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Additional Corona Thoughts

Just a few additional calming thoughts on the corona scare again. I’m not superstitious but am making an attempt to keep things in perspective and still be fully realistic on this Friday the 13th. Here goes… To be honest, I have a general distrust of most info coming out of major national news channels, simply because of their reputation for partial truths, propaganda, and partisan partiality. I’m not necessarily a Trump supporter, but neither do I approve of our largely liberal news media and am quite skeptical that this “pandemic” isn’t overwrought purely for political purposes. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time politics manufactured or embellished an event to sway public opinion. Part of the reason I feel this way is because the majority of information being put out there comes from major news channels, as well as the CDC and WHO. In most cases, balanced perspective or truth is not found at the center of the issue, but is at the fringes or edges, away from the center of attention.Everyone is talking about it being highly contagious, and that may be true, but contagion is 100% predicated on the germ theory, which prevails in modern medicine. However, what we haven’t been taught is that there is always a terrain in which germs thrive or die. This was first promoted in 19th century France. Louis Pasteur (inventor of pasteurization) advocated the notion of germs as the cause of disease, while another French scientist named Antoine Bechamp promoted a conflicting theory known as the “cellular theory” or “terrain theory” of disease. Bechamp’s argument was that these germs that Pasteur was so terrified of were opportunistic in nature. This caused quite a controversy, and the two men were bitter foes.To prevent illness, Bechamp advocated not the killing of germs but the cultivation of health through diet, hygiene, and healthy lifestyle practices such as fresh air, exercise, adequate hydration, a good diet, etc. The idea is that if the person has a strong immune system and good tissue quality (or “terrain” as Bechamp called it), the germs will not manifest in the person, and they will have good health. It is only when their health starts to decline (due to personal neglect and poor lifestyle choices) that they become victim to infections.To treat illness, Bechamp’s cellular theory also applied. Bechamp was less concerned with killing the infection and focused more on restoring the health of the patient’s body through healthy lifestyle choices and proper immune support. Bechamp saw the infection as a footnote to the state of illness and not the primary cause. As the person restored health through diet, hygiene, and detoxification the infection went away on its own–without needing measures to kill it.Pasteur and Bechamp had a long and often bitter rivalry regarding who was right about the true cause of illness. Ultimately Pasteur’s ideas were accepted by society and Bechamp was pretty much forgotten. The practice of Western medicine is based on Pasteur’s germ phobia which gives rise to the use of vaccinations, antibiotics, and other anti-microbials.The irony is that towards the end of his life, Pasteur renounced the germ theory and admitted that Bechamp was right all along. History has it that his last words on his death bed were “The microbe is nothing, the terrain is everything.” In the 1920’s medical historians also discovered that most of Pasteur’s theories were plagiarized from Bechamp’s early research work.I unashamedly embrace the terrain theory, although most of western society has been taught to believe the germ theory. I have seen too many examples both as a caretaker of animals and an observer of human health to second guess it. In observing the animals in my care I have often noticed afflictions in one individual when the majority are free of it. This is due to terrain. The one had weaknesses that allowed opportunistic disease to proliferate. Germs are everywhere and even exist inside of us in a symbiotic relationship. Like Bechamp noticed in his research, it is only when the tissue of the host becomes damaged or compromised that these germs begin to manifest as a prevailing symptom (not cause) of disease.Because of my beliefs in the terrain, I doubt the belief that no natural immunity exists. Sure, it’s supposedly a new virus, but have the thousands who recovered all been hospitalized and on antibiotics? Doubtfully. Corona is, yes, believed to be highly contagious, but the media and modern medicine–due to adherence to the germ theory–regard everyone as susceptible with no regard to the human immune system’s ability to ward off illness, yes, even new strains. The dire prediction of hospitals overflowing and medical professionals having to make the decision of who gets oxygen and who dies is all based on the theory that everyone who comes in contact with the virus will succumb to it. In the mid-90’s when the UK eradicated thousands of cows and sheep due to mad cow disease, it too, was said to have no natural immunity. However, not all farm animals contracted the disease. In fact, Newman Turner–a farmer who strongly adhered to natural farming and animal husbandry practices–invited the government to expose his cows to the disease. He wanted to prove that immunity existed, and that the disease was due to poor animal husbandry practices. Of course they refused, but he felt sure–as do I–that lack of immunity is a physical health (terrain) issue rather than a new germ strain.I realize the terrain in many Americans is likely compromised due to poor diet and lifestyle choices, but this is why I am passionate about advising people to not panic. When in a panic people don’t think clearly, and there are measures–many measures–we can take to strengthen our immune systems and protect ourselves. For example, numerous reports are swirling around of things as simple as high doses of Vitamin C and Elberberry juice knock out coronavirus. But as always, folks are already pointing fingers at our president and his administration because of the way they handle things. It seems to be the American way now, regardless of what comes and how it’s handled, there will always be people who bash the current administration for not “saving” us. This is salvation-by-legislation thinking, and it causes us to increasingly lose our freedoms because we look to government to “save” us. If coronavirus comes anywhere close to being the pandemic it’s predicted to be, be assured, we’ll see more regulation become mandatory in the name of healthcare, national security, food safety, etc. Being of libertarian inclination, that bothers me.With all this being said, we still don’t know if corona is the threat it’s forecast to be. And that’s where the fear and paranoia comes in, in not knowing. This is why society is practically going crazy, because the media panders it up hour by hour, minute by minute, and no one knows how bad it will be. Plus, there is so little actual information available on real-life cases or to what extent the patients suffer. The news has little to say of the 68,000 who recovered from the virus, which again, gives me reason to think it’s played up for a larger agenda. If Americans were given a balanced perspective on recovery rates, real-life patient experiences, how many hospitalizations occurred, and how it feels when one contracts the virus, the public reaction would likely be much more sane. But as it is, most of what we hear and see in the news is based on rising confirmed cases and number of deaths, mixed in with global numbers (for effect), and in general, gloom and doom, and we gullible Americans suck it up. This results in widespread fear and panic, which I suspect is the intent of the “larger agenda” behind this. Perhaps I have too dour an attitude toward mainstream media and our government, but for what it’s worth, it’s The View from the Country. Quote Worth Re-Quoting –“I have yet to see a piece of writing, political or non-political, that does not have a slant. All writing slants the way a writer leans, and no man is born perpendicular.”  ~ E. B. White

