Last week, CNN finally admitted what we all knew 2 years ago...

"People who are overweight or obese are at a much higher risk of much more severe disease and even death from Covid-19 -- and one new study suggests losing weight can reduce that risk."

One my friends shared this post on Instagram and included:

"63% of hospitalizations for Covid-19 in the United States could have been prevented if we had a metabolically healthy population, and obesity alone was responsible for 30% of excess hospitalizations."

I jokingly DM'd him:

"No, no, no this is too much misinformation lol"

He replied:

"It is a reputable scholarly article by the American Heart Association. Feel free to unfollow me if it bugs you."

Long story short, my friend had an autoresponder on because SO MANY people were DM'ing him calling him hateful, bigoted, and fatphobic.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing...

... has the world completely lost its mind!?!?

Our conversation made me realize something;

Yes, there are still rational, free thinking people out there, but most don't feel confident enough to express their ideas and opinions openly in today's political climate.

• Many have self-censored themselves
• Others are hanging out somewhere else

After talking to my friend, one other thing became clear to me. Lockdowns, social distancing, and going virtual for everything cannot be good for our society in the long-term.

Shoot, we're already seeing the negative effects of it after just 2 years...

Humans are social creatures, so denying ourselves of the basic need to congregate and meet offline must be hurting us as a whole.

In the past, engaging with one's community was the default, but now, doing so virtually has become the new normal.

For that reason, Americans have to be more intentional than ever before to maintain their social skills amidst a world that's increasing set on destroying all forms of interaction.

(Maybe this is the real point of the lockdowns, but that's a rabbit hole for another time lol)

In a world flooded with social media, 24/7 news, and biased narratives, Americans need to be proactive in maintaining their sense of reality.

Community is the solution for that.

How are you factoring "community" into your schedule?

-Beavs