Posted on 04/01/2020 10:52:21 AM PDT by Kaslin
Several months ago, before anyone imagined the current crisis, I read a book called "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl.
Frankl was a Jewish Viennese psychiatrist who was captured by the Nazis during World War II and managed to survive four concentration camps including the infamous Auschwitz and Dachau.
He went through the ordeal observing human behavior, and the result was his formulation of a system of therapy he called logotherapy.
Frankl found that those who were most successful, surviving under the most challenging circumstances, were those who retained a sense of meaning in their lives. That is, the real challenge that every person faces is not what's happening outside of themselves but what's happening inside.
In Frankl's own words: "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
He continued: "Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness."
With all our talk about freedom, somehow its essence has gotten lost: human beings taking responsibility for their own life and the world around them. Human beings are causes, not results. They are free agents, not victims.
I can't think of a more important message as we face these great challenges today as a nation and as individuals.
The whole idea of America was, and hopefully still is, freedom, which means America must be about individuals taking responsibility.
The country now faces two huge areas of uncertainty and lack of clarity.
One is regarding the nature of the health threat we are dealing with. I am still reading different opinions from knowledgeable sources about how lethal this virus is and the best way to stop it without totally shutting down and destroying our economy.
Second, we're suffering great absence of clarity in government regarding who is responsible for what.
Times of uncertainty are times, in the spirit of Viktor Frankl, for individuals to step up and take responsibility.
But, unfortunately, we're getting the opposite.
It's obscene that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who held up the emergency stimulus bill to insert left-wing nonsense, accused President Donald Trump of fiddling while "people are dying."
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer complained to the press, "We're not getting what we need from the federal government."
But this isn't new. Back in February, Whitmer delivered the Democrats' response to President Trump's State of the Union address and went on for her full 10 minutes about the federal government not doing enough.
She touted her efforts to expand health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, meaning more bureaucratization of our hospitals and health care delivery, and creation of government health care incapable of flexibility to changing market realities, let alone dealing with a crisis.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is taking deserved heat for his delayed action in response to the crisis in his city. Weeks ago, he was on television talking about how this crisis could only be addressed by the federal government.
This is all the result of generations degrading the clear constitutional lines between the federal government and the states, resulting in massive growth of the welfare state.
But while Democratic governors and mayors and Speaker Pelosi use valuable time looking for who to blame, America's private business is already churning to develop better and faster testing procedures, and soon we'll see a drug to eradicate COVID-19.
Small and large businesses are deploying resources in new and creative ways that will pay great dividends when we emerge from this crisis.
Challenges are met by free, responsible people stepping into the void: exactly what Viktor Frankl was talking about.
I’ll never forget the movie they made from Winds of War. A couple of old guys telling jokes and laughing. At Auschwitz. Incredible.
i’m SICK of this!!
On Easter, sick and elderly stay home and we will be extra careful when we come to see you or home to you.
At this point, be on the lookout for a black dodge challenger in a high speed police chase on route 80W heading to PA from staten island!!
I’m going to drive through the front of Mount Airy casino and spin the roulette wheel myself!!
It will be a race to the bitter end!!
Or until my the gas runs out.
Disclaimer: This is all in jest. The opposite is actually happening. Pretty soon I wont know where the front door is anymore.
Though I did get to pick up 4 medications for my 88 year old aunt yesterday at CVS. it was GREAT!!! :)
I remember working in Rockefeller Plaza in the early 2000s and the intercom came on and we were told that anthrax had been distributed throughout the vents.
It was said so BADLY an we weren’t in remotely as much danger as the person made it sound.
But I REALLY did think I would be dead in minutes.
The stomach sank, I called my girlfriend at the time and told her I loved her and then went to the vending machine and got sodas and candy for the department.
We couldn’t leave in case anyone was wondering why I didnt run for the exits!
I don’t even know why I get the candy and soda.
I guess one last little party.
Afterwards, many got that Cipro, I think it was but i passed. I realized hours and hour later it was way overblown.
Life is a funny thing.
bump
“But while Democratic governors and mayors and Speaker Pelosi use valuable time looking for who to blame, America’s private business is already churning to develop better and faster testing procedures, and soon we’ll see a drug to eradicate COVID-19.”
What’s quoted is so true and so is the insight from the death camp survivor, keep your inner positive attitude to get through tough times.
Trust me. The Army took it very seriously. I still remember my Anthrax vaccination.
A number of us were pulled aside for a large meeting TODAY, got a briefing, anyone who wanted to refuse was offered an opportunity. Then they had us line up. A bunch of us.
I remember you guys getting the shots.
I took it seriously that day!!
Did the vaccine really have any ill effects on the guys later on?
...and the thing is, the vaccine just let’s you take care of patients. It is NO protection against inhalation.
WE ceased being a ‘free’ people a long time ago. We haven’t quite made it to a ‘gulag’ state but not for lack of many trying to make it so here in the land of the ‘free’ and the home of the brave.. and naive.
Great...
I don’t think it did me personally. I’m sure some freepers would say it obviously made me retarded. It did cause some very serious vestibulocochlear inflammation with nasty sequelae for some, a few got a sort of auto immune meningitis IIRC. You were told you had to keep the site sterile and COVERED for 3 days because you could potentially transmit the nasty bug to someone who was immunodeficiency and for them it could be sort of like the disease IIRC because it wasn’t really a “shot” it was more like the ancient “cow pox” vaccinations.
Good Lord!!
Line up for what exactly? What were you offered? What was it you could refuse?
That’s a rather cryptic post.
We were told, “You don’t have to.” I don’t recall anyone refusing and I think I would. I remember one woman started to and then changed her mind.
The vaccine for Anthrax. We were told we were “volunteering”.
You’ve never heard of “Army Volunteer”? LOL
Interesting factoid? In WWI the fashion of men was to wear copious, heavily styled facial hair. When the gas attacks started they discovered that the facial hair interfered with the seal of the mask (which is why Hitler had a mustache, incidentally) so the US and British Army immediately issued straight razors and brushes of the finest Boar’s hair. Unfortunately. The Boar’s hair got contaminated with Anthrax spores and as soon as the troops started shaving they began dying from some “German Secret Weapon”. There was an honest to God panic until IIRC a Vet recognized the disease for what it was and everybody had to turn in their brushes. Put an end to the “epidemic”.
Good Grief!!
Truth is more strange than fiction in MANY cases.
Hey you have some good stories to help some of us here from completely and utterly losing our minds forever! :)
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