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I am pretty sure you are, like I am, rather bothered after almost 2 years of pandemic - or Covid-19.
In France they say: "c'est la vie"... In English they say: "that's life"... In Italian we say: "la vita è così"... As if to say: "what can we do?"

It's not up to me - nor it is my intention - to say what we can or could do. It's simply beyond the scope of this message.
However, what comes to my mind - and I wish to convey it to yours - is how well (or how bad) the world (yes: the world) has deployed Edward De Bono's famous 6-Thinking-Hats approach to this very specific issue.

Let's just come to the point, the following are my views:

WHITE HAT
White Hat stands for: facts and figures.
Well: do we have, do we get, do we really know facts and figures about Covid-19? You may say: we have plenty facts and figures. We have daily statistics, graphs, cases, deaths, intensive care, vaccinations (1st - 2nd - 3rd dose...), 1-week average, 30-day-average, 6-months-average, 1-year-average, and... and cases per million people, and incidence rates, and positivity rates, and dozens of other rates....
So, you may say, we have facts and figures.
Do we?
Are we sure?
Can we trust them?
No further comments, for the sake of being concise.
 

BLACK HAT
De Bono's Black Hat stands for: Negative Thinking, Judgmental Thinking...
The Black Hat has been widely used - in the past 2 years - to let us know (through all the media): how bad, how dangerous, how detrimental (to say the least) this Covid-19 Virus is.
Media has pumped into our eyes, ears and brains, images/stories/opinions, etc. etc. of people dying, or getting there, or just surviving, or being "ventilated", or..... (the list could be very long)....
AND: if you don't wear a mask.... if you don't wash your hands... if you don't maintain a "safe distance"... if you get into "gathering".... or, if you go to a funeral, a wedding, a celebration..... and: if you don't get vaccinated.....
Bad, very bad, terrible, horrific, terrorising, etc. etc.
Black Hat has reigned. Very effective use!
 

YELLOW HAT
The Yellow Hat stands for Positive, look-ahead Thinking.
Hardly used. Except by Politicians, Head-of-State, illuminate Scientists, illuminate Thinkers, and so on, to express: no worry, we shall overcome, it will be better, it will disappear, economy will recover, GDP will grow.... and similar nonsense....
Effective use?
 

RED HAT
De Bono's Red Hat stands for: feelings, sensations and - in general - Emotional Thinking.
Widely used in the last 2 years by everyone: from top-level Entities to men-in-the-street, from pro-vacs to no-vacs, etc.
To express: bad, not so bad, could be worse, it's OK, it will be better, it will be worse, it will never end, it will end in 3-months, in 2022 it will be over, take it easy, look ahead, think positive, take these tablets and you will overcome depression, etc. etc. etc.
But, most important: get your vaccine! be vaccinated! get your second, third, nns dose, do it now.... the vaccine is the only way out! etc. etc.
OR: what vaccine? No vaccine! It's a commercial enforcement! It's a monopoly, a domination, dictatorship.... etc. etc.
The list could be infinite......
Very effective use!
 

GREEN HAT
The Green Hat stands for: imagination, ideas (valid, effective, problem-solving ideas...), Creative Thinking.
Has the Green Hat been used effectively in the last 2 years with regard to this Covid Pandemic?
The answer is simply NO. NO. NO!!!!!
Have you heard of anyone attempting to generate creative, valid, effective, solid ideas addressed to: mitigate, lower, or better stop altogether (target: 0 cases) this Covid-19 spread? NO, NO. NO!!!
Or: and what if.... and if we just would do..... and what else, how else, when else....
Nothing. Zilch.
Scientists, Thinkers, Philosophers (not to mention: Politicians etc.) and the like, have used only, or mostly, the Hats that most fit them: White (but only according to their know-how and, generally, mixed-up with the Red Hat), Black (as much as possible), Yellow (abused) and Red (mis-used)....
So: WHO has used the Green Hat in a valid, constructive way?
NO-ONE, that I know of....
 

BLUE HAT
Like the sky, the Blue Hat is all over the other thinking modes (or styles): it represents "overall thinking", "rational thinking", "co-ordination thinking".....
Who should use the Blue Hat?
Whoever is at "the top", "the Head".....
Who is - in this Covid case - at the top or at the head?
Well, it is (or should be - pardon me the coincidence) WHO, or the World Health Organisation.
Well, have WHO used well the Blue Hat in this Covid issue?
I prefer to give no answer.... I leave it into your hands.....
Surely, apart from providing (useful?) statistics and (valid?) guidance, after 2 years we are still back at square one (or worse...).
 

My dear friends, I wanted - on purpose - to be concise. So, I stop here.
Would Edward De Bono be proud of Human Kind's styles of Thinking? I suppose: no.

All the best, keep well, keep sane and safe (as everybody says), wash your hands, wear a mask, keep a safe distance....
And, hopefully, have a wonderful Holiday Season!

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