Social Surgery,” Alexis Beauchamp

Social Surgery

Alexis Beauchamp

It seems fitting we are all being required to wear face masks. A bird’s eye view reveals the surgery our society is undergoing, The operation directed by a questionably accredited physician Who very possibly secured his degree from a murky online training program. We are all repeatedly assured that our best interest is in his mind and at the helm of his intentions. Anesthesia varies from patient to patient, Some electing for the mind-numbing television, Others the liquid inoculation of alcohol. Many more are straight to the point with intravenous methods. Several still prefer to cope by mindless eating and online shopping. The pain is mostly ignored. The surgeon’s hands are shaking as he hides his fear and cloaks it with a superfluous confidence. Surgical technicians watch with disbelief as they await further instruction. Machines are screaming at almost incapacitating decibels. The tension of the situation looms heavy as all are motionless. An accompanying stillness pervades the air amid energetic chaos. From the crow’s nest, evaluators observe in a state of mesmerism. Will this surgery be successful? Will the patients recover? Moments pass as the possibility that the whole scene will erupt in an explosion grows increasingly likely, leaving the uncompromised to reconstruct from the ashes— Observations from a zoomed-out zoom-in of the masses.