One of Earls favorite sayings was “living in fear isn’t living”.
Earl Banes lived a very colorful life, one he hoped we all could live. It was clear that he never lived like it was the end of the world. Instead he lived like every day was a new opportunity and a chance to grow.
The Media hype leading to the Covid shutdown made his point. The whole country shut down and cowered in fear. The idea was to flatten the curve and prevent more people from dying. If you look at the number of reported daily deaths in the United States, the peak was April 17th for the World and April 21st for the United States.
A New Peak?
Recently there has been a major upswing in reported cases of Covid-19. States are panicking and letting the media run the show. For Bond fans, you can’t help but feel like you are stuck in an episode of Tomorrow Never Dies, and Elliot Carver is running the show.
Gavin Newsom backed off of re-opening California and school teachers fear working with kids in the fall. Is this really necessary? The media loves a good story. The riots after the senseless killing of George Floyd cause the media to back off of Covid-19. As reporters got caught in the crossfire the story ceased to be enticing, so back to Covid the media went.
The Return To Living In Fear
For the Fourth of July weekend, our nations biggest party, and one of the few holidays no one disputes, the Governor sent us back home. Fireworks shows were cancelled, outdoor dining shut down, and we were all back to living in fear.
Again, was this necessary, or was this media driven hype? The numbers don’t justify the second wave of shutdowns. The death rate has been on a steady decline world wide and in the US since the late April peaks. The “active cases” are up simply because there are more tests. The rate per 1000 tested is the same as it has been since the tests arrived.
Between .7 and 2% depending on the state and the version of the test has been a steady number since mid April. Why the difference. More densely populated states have a higher number, but this is true with any virus. Covid deaths have yet to surpass Cancer and Heart Disease and yet Fast Food places still serve french fries. How does this make sense?
The media knows that we react to negative headlines more than positive, and fear selling Covid has been a home run. In the end it will be a combination of herd immunity and potentially a vaccine like we have for the flu. Until then, maybe it is time to stop living in fear and go back to living. Earl would want it that way.