On Being Productive

Ha! Right now, it’s hard to be productive with the world crisis we’re in. I’m trying to stay away from the news since it’s predominantly frightening. But I still have to keep up to know what is our latest knowledge about this crisis.

There are a couple of things I had hoped to start doing but I haven’t really gotten around to it. But I have started to clean out the back room and to move around things to generate more space and to move toward “minimalism”. Every day I work on that and little by little I’m making progress.

I also have been reading books. I’m currently reading one about competition, who wins and who loses and why. There is some stuff about resiliency and lots of scientific research, so the book is giving me some food for thoughts. Also, I finally started on a book about algorithms. I hope I learn something that I can use – we’ll see how long I keep up with it.

And I’m still keeping up with these blogging posts. This schedule of periodic updates is useful to keep me on track of doing something productive at home.

The only thing I have not been able to keep up is the art work, but then, I have to realize I’m also cleaning out the back room.

I’ve been reading articles where some expert says it’s okay if you are not currently productive because the times are currently stressful. So, we should all take care of ourselves and not stress out on not getting our entire to-do list done. There have also been articles on junk eating and dieticians say it is okay to slack off in these times but don’t do it too much. You still want to be healthy so if you fall off the wagon, just get back on and keep trying. In other words, don’t berate yourself over your weaknesses.

Just remember, America and the world will get to the other side. We will have to deal with the economic consequences but one problem at a time. So far, Americans and the world have always gotten to the other side. Do your social distancing – this is key! – and stay home! It’s really important we all do our part if we want to get out of this quicker and with less fatalities.

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Okay, another topic I want to talk about is critical thinking. Yes, I went off tangent but I read something outrageous a couple of days ago: until two days ago Georgia governor Brian Kemp did not know that asymptomatic people could be spreading the virus and yesterday (April 2nd) he finally put in a stay-at-home order.

Where has he been?

First of all, I’m having a hard time believing he did not know that people could be spreading the virus without having any symptoms. There have been a few articles for some weeks now about this, so I think he is just using this lack of knowledge as an excuse. He knew but he ignored it. His critical thinking skills have been absent.

We have Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, refusing to issue a stay-at-home order until Trump told him to. Why did it have to take Trump to tell him what to do? Why can’t he think for himself? Kay Ivey, governor of Mississippi, won’t issue the order because they are not like California or New York, even though their cases are growing rapidly. Why can’t she see the danger?

Why aren’t these people thinking? Why do they have to wait until Trump tells them what to do? I hate to say it but unfortunately, this lack of thinking appears to lie on the Republican side. A large part of the party has just gone bonkers on this.

Even average Americans lack thinking capability since it appears some are still going out and shopping in crowds. I’m reading some businesses refuse to close. And of course, some churches are still having their church gatherings as if God if going to save them. Dr. Anthony Fauci has said, “Stay at home”. Why aren’t they listening to the doctor? If you had cancer and you were looking for advice on what to do, would you listen to the doctor or to Fox News? I hope you said the doctor but I do wonder.

When I was growing up, I occasionally would read about “Johnny can’t read” and that our educational system was failing us. I wonder if this is the end result of not being able to read (which I see as synonymous as not being able to think critically): unable to determine whom to listen during a crisis or even to keep up with the news so that one does the right thing. We have incredibly stupid people in America.

There’s a time to follow your leader but there are times when it is best to follow the experts such as scientists and doctors rather than Trump. Trump is not an expert here; don’t listen to him. Listen to Dr. Fauci.

America is only as good as our weakest link and unfortunately, our weakest link are those Americans who can’t think critically and can’t do the right thing. What will it take to get the seriousness of the crisis through to them?