ARE WE THERE YET?
Wednesday, Apr. 8, 2020
What do we see, and is it true?
What do we hear, and can we trust who said it?
As we drive on trips, kids in the backseat ask, “Are we there yet?”
We are on a collective journey – we are distanced, but we are all feeling more in common with our fellow earthlings than ever. We are going to reach a point where we feel physically/medically well, relatively safe, and past the point of greatest danger. Media, politicians, scientists dance around the truth – nobody really knows.
We want to be there.
We want to know.
The determining factors are a ‘new virus’ nobody fully understands, and the behavior of 7.5 billion people.
Media talking heads offer up explanations in real-time, their guest experts about what they know, spinning their interpretation of statistics. I’m watching them my own searching real-time data often reveals data they speak of has already been eclipsed.
There are three causes for that, in my view; people are talking about old data (though sometimes that might be as little as a few hours old), the Dem-spin v. Republican-spin must be factored out, there are crackpot conspiracy-theorists on both ends of this momentous situation.
In olden days we rallied our concerns behind the most credible voices. I miss Walter Cronkhite, I miss Knowlton Nash. The media slant – in print, on-air, on the internet – is like an eerie full moon overlaid by a full rainbow. The science guys/gals should be the best sources of non-political clarity, but who do know and trust?
Freedom of thought and freedom of expression is (or ought to be) everywhere. But it brings with it so much misinformation and disinformation, the average person has little capacity to separate truth from fiction.
Made worse, of course, when so much fact is woven into news-cycle spun tales, we realize little that is actually new. Instead, we are reminded that most messaging from all sources is a mix of truths, and how the sender wants us to see it. Motives of the sender might be altogether sinister, or utterly vile, but we don’t know.
Reader feedback:
Good day from deserted paradise, I hope that you will be safe and soon resuming a productive lifestyle. I personally welcome the IMPOSE change of pace and try to surf the times as better as possible, we will be back to the new "normal" soon enough enjoy the time as if you were on vacations, we all are in this together, never before have we being so equal, AG, Cancun, Mex.
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