Once there was the brilliant TV detective, Columbo. He was a haggard, unkempt cigar-smoking, schlub dressed in an ill-fitting, stained trench coat. He was quirky, and a bit unsanitary, but he always solved the case.
His more modern counterpart, the brilliant TV detective Monk, is a meticulous, obsessive-compulsive, germophobe with perfectly-tailored, absolutely appropriate business-casual attire who has an assistant to ensure a ready availability of disinfectant wipes. He was quirky, squeaky-clean, and he always solved the case.
We have come a long way from yesteryear, haven’t we? But is it progress? Do we really need disinfectant wipes when we walk in a store? Do we need a 10-step program to disinfect our groceries when we unpack them at home? On the contrary, a healthy immune system has gotten humans this far without disinfectants. And the immune system needs to be challenged in order to stay fit.
Besides, disinfectant wipes and sprays have toxic chemicals. According to “FDA Hand Sanitizer Recall Over Methanol Poisoning Fears” over 100 brands of hand sanitizer have been recalled for having toxic levels of methanol.
Why is it that our immune systems are suddenly not enough and we need toxic chemicals to assist them? Is it possible that TV programming has actually programmed us to become germaphobes?
They do call it TV programming, don’t they? Are they programming you?
Is it possible that your mind has been prepared by TV programming, perhaps for decades, so that you could be programmed to fear germs?
Is it possible that your fear of germs is making you easily controllable and that is why you are wearing a mask and social distancing?
Watch this clip of George Carlin riffing on our germophobia. He begins by saying that “Americans are always willing to trade away a little of their freedom for the feeling, the illusion, of security …”:
Then, tell me how did we get where we are today if it isn’t from programming?
Further Reading:
Which Hand Sanitizers Are Being Recalled? 115 Products Are on the FDA’s List