The Purpose of Ritual is Ritual
I entered a very secure building in Los Angeles today, and passed through a series of Covid screening stations to make sure I didn’t carry the virus inside. At the final station, a pair of security guards were handing out health screening forms, and directed the stream of visitors to copy down the body temperature number they would assess and announce as we filled out the forms. So as I filled out my form, surrounded by other people doing the same, a security guard walked around and pointed a digital thermometer at our foreheads, calling out our temperatures as he got each reading — to ensure that our forms were properly completed, with an accurate and up-to-date body temperature. It went like this:
Beeeep, “91.6!”
Beeeep, “91.8!”
Beeeep, “91.3!”
Beeeep, “92.3!”
Beeeep, “91.1!”
Then we all updated our forms with our body temperatures, and — having taken care to correctly assess our health with an accurate, up-to-the-minute screening — safely entered the building.
Sort of like how we take our shoes off at airports because they might be bombs, and have to give up our water bottles because they might be bombs, which then get thrown in a bin with all the other possible bombs because keeping a bin full of explosives right next to the security line is how you handle suspected bombs.
This could all be hilarious if it wasn’t so horrifying. I lived in the 3rd world for a few years and saw jungle justice up close so I’ve feared and loathed the detachment from reason because of what it portends, but this prolonged detour through clowntown is something else.