There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world and we likely won’t be going back to the way things were once we’re through the crisis.
Non-essential businesses have closed, or been forced to close, imperilling the economic health of the businesses and their employees. Usually busy streets are empty. Travellers and people showing any cold or flu like symptoms are expected to self-isolate and stay indoors for weeks, thereby reaping all the health benefits of stir-crazy. Masks have become the latest fashion trend and it’s surprising there aren’t more with pretty patterns. It’s now a sign of virtue to practice social distancing by respecting the magic six-foot rule.
COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world
There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world and we likely won’t be going back to the way things were once we’re through the crisis.
Non-essential businesses have closed, or been forced to close, imperilling the economic health of the businesses and their employees. Usually busy streets are empty. Travellers and people showing any cold or flu like symptoms are expected to self-isolate and stay indoors for weeks, thereby reaping all the health benefits of stir-crazy. Masks have become the latest fashion trend and it’s surprising there aren’t more with pretty patterns. It’s now a sign of virtue to practice social distancing by respecting the magic six-foot rule.
Some big stores are managing customer traffic with lineups, both outside to get in and inside for access to the coolers. To ensure our safety, we’re aided by lines taped onto the floor, helpfully marking the appropriate social distance guidelines. Of course, people headed elsewhere can walk closely past the stacked shopper’s margin of safety, which logic says needs to be a circle with a six-foot radius and a time delay so any deadly airborne virus perishes before you’re commanded to move into it. But hey, stay behind that line and stay safe!
Yes, yes, COVID-19 is highly contagious and it’s prudent to take preventative measures, just as it always has been with the flu and colds, but we don’t shut down the planet for those maladies. So, is this strain of coronavirus so deadly, its mortality rate so high, that we need to destroy the world economy to save it?
Who Controls The Power Of Fear?
Fear is obviously a great motivator, but who wields the power of fear, and is it being used as a weapon rather than a warning? What or who is responsible for the extraordinary level of fear that’s panicked society to the point where we’ve completely upended our way of life, and at costs yet not known?
The top three “Power of Fear” contenders in the COVID-19 panic-demic are politicians, COVID-19, and the media. Let’s review their qualifications.
Politicians
Did fear spread because politicians stood and sounded the alarm? Well, no. Fear came first, essentially “forcing” politicians to do something, and act they did. Our world has been shut down while government spending has skyrocketed. The caring need to protect us from the ravages of COVID-19 demand the exorbitant spending, expected social distancing, enforced self-isolation and the shuttering of non-essential businesses. Societal safety is paramount, after all, and we’ll just have to happily, or sheepishly, accept the resulting chaos, costs, and consequences regardless of their effect on our lives. Any price will be paid—but our political leaders are following the fear, not leading it.
COVID-19
How about the coronavirus, is COVID-19 to blame for the unbelievable fear sweeping the planet that is driving immense social change? The short answer is no, not really. Would we truly be in such a terrified panic without being constantly reminded of its murderous potential? Only if it truly did kill in excessive numbers.
As the world deals with this crisis, the more robust our understanding of COVID-19’s transmission and mortality rates. Our body of knowledge regarding treatments such as Hydroxychloroquine continues to expand and faster, more accurate tests are being administered to help gauge its spread. In addition, private industry has stepped up to either transport equipment or retool facilities to manufacture some.
Rush Limbaugh recently provided some much-needed perspective for his listeners by sharing information compiled by worldometers. (check their credibility claims at the link)
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These numbers reflect worldwide causes of death between January 1st through March 25th,2020.
Cause of Death
Number of Deaths
Coronavirus
21,000
Seasonal Flu
113,000
Malaria
228,000
Suicide
249,000
Traffic fatalities
313,000
HIV/AIDS
391,000
Alcohol related
581,000
Smoking related
1,162,000
Cancer
1,909,000
Starvation
2,382,000
Abortion
9,900,000
This isn’t to say we should ignore the threat of coronavirus, but it does suggest that our collective fear is way out of proportion to the immediate threat.
