Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowI just want to say that I disagree with last week’s editorial [‘Abundance of caution’ is appropriate in decisions about coronavirus, March 13].
Why is everybody losing their minds over this? According to The New York Times article of March 13, 2020, entitled “Tracking Every Coronavirus Case in the US: Full Map,” there have been 41 patients with the virus in the United States that have died, most of them elderly with underlying health conditions and concentrated in the same area; 31 deaths in Washington State alone, four in California, two in Florida, one in Georgia, one in New Jersey, one in South Dakota and one in Kansas. We have canceled or postponed professional sports, college sports, much of college and public education will be online for the next few weeks, at least, etc.! What a drastic, crazy response to this. We are ruining the economy, people’s finances, personal and retirement savings accounts, etc. It’s a sad state of affairs.
You would think it’s the black plague with certain death if you get this, and it isn’t. Most people who contract this virus will recover within two weeks if they have any symptoms at all. Is this an “abundance of caution” or stupidity? What are we doing to ourselves, our families, our communities in the name of caution?
Where is the real leadership? Of course, we should take reasonable precautions, but this has been blown way out of proportion. I blame the media, I blame weak leadership in government and schools, and I blame people without critical thinking skills. Those of you in leadership positions who are making these decisions for the rest of us should be ashamed of yourselves.
__________
Debbie Ricks
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
Some questions for you Ms. Ricks, which I will create from your last paragraph.
“Where is the real leadership? Of course, we should take reasonable precautions, but this has been blown way out of proportion.
“I blame the media,”
You blame the media for what? For informing you/us? Or for informing us too much?
“I blame weak leadership in government and schools,…”
You blame the schools for what? For not taking the risk of those children in elementary, high school and college students of infecting one another? And for taking those infections to their parents and friends?
“…and I blame people without critical thinking skills.”
Would you be more specific as to which people/persons you are referring to.
“Those of you in leadership positions who are making these decisions for the rest of us should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Again, a partial specific list of people to whom you are chastising would be helpful. Are you thinking mayor? governor? president? local, state, regional and national health officials?
My point: a mighty broad stroke brush you have painted with. I should like to have more on which to ponder.
Back to your “blame (of) the media.” I suggest the more responsible reporting, specifically including comment from knowledgeable health leaders/entities, the better.
Now, if you are referring to the misinformation circulated by many on Facebook, Instagram and those minority of misinformed pundits on radio and television, we have some agreement.
I leave you with the following: the majority of print medium, in my opinion, report with accuracy. I should not like risking same, or as one major news organization says: “Democracy dies in darkness.”
I stopped trusting the media years ago because most of the time, they report their own agenda. They havent cared about the truth in years. and neither do most politicians or people in govenment. They all just care about power
This letter to the editor is going to age like milk.
Finally. some is saying what I have been thinking since this overreaction started! Then I get a lecture of why we are doing this. As with most govenment and political decisions……… I have no choice but to live with the consequences of what laws they make and the freedom they take away on a regular basis. since I cant change this lockdown or prision they have forced on us. What I need to change is my attitude. As you can see, I’m still working on the attitude part. Because even after this quote “crises” is over… there will be another one or something else the government thinks they need to “protect” us from. Is this a precursor of things to come?
The media tells you what they want you to know, which is not necessarily what you need to know. It is called propaganda and every great country in the world uses. Sometimes for outside advisories and other times for internal control.