Instead of reading opinionated sources, specially those that seem heavily influenced by a political vision of the country and the world, I would suggest going to the source!!! SCIENTIFIC one if possible, just not to jump into partial and biased conclusion!
And yeah, wear a mask! Some people stink from their mouth, it will help not smelling it…
It was interesting to read. As the number of cases goes down and fatalities drop then a start-up plan is needed to get everything going again. It will likely need to ramp up over some time period as it doesn’t seem possible to immediately return to the pre-shutdown level of economic activity (except in the stock market).
When teachers and parents feel that schools are safe again, then they will send their kids, and will get back in their cars on the big rat race of commuting to work again. That will get the gears of the economy turning again.
It seems that the regions that have experienced wide spread flu pandemics in the past 30 years have weathered this storm much better than those who haven’t been hit much in the past 100 years. So there is some lessons learned by going thru a mess like this that causes people to react in a responsible manner the next time something hits to quickly end the draconian measures. Anything to that theory?
After more than 6 months of very strict lockdown that has been forced in so many countries, do you think people are dying only from this specific virus ?!
Masks are being forced everywhere, but still higher case numbers of totally healthy people, from totally useless tests !!! They are even forcing reporters and news anchors on TV to wear masks every day, while they’re ALONE — maybe that virulent virus spreads through electromagnetic waves too …
Do you still think that the face diapers have any benefit whatsoever ??
Millions of lives are being destroyed, for what ?!!
Stay at home,
Trust the plan and the science,
Flatten the herd…
and it’s working, brilliantly… the herd flattening part
I think if people would only understand that one point, specifically, “You’re not going to change my mind, and I know I’m not going to change yours”, people could much more easily just “let it go”.
Problem is, people (on BOTH sides), have the mindset, “You’re not going to change my mind, but I’m going to go on and on and on anyway even though I still know I’m not going to change yours”. And emphasis, that’s both sides, who have doctors and scientists and celebrities and sports-figures all on their side, too.
“The idea that herd immunity will happen at 10 or 20 percent is just nonsense,” said Dr. Christopher J.L. Murray, director of the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which produced the epidemic model frequently cited during White House news briefings as the epidemic hit hard in the spring.
That belief began circulating months ago on conservative news programs like those of Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham. It has been cited several times by Dr. Scott W. Atlas, President Trump’s new pandemic adviser. It appears to be behind Mr. Trump’s recent remarks that the pandemic is “rounding the corner” and “would go away even without the vaccine.”
But it is also gaining credence on Wall Street and among some business executives, said prominent public health experts, who consider the idea scientifically unfounded as well as dangerous; its most vocal adherents are calling for mask-wearing and social distancing to end just as cold weather is shifting social activity indoors, where the risk of transmission is higher.
Can opinions be changed? In some cases it might be possible to change your own.
Maybe it’s related to education—as long as you are reading and learning something new every day, then you are increasing your body of knowledge available to evaluate different viewpoints.
Maybe it’s related to travel—if you have the opportunity to visit or live in another state or country, then you are exposed to how other people live in a different culture.
Maybe it’s related to conversation—if you talk to people about their experiences, then you can walk a mile in their shoes and develop empathy for their different life.
kennybobby that is very well stated. I have found, in many cases, these perspectives you outlined are when I really “learn” about people. places and things and when my opinion or preconceived notions “prejudices” can be changed. I almost always find that I am improved as a person. Occasionally I find that I was right all along but I learn in any event. Thanks a lot for your post.
Unfortunately, both Lightbringer and kennybobby are right: most people aren’t interested in changing their opinions and beliefs, and for people who are, education throughout one’s lifetime, travel, and conversation can be a source of information that can change one’s mind and increase one’s knowledge on a variety of subjects.
When I was first connected to the web, I was excited by the opportunity to gain access to a lot more information on almost any subject very easily. I believed that access to the web would help humanity in general by enabling us to expand our knowledge in a very efficient way. However, what has come to pass is the opposite effect. The web is most often used to reinforce preexisting beliefs and opinions, rather than as a source of information that can challenge us to see the world in a different way and change our views. The web, and social media in particular, have resulted in a further polarization of society, rather than a broader feeling of community based on a shared base of knowledge. This effect has been accelerated and amplified by people who have realized they can make a good living or further political or national interests by promoting false and/or misleading information on the web - or by helping other people promote false and/or misleading information on the web.
It only takes a public emergency, such as a pandemic, for the results of this reality to become tragic, as we have seen in the USA.