Social Distancing

Nov. 25, 2021

I awoke early this morning like I do most mornings. It’s the perfect time to collect your thoughts, to ponder, to meditate, to write. Today, in particular, is Thanksgiving Day. A day when we normally spend time with our family and friends. It is a time to socialize and rekindle relationships. But that’s not what we are being asked to do this year. Many politicians and government officials are telling us to stay home, or even worse, they are forcing certain segments of the population into isolation. This got me thinking about the importance of how we communicate with each other and what messages we allow into our space. At the beginning of 2020, the entire world was conditioned by a very specific phrase: Social Distancing. Let’s take a look at the impact this word device has had on us today.

The term “social distancing” wasn’t new in 2020. The phrase actually has quite a bit of history. To me, it just sounded off. It didn’t resonate with me. It was like someone forgot to put the salt in your favorite homemade bread recipe. It put a bad taste in my mouth. But after hearing those words over and over again, society began to champion the idea.

This phrase was not chosen by accident, it was used intentionally to create a divide within our society. There is nothing “social” about social distancing. We told our old and aging population that they couldn’t hug their grandchildren and loved ones. We told teenagers they couldn’t be with their friends. What we all needed was more social interaction during that time, not less. Due to a virus that was created in a lab and the fear promoted by the media, a monster was created. So how did we get here?

  1. One of the first known uses of the phrase in English was written in a memoir by a friend of Napoleon, who talked about how he experienced space in his friendship with Napoleon as Napoleon began to conquer more places. Then it’s used a lot as a euphemism for class in 19th-century British newspapers and as a euphemism for race in 19th century U.S. newspapers.

  2. In the 1920s, the Social Distance Scale [which measures prejudice by asking participants to describe how comfortable they feel interacting with people of another race] becomes a social science tool, a reductive attempt to slice the world into ethnic groups, and it’s still in use. (TIME magazine)

  3. The phrase "social distancing" gets picked up during the AIDS crisis, when it’s used colloquially to describe misguided fears of contagion. It’s not until 2004 that the CDC picks it up to talk about airborne illness and SARS.

  4. From a 2007 study conducted by the Human Communication Research Center: "As social distance increases, information will be represented in more abstract, schematic, and decontextualized terms. On the other hand, as social distance decreases, information will be represented in more concrete, detailed, and contextualized terms." In one experiment they concluded that we would willingly call for (and accept) broad healthcare mandates for the general "distant" population, but if asked whether a friend or close acquaintance should take such measures, we were much less likely to accept or promote such ideas. With greater social distance comes a lack of empathy and awareness.

  5. In the year 2011 the film Contagion was released. I don’t think you could have painted a better picture of how the media would portray a viral outbreak in the future. In one clip the director of the CDC is being interviewed by a news anchor. He’s asked about a certain drug that may help stop the spread and the director says the best thing to do is “social distance, no handshaking, and staying home when you are sick, washing your hands frequently.” As an interesting side note, the actor playing the new anchor in this film is Dr. Sanjay Gupta and he works as a “medical expert” for CNN. He’s one of the many talking heads telling us to social distance today.

In the year 2020, the term began to take on a whole new meaning. It became one of Collins Dictionary's top 10 words. I found it interesting that even the definition evolved over time. This first definition shown below is what was used at the beginning of 2020. The second definition can be found today.

  1. social distancing (noun): the practice of maintaining a certain distance between oneself and other people in order to prevent infection with a disease. Also called: physical distancing > social distance or socially distance (verb).

  2. Social distancing is a set of measures aimed at stopping the spread of an infectious disease, based on staying away from other people as much as possible. It includes things like working from home, only going out to buy food and other essentials, and avoiding contact with other people.

Another very important aspect to consider is the effect social distancing is having on the younger generation. The statistical probability of a person younger than 18 dying from the virus is nearly ZERO. You heard that right. They have almost no chance of dying, yet we are damaging their overall emotional health and wellbeing. In 2019, before COVID-19, a Pew Research survey found 20% of teens struggled with mental health. But a study of 1,500 teenagers conducted in May 2020 by the National 4-H Council saw a significantly higher number. They found that 7 out of 10 teens were struggling with their mental health in some way.

55% said they'd experienced anxiety

45% said they felt excess stress

43% said they'd struggled with depression

We are effectively reducing our ability to genuinely empathize with others. And we are willing to accept broad sweeping policies and mandates for the general public. What types of policies could the government and media possibly want to push on the American public? The majority of world leaders parroted the phrase “we won’t mandate this vaccine.” And today, nearly every one of them is attempting to mandate the shot. They are liars. They have an agenda.

