Monday, June 07, 2021

Dystopia, Illinois

This is the congressional district where Michael and I live. The lightest blue is the area where fewer than a third of the residents are fully vaccinated, and only ten percent more of the residents have gotten a first dose.

I used to be frustrated by the political mindset of the people in this district, but that frustration looks small and quaint with Covid and 2020 in the rearview mirror for some areas of the state and the country, and with two thirds of the people in the district where I live and work thinking that masks and vaccinations are unnecessary, it is still a quagmire of dangerous intersections.

My earlier frustration has "morphed" into shame. I am ashamed to live in this district.
[Click on the picture for a bigger view]
You can find the source for the information here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

While I imagine my politics is somewhat to the political Left of yours, this sometime anonymous comment writer reminds that the vaccines are in Phase 3 trials, not approved though allowed by the FDA. The notion that being vaccinated or avoiding participating in a large scale experimental program equates to left and right politics seems naïve. From my meager and singular perspective, those becoming so involved emotionally as well as politically in this whole affair seem odd to me. Were we neighbors -- the picture of your backyard posted elsewhere looks idyllic and well worth the value to your property -- we would be sharing music, composing, arranging and much more. But if participation in Phase 3 trials were to be the new foundation on which a relationship would go forward, I wonder whether my wish to wait for the end results of the formal clinical trials would break such a relationship, as we otherwise could have. As an old 60s radical, lock step in any direction still seems to me lock step, conservative in the end and dissent-disabled. We differ. Even so, best wishes from musician to musician.

Elaine Fine said...

You are certainly entitled to wait for full FDA approval, but I also imagine that you are protecting yourself and others by continuing to wear a mask when in public places. The problem we have here is that many people who are not getting vaccinated are people who will not wear masks, and believe q-anon propaganda. Stay safe.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the pleasant toned response. As a Mort Sahl era skeptic in all things, I refuse the stance that 'warp speed' Trump era vaccines are now sensible because the Biden era says they are. Believing is not the same as knowing, and being just one of the little people, a doddering radical once young and enthusiastic, I reject being 'informed' by corporate America, whatever its flavor. A Trump-era injection with a Biden stamp on it simply doesn't lead me to trusting. Ah well. I think I'll make some music instead. After your good example. Best musical wishes.