the Empathy List #59: Vax Obsessed

Are you getting the COVID vaccine?

Hey friend, Liz here.

I finally have an appointment to get the vaccine that everyone’s been obsessing over.

I’m late to the ballgame because I’m a mere 34, I have no preexisting conditions (at least, not the type that makes me eligible), and I work from home. I’m a lover of science and a devout religious person, which may sound like a paradox to some ears, and I’m delighted to be receiving my shot in the arm next week.

The obsession over this vaccine comes from both sides—those “for” and “against” the science, or at least, those “for” and “against” cultural trust in science.

We face heart-felt opinions daily: yes, duh, get the vaccine if you ever want your old life and/or mental health back. Or, no, never get that shot, not unless you want to ally yourself with Satan. (Sigh.)

We humans have an uneasy relationship with truth.

We adopt whatever bolsters our preexisting beliefs and we ignore what doesn’t. We accept facts that allow us to maintain equilibrium and diminish the ones that admoni…