Despite what snake oil salespeople, self -help bullshit artists and proudly ignorant ostriches proclaim....
"PERCEPTION" is NOT "REALITY"
PERCEPTION - if we do less testing, there are less cases of COVID-19, so we can RUSH back to normal.
REALITY - The disease is still here, more people are contracting and passing it along, and people are having long term health consequences, oh and by the way...
PEOPLE ARE STILL NEEDLESSLY DYING!!!!!!!!
PERCEPTION - less than 1% of those with COVID-19 are dying.
REALITY - less than 1% of the over-all population is dying from COVID-19, the mortality rate of diagnosed COVID-19 patients conservatively remains around 5%.
PERCEPTION - Wearing a mask can cause worse problems than helping prevent the spread of COVID-19.
REALITY - Most people's use of a mask is limited. They need only wear it when they are in situations where social distancing is not possible. The buildup of CO2 and other perceived drawbacks are highly unlikely and the benefit to all exponentially outweighs the risk to the the one.
PERCEPTION - It is all the media's fault. Turn off the news and it will all miraculously go away.
REALITY - It was the media who sounded the initial alarm, an alarm WILLFULLY IGNORED by those elected and charged with protecting the public. The media covering it didn't make it worse, and when the media changed focus to another topic, COVID-19 did NOT go away or improve.
PERCEPTION - Dr. Fauci is a "deep state" (just typing those two words dropped my I.Q. by 130 points) medical expert trying to make the current administration look bad.
REALITY - Dr. Fauci is a dedicated public health servant who was instrumental in developing treatments and cures for previously fatal illnesses. He has helped guide not only our nation, but the world, through some of the most feared and deadly pandemics and potential pandemics in recent decades. He did this regardless of the political affiliation of the administration in power.
PERCEPTION - Dr. Fauci is stirring fear and angst for his own monetary gain.
REALITY - Dr. Fauci could have parlayed any of his previous achievements, especially his contributions for developing a cure for polyarteritis nodosa and/or his work that has helped lead to a potential vaccine for HIV, into a multi-million dollar annual income at any pharmaceutical company -- yet he stayed at NIH and continued to use his education, experience and expertise to help others -- including you and me.
PERCEPTION - A vaccine is a New World Order plot to reduce the population.
REALITY - The advent of modern vaccines, although not completely without risk, has saved countless lives and reduced the numbers of children's graves populating U.S. cemeteries by tens, if not hundreds, of thousands over the last half century.
PERCEPTION - The CDC, NIH, FDA and WHO are incompetent agencies full of political appointees and bureaucrats with self-serving agendas.
REALITY - If you are a cancer, myocardial infarction, cerebral-vascular accident, etc. survivor - there is a good chance you have the existence of these agencies to thank.
PERCEPTION - Social Media has made us more informed.
REALITY - Social Media has allowed for the rapid dissemination of misinformation and has eroded confidence in accomplished experts in favor of other less credible and less accomplished individuals simply because they RANT loudly, while the accomplished experts are busy actually working.
PERCEPTION - It was on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.. so it must be true.
REALITY - I can't even dignify that one with a response.
Contrary to PERCEPTION this isn't some fucking Aesopian fable or the conjuring of a dystopic science fiction writer.
The REALITY is it can't be fixed by disc jockeys turned talk show hosts who never bothered getting an education, or by applying the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field, or by passing around a Facebook meme or a YouTube video by discredited hucksters.
Just because people no longer PERCEIVE it to be, does not make it still a very REAL crisis.
