‽istis (re)claims world-enabling (weekending March 6th 2021)
This week, ‽istis - with a great sense
of gratitude, privilege and some embarrassment - joins the ranks of
the ‘doubly-dosed’… two jabs of
BNT162B2, a shot in the arm, a shot across the bows of COVID-19.
‽ gratitude for the amazing
work of human hand and brain: researchers, developers, testers, regulators,
deliverers, financiers – a mighty inter-disciplinary, inter-connected web
leading to this point… quite literally,
the point of needle entering an arm.
‽
privilege – of being in a particular place and in a particular job to be
eligible, to fit the criteria for access and enhanced protection and an apparent
reduction in the risk that I might endanger others.
‽ embarrassment:
·
at that same eligibility criteria that brings the needle to my arm
rather than the arm of someone else
·
at the language of ‘world-beating’, of competition and possibly hubristic pride seemingly being harnessed for promotion of country or government
·
at talk of stocks that seem to outstrip population – perhaps at others’
expense, the risk of ‘vaccine nationalism’
·
at the possibility that those who have more will continue to have more –
those who are more usually immune in the world through its ideologies, distribution
of power and resources, its social and political and economic institutions,
organisation and arrangements, in its dominant ‘stories’ of who and how we are
and histories of how we have come to be - will find a way to restore their more
usual immunity, first…
So, as the administering nurse and I reflected this
week, this moment (and again, here is a vital point – approaching a receptive and
welcoming arm) perhaps shows that if we will, we can; that the money can be
found and that it is possibly always a matter of priority; that we have the natural
resources and the human resources of brain and body, of scientific and
regulatory and manufacturing and distributive processes…
And then, maybe, what other diseases and
afflictions could be tackled – for all individuals in mind and body; for all groups
and all communities in the delicately balanced, precious sacredly-webbed interconnected
environment we all share - with pride and gratitude.
© Pistis
NB: further reflections and comments linked to this week’s theme and
past blog
entries to be found on Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily
indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’:
@Pistis_wonders
