There are two little words running around in my head these days that could stand a bit of exploration!
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They are Fact and Fiction.
The Oxford dictionary describes fact as "an item of verified information", while it defines fiction as "counterfeit or false".
The appalling demonstration in Sydney last weekend when several thousand people marched in a public demonstration against the current lockdown restrictions without any regard for wearing their masks or respecting social distancing could be a classic example of both fact and fiction.
The fact is that all these people chose to demonstrate illegally and turned up in their thousands and are now facing penalties for their breach.
Whether or not they have further spread the virus remains to be seen, or how widespread the infection might be.
The fiction is the misinformation or lack of understanding of the reasons behind the lockdown, and the dangers of further spreading of the virus.
Nobody is actually enjoying the lockdown, or the need to wear a mask if we have to go out, but even a tiny bit of commonsense would indicate that obedience is for the greater good.
- Sister Mary Trainor
If I want information on a particular issue, it is essential that I would approach someone skilled and professional in that field to seek advice.
If I need a plumber, then it is not sensible to call an electrician or a painter or a sculptor. Likewise, if I have a medical problem, I need to choose the appropriate specialist in that field.
An ophthalmologist would not be appropriate if I didn't have an eye problem!
In the field of the corona virus there are professional epidemiologists, researchers, pharmacologists and other scientific professionals who are struggling to overcome this pandemic in the best possible way.
The information they are providing is fact, not fiction.
Anything else would naturally fall into the fiction basket, and should not be taken seriously.
Nobody is actually enjoying the lockdown, or the need to wear a mask if we have to go out, but even a tiny bit of commonsense would indicate that obedience is for the greater good.
In another entirely different field we have the facts and fictions being spread about climate change and the steps we need to take to look after our environment.
The Great Barrier Reef is part of our Australian national heritage, and is currently deteriorating and in need of attention which seems to be slow in coming.
We don't own our environment, but each of us has a duty to treat it respectfully and sensibly to ensure that it isn't contaminated or harmed by our behavior.
This includes proper disposal of our waste, recycling, careful usage of electricity and other heating sources.
As a final note about fact and fiction, I am reminded of the Apostle Thomas who was absent when the risen Jesus appeared to the other disciples, and who vehemently refused to accept their testimony that Jesus had risen from the dead.
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He would only believe if he could put his fingers in the holes in his hands, and his side. A few days later Jesus appeared again to the disciples and Thomas was present.
When Jesus invited him to touch the wound sites, Thomas was immediately converted.
Maybe a conversion is under way for the sceptics about the virus and its needs.
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