11th August 2020
A lockdown is a requirement for people to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks to themselves or to others if they can move freely. The term “stay-at-home” or “shelter-in-place” is often used for lockdowns that affect an area, rather than specific locations.
The term is used for a prison protocol that usually prevents people, information or objects from leaving an area. The protocol can usually only be initiated by someone in a position of authority. From Wikipedia. Other quotes from this source unless otherwise stated.
Let’s try an old-fashioned thing called an encyclopaedia, say Chambers edition copyright 1959 (just before I was born) and inherited from my grandfather.
Nope, nothing. However, there’s a Locke as in John Locke (1632-1704). I have now read about him. Idiot. No, not him, me. Why didn’t I read about him before? Too busy I suppose. Looks like I shall have much to catch up on.
Anyway, no ‘lockdown’. 15 volumes, say 800 pages average. That’s 12,000 pages. Very comprehensive, but probably under half the size of the Encyclopaedia Britannica in its last printed version.
Still, if lockdown was a ‘thing’ then it should have been mentioned. It doesn’t have quarantine either. The 8 volume Harmsworth encyclopaedia (also inherited from my grandfather) doesn’t have ‘lockdown’ either, but does have ‘quarantine’.
As far as I can tell, the volumes date from 1914, at least when grandfather had them (pencil note). And it indicates that quarantine was something you did with ships and ‘the plague’. Not something to do on land, at least in the UK at that time it seems.
However, we know about the self-imposed quarantine in the village of Eyam, Derbyshire in 1665. This followed on from the plague in London where it seems a local quarantine was imposed ‘whereby any house where someone had died from plague would be locked up and no one allowed to enter or leave for 40 days.’
It goes on to say ‘This frequently led to the deaths of the other inhabitants, by neglect if not from the plague, and provided ample incentive not to report the disease.’
I’m not surprised it led to the deaths of the other inhabitants. Shut in doors, no fresh air, no sunlight to give vitamin D. Not that the outside was much better with instructions to keep house fires burning and bonfires in the streets – think of all that smoke. I don’t mind the aroma of a good bonfire but not day and night – how did they sleep?
And bear in mind poor/nonexistent sanitation. Tip your potty out the window. Yuck!
How about this? ‘Instructions were given to build pest-houses, which were essentially isolation hospitals built away from other people where the sick could be cared for (or stay until they died).’ Remind you of care homes in lockdown? All those excess deaths?
But what about the lockdown in the UK over Covid19? People want to blame the government. But where did you get your information from? Hands up all those who have checked the gov.uk website. Anybody?
Well, I have both my hands up. One for the GUIDANCE, the other for the Coronavirus Act 2020. See G is for…..Guidance for more detail (but check gov.uk first I suggest).
The guidance is good for a laugh; the Coronavirus Act is good for nothing, unless you like headaches or wish to go to sleep. I wonder if anybody read it at all. Certainly not the MPs. No time to do so. Rushed through Parliament. Too many MPs might have questioned the rubbish (hopefully).
So, you blame the government, do you? I think you relied on what the newspapers told you, or maybe your employer. But you didn’t think ‘This makes no sense, I’ll double check’ did you?
It wasn’t the government that locked you down, it was your selves. You are to blame. Ok, so maybe the government is being disingenuous, but they might well have expected more than just me to check. I just don’t know if anyone else has checked, you see. Up here on my Cloud, it doesn’t look like it, but you never know. Tell me if you did.
I think Boris Johnson doesn’t look very well, but that might be his disbelief that people could be so thick. Make anybody sick, that would. Or perhaps he hasn’t read the blurb either and is just worried. And exhausted from pushing Brexit through against idiot remoaners.
So, if you want to be free from lockdown just do the usual things that common-sense dictates.
I have said before to people there are two principal guides to life.
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (which ultimately means listen to him and thank him in everything. And give him a hug, he likes hugs).
2. Love your neighbour as yourself. (do to others as you would have them do to you)
And as long as you don’t do anything out of selfish ambition, you should be fine. But you do need to be free to do that.
So as ever, I point to Jesus Christ, who said the truth will set you free.
P.S. If you need a song to vent your feelings on lockdown try the following link
If you want something funny try Breaking News: Second Lockdown
Or if you want to know about Covid 19 Covid 19 Summary
Or, as there are upsides to lockdowns as well as downsides
The Tree of Life 