And again, over the transom come the fish.... courtesy of Ishmael -- Ed.

Who are you?

If you are coming off of a three day bender and reality is fuzzy, find a wallet and dig until you find a driver's license with the picture that looks somewhat familiar.  After that much booze for that long, the image is a mirror.  Congratulations!  Mystery solved.

For everyone else the question is both more fundamental and abstract.  It is not one that needs an answer every day.  People live, love, work, and revel without a thought towards how actions define them.

This is not a bad thing.  As I stated in a previous guest Ticker, too much introspection and navelgazing leads to stagnation.  In the same way that writing a plan is not the same as executing it, pondering what and why other than as a way to learn lessons for the future is dangerous.  It’s not just a waste of time, it’s that people mistake planning for action.  In reality, nothing has been done.

But since we are moving on to the Thud! phase of the Coof Wars, it’s time for everyone to evaluate how to fight.  As I opined earlier, almost none of us have the option of sitting Thud! out.  The clot shot damage is simply too widespread to avoid.  Whether it’s yours, a loved one, or a coworker, poor health will affect you.  

Many will fight by caring for a sick loved one.  God bless you!

Others will fight by vacationing in place harder, or checking out from the corporate world altogether.

One or two will fight directly Jeremy style.  You’ll hear about these folks on the evening news in shocked tones:  Some doctor's head explodes on the way to his car or a pharmacist's house burns down.  As horrifying as these acts are, these individuals made their death, or the death of someone they loved, very personal. If these things will happen, it will be in the Thud! phase.

Another marker of a new phase are new allies.  This isn’t a purely conscious decision.  The Thud! phase means new stakes. Normally, any battle plan involves a line which once crossed means the fight is on.  This is not the case here.

What are the stakes?  For some it’s life-and-death.  Cancer, cardiovascular, and autoimmune diseases are exploding.  For others, it’s how to financially and emotionally support the sick. Or finding a new job.  And in a few cases, it’s pure revenge.

Here’s a harsh fact about any line in the sand: it’s already been drawn and violated.  The shots have been had, the side effects are evident.  No amount of smug demands for forgiveness mitigate chemo induced nausea. The only decision each person has to make is if they will fight and how.

This is why the question “who are you?” was important enough to repeat multiple times. 

Everybody needs friends and allies.  Since almost no one has the option of sitting Thud! out, there are plenty of people to choose from.  Who they are boils down to two questions: Who am I? and how do I find my own?

Both of these questions are answered with principles. What are your principles? Find people that share your principles.  Each of us needs support, and we must support our own.

How do I find my own?

I watched a debate in the comments on a recent Ticker about fake vaccine cards.  Some people were all for them, anything to stick it to The System.  Others were neutral on it.  A few denounced it as dishonest and scummy.  Some stated a fake vaccine card was a lie and they would not associate with liars.

Everyone who commented stated their principles. They may not have expressed it in such a way, yet anyone reading knew who “their people” were.

The first step is identifying your own principles.  Lying to yourself about what they are makes you a terrible ally and friend for everybody.  There are a wide variety of principles people hold. The point of the rest of this guest Ticker is not how anyone else should live their lives, the examples illustrate how principles guide behaviors.

Let’s take a hypothetical person who made a fake vaccine card.  While we can never know what is in an individual’s heart, from the outside we can infer a few things about their principles: survival, comfort, and freedom are three possible values they live their lives by.

Contrast with someone who opposed fake vaccine cards:  honesty, justice, and integrity might be some of their core principles.

As I stated before, this guest Ticker is not admonishing one side or the other.  It’s simply illustrating that people’s principles can conflict or align.

Who are you?

Find your people, you will need each other in the coming decade.