Remember that 2007 Human Communication Research study cited previously? In one of the experiments, they concluded that we would willingly call for (and accept) broad healthcare mandates for the general "distant" population, but if asked whether a friend or close acquaintance should take such measures, we were much less likely to accept or promote such ideas. Social distancing conditions us to accept broad sweeping mandates on a global scale. That alone should place government attempts at forcing experimental vaccine mandate into a whole new perspective. Toward the end of 2021 and the first part of 2022, various mandates will be put in place for our healthcare workers and military. Many of them are walking away from lifelong careers, including a good friend of mine who has dedicated 18 years caring for others as a nurse. Talk about a blow to our national security. Wicked people are weakening our nation from within.

I believe that these people in positions of power are very aware of what they are doing. Social distancing and isolation are nothing new. They have been studied extensively. Isolation in particular is one of the best ways to break a person mentally. Biderman’s Chart of Coercion was a tool designed to demonstrate and explain the coercive methods of stress manipulation used to torture prisoners of war. It has been applied to explain the coercive techniques used by perpetrators of domestic abuse. Isolation is the top item on the list. Every single technique outlined by Biderman is being forced upon us, we are being abused by evil people. Here’s the full list of coercive techniques:

Biderman’s Chart of Coercion

Isolation

Deprives victim of all social support of their ability to resist. Develops an intense concern with self (this could be home environment) Makes victim dependent. Variants: Complete solitary confinement Complete or partial isolation Group Isolation

Monopolisation of Perception

Fixes attention upon immediate predicament. Eliminates information not in compliance with demands. Punishes independence and /or resistance. Variants: Physical isolation. Darkness or bright light. Restricted movement. Monotonous food.

Humiliation and Degradation

Makes resistance more ‘costly’ than compliance. ‘Animal Level’ concerns. Variants: Personal hygiene prevented. Demeaning Punishments. Insults and taunts. Denial of privacy.

Exhaustion

Weakens mental and physical ability to resist. Variants: Semi-Starvation. Sleep deprivation. Prolonged interrogation. Overexertion.

Threats

Creates anxiety and despair. Outlines cost of non-compliance. Variants: Threats to kill. Threats of abandonment/nonreturn. Threats against family. Vague threats. Mysterious changes of treatment.

Occasional indulgences

Positive motivation for compliance. Hinders adjustment to deprivation. Variants: Occasional favors. Rewards for partial compliance. Promises.

Demonstrating Omnipotence

Suggests futility of resistance. Variants: Confrontation. Showing complete control over victim’s face.

Forcing Trivial Demands

Develops habit of compliance. Variant: Enforcement of ‘rules’.

So how are we doing with that list? Any of those techniques sound familiar? Using one technique is bad enough. What does it say about the situation we find ourselves in today where ALL of them are being used to manipulate and abuse us? Here is a great video from Dana Ashlie describing the coercion techniques and Biderman’s chart:

Now I get it, there are reasons when we should keep our distance from other people. If you are hacking up a lung you probably shouldn’t be hanging out with people. I hope that piece of advice isn’t news to you. I also know that if you google “social distancing” that you’ll find mountains of articles on the benefits and need for social distance to save the world. The thing we need to keep in mind is the bigger picture. Many of these politicians and talking heads who are asking you and me to follow the mandates aren’t doing it themselves. They know that these are coercion techniques, they are aware of what they are doing and they are profiting from it. One interesting tidbit, the US government co-owns the patent on the Moderna vaccine. Yes, you heard that right. That’s like letting the fox guard the henhouse. They are profiting from the mandates. Does anyone smell a conflict of interest here? Something stinks!

This probably wasn’t the happy and joyful message that you probably wanted to hear on Thanksgiving day. But in a way, it’s good for us to awaken to the awful situation we find ourselves in. By learning the tactics of the adversary we are better able to mount a defense, maybe even go on the offensive. By becoming familiar with the tools used by evil and conspiring people we can approach the world without fear, but full of faith. I invite you to find ways to socially connect with the people around you, to fill their lives with hope and gratitude, to truly love one another.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Shalom

Disclaimer: Only a small portion of my thoughts and feelings are contained within this essay. It is nearly impossible to condense a lifetime of study, thoughts, and impressions, into a few paragraphs. I value and encourage the need for altering perspective as new light and knowledge is acquired. One of the best ways to know a person’s heart is to sit down and talk face-to-face, perhaps while consuming a mild barley drink.