Coronavirus - from a calm perspective

News, around the world, has been focused on the latest coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.   Therefore, amid the fear and frenzy, let’s look at a different perspective.   Although serious in nature, I think we can agree the mainstream media has blown this thing way out of proportion.   Unfortunately, the reason for some of this seems to be political in nature. Although I do not claim to know what it is, I don’t doubt the existence of a political agenda given the feverish frenzy the media applies to the subject.It looks as though new cases of COVID-19 have peaked in China and are now decreasing—following the classic bell curve.   Recoveries continue to increase.   The same thing will eventually take place in other parts of the world.   COVID-19, like all flu bugs, likes cold weather.   Therefore, as the weather warms up in the northern hemisphere, we should see fewer and fewer new cases.Isn’t it amazing what society chooses to panic about?  We don’t panic about 50,000 people being killed by drunk drivers.  We don’t panic about parents still feeding their kids Lucky Charms and Cheerios even in the face of rising diabetes.  We’re not overly concerned about 56,000 people dying from the influenza or flu-like illness every year. We don’t feel at risk because approximately 23,000 Americans die from antibiotic resistant infections annually.Interestingly, all the experts are scrambling for a vaccine to solve it.  Why don’t we have a national effort to boost everyone’s immune system?  This might be a good time to start such a campaign..In this panic, every other person on the planet becomes an enemy. That’s a shame and has dire consequences.  I suggest that rather than fearing every other person on the planet, canceling fellowship, and huddling in hermit life until a vaccine is discovered, how about we commit ourselves as a society to eat healthy and opt for a lower stress lifestyle, so we have a collectively better immune system?  How about being intentional in how we eat, recreate, entertain, and meditate? What we ponder certainly influences our outlook on life.In the big scheme of things to fear, coronavirus doesn’t have the numbers to scare.  The effect is completely disproportional to the actual numbers.  But when the media whips people into a frenzy with minute-by-minute paranoia pandering, people go wonky.  Perhaps the best cure for the coronavirus is to shut off the news.To be honest, the fear and panic portrayed by the populace–as well as by public institutions who shut down activities, classes, etc.–is perhaps of greater concern than the virus itself. To me, the most sensible advice of the day is to CALM DOWN and look at the situation realistically. Yes, the virus is highly contagious, but as of now there are only two confirmed cases in the state of Pennsylvania. Plus, even Google puts the virus in perspective with its statement of; Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is characterized by mild symptoms including a runny nose, sore throat, cough, and fever. Illness can be more severe for some people and can lead to pneumonia or breathing difficulties. More rarely, the disease can be fatal. Older people, and people with other medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), may be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill.  How does this differ from common influenza? And that’s the View from the Country.P.S. Portions of this post were adapted by permission from Joel Salatin’s blog The Lunatic Farmer. Click here to read his latest post on the Coronavirus phenomenon. Be assured, it’s balanced, outside-the-box, and worth reading. Quote Worth Re-Quoting –“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.”  ~Thomas Edison