Embracing the Idea of Critical Thinking During the Covid-19 Pandemic: by Enrico Miguel Thomas
Updated: Jul 31, 2020
I heard somewhere before that writing is a good release. So here I am partaking in the writing of this article. It is going to be about my feelings so far on this Covid -19 roller-coaster! I’m not here to state “facts”. I am only here to write.
If you haven’t heard of Covid-19 or the Corona virus by now you have probably been living under a rock or on another planet!
Clearly there is cause for concern but at what price? What direction is the media really taking us in? Does the media ultimately have our best interests in mind?
These are not easy questions to answer or face but I think it’s worth a try. I know I’m not a doctor or a scientist but I know I am capable of taking all the secular stimulus from the media and putting it through the filter of critical thinking and so is everyone else if they just make an effort.. We all have this ability but we must have the courage to implement it. The celebrity author and journalist Malcolm Gladwall offers an interesting perspective in his book Blink: “There can be as much value in the blink of an eye as in months of rational analysis.” I know there is an instant intuitive something within us all that speaks above and beyond the media, social authority figures and the like. A kind of “gut feeling” that says “something isn’t adding up here.” I must admit that every day our lives are being smothered with mountains of information from the world around us but we have to be strong enough to govern our own minds!
Being subjected to the social mandate of wearing a mask every day is not easy to accept, and the constant propaganda being fiercely distributed by the media outlets is blatantly obvious!
Personally, I have had to fight all my life just for the ability to face the world with the confidence and self-esteem that many people take for granted. Having survived a coma and multiple surgeries from being severely burned by scalding hot water at the age of three, my grandmother used to pull my hands away from my severely scarred face as I tried to hide it. She was trying to nurture my self-esteem even then, and I’m so glad she knew to do that before I was able to have any plastic surgery.
Don’t let your self-esteem and the spirit within you get subliminally slammed and sabotaged by this vigorously promoted mask mandate. Don’t let the mask become something to hide behind or develop into a psychological symbol of not speaking up for what you know to be true. Don’t let it destroy your self-expression!
In this day and age we have access to many different channels of information via YouTube or just through general research on the World Wide Web, from many reputable doctors and thought leaders. While some of these sources may be questionable, it is ultimately up to us to sift through the information and draw our own conclusions. This is a much better alternative than mere blind acceptance!
Create your own platforms through writing, art, music, etc. It doesn’t matter what kind of platform it is, so long as it is used to uplift and serve humanity!
You can find more of Enrico's creative art and writing by following him on Facebook or Instagram!
IG: @emtart
Social Distancing on the subway, watercolor on paper, 22X28 by Enrico Miguel Thomas