“It’s all the media — they’re blowing it completely out of proportion!”
– every person who didn’t want to take COVID-19 seriously for two weeks up until we were forced to go into social isolation
This is less of a discussion on trends in media as it is on public perception of the media. This is a very difficult time for most: We are in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic, highly publicized events are getting canceled left and right, schools across the nation are being shut down, the stock market is tanking hard, and it’s an election year among many other things.
We’ve been told over the last few years that the news is fake by questionable authority figures (particularly every time the news in question is not in his or her favor). Honestly, regardless of my personal beliefs on these people, I would have to agree that it’s not always in a person’s best interest to place trust in media. I’ve stated before that every media company has their own agenda that caters to their own segmented audience … authority does as well. This is not meant to be a criticism of how the powers that be are handling this pandemic (even though it will criticize them), rather it is meant to be a criticism of how Americans are handling it.
As someone who is forced on a nightly basis to tune into both CNN and FOX news, I get it — this is an overwhelming and scary time for everyone involved. Without further belaboring the point, I do not care who you voted for or what political party you identify with — if you are alive on planet Earth, you are involved in this pandemic. There is no ulterior motive here and no other discussion to be had: The fact is people are sick. Take a long, hard look at the world and say to yourself, “While coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on American soil, am I doing everything I can to help spread this infectious disease?”
Regardless of where you live, there is only one sure way to keep this illness from spreading, and that’s to stop going to other places. I received a pamphlet from the county I live in warning us to take particular measures in order to reduce the spread of coronavirus stating that people should : “wash their hands often with soap and water,” “avoid close contact with people who are sick,” and “stay home when sick.” Meanwhile the takeaway should have been: Whether or not you are sick, you should always wash your hands with soap and water, avoid close contact with anyone, and stay home period.
Take this scenario: Someone unknowingly with the disease goes to the grocery store and rifles through the apples to find the best one. You (a lover of good red delicious) also rifle through all the germ-infested fruit and scratch an itch on your face after. That is how the virus spreads. You, now infected, feel no symptoms of disease and continue to infect people and objects around you without your knowledge. You bring the disease home to your family and (assuming they have the same hygienic practices as you) they also go out and spread the disease that you brought home to them. And with the limited access to testing, it’s likely that you won’t find out unless you are near death in critical condition. This is what continues to perpetuate COVID-19.
If you are the type of person going stir-crazy from staying in your house, quarantine is going to continue indefinitely if you don’t get over yourself and stay in for the good of yourself, your family, your community, and your country. Your governor is saying it is safe for you to go to certain designated areas, but that doesn’t mean you should. People with power are making it up as they go, do not trust them. We all know that the only way to not get a virus is to stay in isolation and stay away from any person who could potentially have it. Limit your contact with the outside world as much as possible.
The bottom line is: People are dying. This disease is not a hoax. Regardless of the death rate vs number of cases, people are losing their lives. All you have to do is stay home. It’s not asking a lot for you to substitute your in-person hangouts with FaceTime calls and limit your time at the grocery store to one time per week.
This is not about you. This is not about placing blame on others. This is about holding accountability for yourself. At the end of the day, you know what you’re doing. Karlie Kloss said it best in her most recent Instagram post: