Our current COVID situation reminds me of that story. I keep seeing people post things about how the disease is only dangerous for the elderly and infirm … as though those people have nothing more to contribute, are a just a drain on our society, and would be better off dead. This is like the tribe that was willing to sacrifice the two old women because they were too much of a drain on the tribe's resources in a time when food was scarce. … Except that there's no real reason for this current sacrifice of our elderly.
For the moment, I'm going to avoid pointing out that it is not only the elderly and infirm who are the victims of COVID. The evidence on this speaks for itself. Certainly, this disease is not as deadly to society as a whole as plagues portrayed in movies, but it is more of a threat than any other disease in modern times, and it strikes unexpectedly at people of all ages. However, I want to focus on this rationalization that it is okay to sacrifice the vulnerable in our society just to avoid inconvenience.
Take the subject of opening up our schools. I will certainly testify that it is better for most students to have in person (as opposed to virtual) instruction, and that the current situation is a strain on students, teachers, and families. Some people argue that since school age children almost never die from the disease that it is thus fine to open them up. A few of those people acknowledge that this might put teachers or staff at risk, but they blow that off stating that most teachers are below the age bracket that is at the highest risk.
What they callously ignore is that children are shown to be some of the primary spreaders of the disease. Since many of them do not exhibit more than mild symptoms and are less likely to follow mitigation protocols, they can more easily carry COVID between family groups. Now, schools can help with this by having these students under a tighter vigilance than might happen when they are out in the neighborhood, but there is only so much mask-policing that some teachers can handle. Meanwhile, there are some teachers who ignore mitigation issues almost completely, sometimes almost bragging about their disregard for the seriousness of the situation.
Community members wail and gnash their teeth about restrictions placed on their children, and then unleash their children on relatives due to holiday traditions. This might be the year that Billie best remembers his Christmas present. It's his favorite present because it was the last one his grandmother gave to him before she died. You see, she gave him the toy he wanted, and he gave her COVID.
But some people think that's okay. Billie's grandmother was old and probably would have lived only a few more years anyway. Besides, they don't really hold much value for older people in our society anyway. After all, people die all the time, and they can't stop their normal lifestyles just because some people might die as a direct result of their carefree actions.
The tribe that cast out the two old women discovers that they were wrong to do so and is saved by that realization. I can only hope that our tribe comes to a similar conclusion too. It's not just lives on the line, but our souls.