Values
What do you value?
Do you value wealth? Do you worry about your privacy? Do you yearn for respect?
What about your health?
2020 and 2021 have been such trying years. People are now questioning their values. While being driven to either be successful or wealthy, health has become a primary concern. Historically, the United States has never had a social healthcare system, costing citizens and residents so much money. With a sweeping pandemic which over half a million deaths, our priorities have shifted.
Value is the worth of something. What is the value of your life? We question what our meaning or value is in living. The keyword is "living." When survival is at stake, humans readjust to ensure the survival of loved ones and themselves. Once that is secured, an elevated purpose becomes a priority. An example is, finding happiness or thriving in life opposed to just getting by. Ironically, when there is a change in the "normal" life, people's values begin to shift to extremes.
Whether you think Covid-19 is real, vaccination is the solution, or wearing a mask is a conspiracy, facts and evidence cannot be ignored. Your belief system does not change the staggering statistics of those infected or the lives that have been lost. I understand many fall into a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories because it can be reassuring. These theories create a compelling story that reaffirm individuals' own beliefs. The idea there is a scheme that aligns with people's own agendas and beliefs entertains an epic tale that revolves ourselves. Because someone is "woke" or follows these theories' breadcrumbs, it makes you the center of the movement. "People are sheeps" is an often used term that identifies that "I can think for myself, and you cannot fool me."
Karen Douglas, a professor of social psychology in the United Kingdom, mentions:
"It's linked to the idea of need for uniqueness, as well. That's another, I guess, narcissistic notion that you have. You're in possession of information that other people don't have. You're different to other people, and it makes you stand apart. But yes, narcissism at an individual level has been associated in quite a few studies now with belief in conspiracy theories." -Speaking of Psychology - Conspiracy Theories
Because there is a culture of wanting to be the unique protagonist in our own story, we can fall victim to our own narcissism. Information can also be valuable. If we discover information through these loops of theories we value the information as unique, thus adding value to our own knowledge. It is not until facts and evidence are revealed where conspiracies can be dissolved from someone's beliefs.
I believe with proof that COVID-19 is accurate and as concerning as we have been lead to believe. The reason is because of the truth in the evidence. Adding to my belief system is because I have experienced it. Someone close to me has been identified to have COVID-19. Witnessing the symptoms and data of this pandemic adds personal value to the narrative. I am more sensitive to "non-believers" and "naysayers" because of my own experience with my mental state. It is not confirmed until you see it with your own eyes, and if you deny that, you are blind to reality.