Dr. Stephen Smith, founder of The Smith Center for Infectious Diseases and Urban Health, told Laura Ingraham in a Fox news interview that none of the 72 patients he treated with a regimen of hydroxychloroquine and azxithromycin for five days or more need intubation. These numbers are so exceedingly positive that Dr. Smith believes “this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic”.
Moreover, it’s understood that those who have survived the disease are no longer at risk of catching or spreading it. Plus, society will automatically become less fearful as news of treatment success grows, additional medications are tested, and vaccines are developed.
As fear subsides, calls to end the shutdown are certain to follow, and quickly, because society doesn’t perform well while mired in fear and isolation.
As neither politicians nor COVID-19 itself hold the “Power Of Fear”, the championship title goes to the media, and as they hold the power, they are entirely responsible for the frightening level of panic that has pushed people to beg for political salvation. The media wields incredible power to move society and isn’t afraid to use it, which is why we need them to be honest and accurate.
What Can Be Determined Right Now?
The media is the root cause of our panic and subsequent economic shutdown. Several conclusions can be immediately drawn without regard to media motivation.
The media is instrumental in setting the direction of the country.
The media hyped, and continue to hype, the most terrifying model numbers.
Societal fear was generated by the reporting of modelled, or predicted, death counts. Now, actual death counts are continuously reported to keep the fear pump primed.
The similarity to the Global Warming crisis is unmistakable, as the media pushed the worst predictions of “what if” modelling claims, many which have already been proven false, such as the loss of ice in Canada’s Northwest Passage.
The media have continually downplayed the possible effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine treatments which indicates a desire to keep fear levels elevated.
The consequences from the economic shutdown are real and are causing severe distress to businesses and individuals. Economic devastation from the shutdown was inevitable, and predictable. Again, the similarity between the impact to Alberta of the government’s war on “global warming” to the impact to all of Canada (and the US) in the war on coronavirus is evident and extremely relevant.
The detrimental effect on society and the devastating economic stress caused by the over-hyped panic is a direct indicator of the media’s true level of concern for the people.
This last point cannot be overstated. The media insist on pushing the most severe numbers in both the Climate and COVID-19 stories knowing full well that the economic consequences to citizens will be dire. They don’t do it just because they can, hopefully. Regardless of the reason, it must be more important to them than any harm that comes from it. This makes it imperative to ask yourself why their scripted narrative takes precedence over your actual well being.
Furthermore, do you know who doesn’t lose their job due to these government imposed economic shutdowns? That’s right, the media.
What Comes Next?
There is no longer any doubt about the media’s strength and ability to drive society in whatever direction they desire. The country’s shutdown is a testament to the immensity of their power. We’re looking at real, unadulterated, and considering their actions, abusive power.
When the crisis ends, as it must, we will have a much better idea as to transmission rates, mortality rates, cure rates and economic cost. If the media is proven to have overhyped the threat, then the consequences are on them and no one else. It also proves that we trust the untrustworthy at great peril.
Friends don’t cause friends ruinous economic harm as the media has done to us with respect to both global warming and COVID-19 unless the data is overwhelmingly certain and the consequences obviously grim. Fake news has real, and often devastating, consequences so when an agenda other than accuracy and truth is at play, it is the equivalent of false advertising. Just like any other business lying to the public, the media should face accountability for their disrespectful betrayal of consumer trust.
When the media “guide” beliefs without regard to truth then the most important thing we can do for ourselves and our fellow citizens is to reject those deceitful sources. Totally, completely, and immediately because they are wholly unworthy of your mind and a danger to us all.
One great thing about the internet is the ability to bypass filtered news and go directly to the source, such as President Trump’s twitter feed which allows him to speak directly to the people
Getting his message out in his own words has been instrumental in his political success because his comments aren’t being interpreted, manipulated, or mischaracterized by those who hate him before being deceitfully presented to the public.
If they lie, say goodbye. For the children.
Mark Gray hails from the Kirkland Lake, Ontario area and has spent over 30 years as an Analyst/Developer in Big IT, mostly in Calgary’s Oil-And-Gas Sector. Creator of an non-partisan, analytical methodology that seeks out and identifies Bias and Deceit embedded in weaponized information.
