if I offended any thugs or stooges, whether they are jack-booted or are sporting the latest in thong footwear. I suppose that even thugs and stooges need affirmation now and then.
If it seems too easy to join, maybe because it is. In George Orwell’s classic book Animal Farm, words, phrases, and their meaning are frequently changed by those in power to keep firmly them ensconced in their roles. It still happens today.
Undeniably, Big Brother and the thought leaders of our day, who with their lofty titles clamored that they were essential, got everything wrong. From the simple arithmetic used in their forecasting models to the belief that we middle-class peasants would heed their advice and ready ourselves for the next self-inflicted wound; they were wrong. Now proven to be demonstrably inept and blatantly deceitful, they lack the moral clarity to deliver just the facts in a manner that’s believable and actionable. Yet they still hold office or are given an audience to those who do. Meanwhile, their groupies in the media are off to the public relations quagmire so they remain essential.
In the information age, those that control the dialog will control the agenda. Now is the time solidify the definition of the word essential by speaking truth into non-sense by providing concrete examples that will silence that feckless supervisor, ego-centric bureaucrat, or braggadocios family member once and for all. Here are a few things to consider if you need validation that you are in fact essential.
- If you get up every day and strive for self-sufficiency, work to feed your family, educate, and ground them in your faith…you are essential.
- If a member of the elite, ask you to do something not for the public good but for their self-interests that is in violation of an edict, and you refuse…you are essential.
- If you are helping someone file an unemployment claim, and because of your tenacity, you were able to reach a human…you are essential.
- If your job is to perform to sign language, translating to hearing-impaired the idiosyncrasies of your states’ latest Shelter in Place directives, but feel compelled to allow your hands and fingers to go rogue and communicate a message of their own… you are essential.
- If you hold a job at an essential retailer, a dispensary, you open before noon for those who prefer to spend their waking hours in a chemically induced fog as a coping mechanism to dull the pain from just about everything…you are essential.
- If you have held a job or owned a business and have been able to balance a checkbook since you had a paper route, your business acumen exceeds that of the ruling class…you are essential.
- If you think that there is an absence of civil discourse…you are essential.
- If you disagree with the conventional wisdom, that moving about in an open and free society is a sure-fire way to get you an audience with the Grim Reaper…you are essential.
- If you learned that there are times that you need to turn off the TV so the mindless blather stops…you are essential.
- If you only buy the amount of toilet paper that you can reasonably consume during the next decade…you are essential.
Thanks for your patience. I know I ran a little long. Occasionally, we all need the affirmation that we are relevant, capable, and yes, even essential.
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Thanks for reading, liking and sharing,
We will have to give Ivy a break on this one. She got stymied by the first sentence. As a therapy dog, she sees herself as a first responder of sorts.
Al and his faithful, but ever-vigilant sidekick, Ivy the Wonder Pup
I don’t think snakes will ever be equal to a retriever, Ivy. They are just raw material for a new pair of boots.