Despite mainstream media coverage, this doesn’t have to be our ‘new normal’

No matter where you stand on the coronavirus and its impact on our daily lives, we can all agree this needs to end.

Some people are panicked, while others aren’t taking it seriously enough.  Some are demanding that we open the economy back up to save small businesses and families across America, while others – looking at you media – are saying just weather the storm and stay inside, seemingly forever.

But like with any issue or discussion there is room in the middle, where we normally find the most sensible approach to our problems.  I believe that is the case here as well.

This disease is scary and is, as proven by the numbers, wreaking havoc on our most vulnerable citizens.  But among the biggest reasons for this fear is the unknown.

While I believe the Trump administration has done an excellent job of handling the virus and our collective response, the government and media have provided far too little data on the disease, which leaves the populous to fill in the blanks with their own ideas. Never a good thing.

Compound that with the fact the media  desperately wants the president to fail, and we end up with a disaster of a situation.

But despite all this, if people take the time to do some research, there is goods news and a reason for hope during these crazy times.

Something not being reported in the mainstream media, because it would kill their ratings and be contrary to their agenda to hurt the president, is the fact that 98% of individuals that contract the disease recover from it. I’ll take those odds everyday. Real Clear Politics shares this with us, along with several other encouraging statistics in an article by Bill Bennett.

Does this mean to not take it seriously? Absolutely not. Is it fun to have? No.  Is it scary? Perhaps. But the numbers indicate that the odds are in your favor.

Furthermore, some models are indicating that 50% of the population may have already had COVID-19, recovered and just been unaware of it.

So people are frustrated with our ‘new normal’ as they should be, it sucks.  We shouldn’t live in a time where toilet paper is coveted, and we won’t for long.  We will return to prosperous times if the following occur.

We listen to the guidance from local, state and federal officials and go along with the short term social distancing policies.  Everyone has to get over themselves and understand that while the odds are in your favor, they may not be for someone in your extended network, or someone you encounter at the store that falls in the susceptible category.

This should be the biggest lesson that we all take from this pandemic. It’s not about me. It’s not about you.  We have to do this together for the sake of everyone.

Secondly, the media and government entities have to start sharing more factual, less fear-driven statistics that give the populous hope, which is ever present in the numbers available now.

So abide now, so we can get back to normal later.  Stay safe, treasure our loved ones, think of others during these times, and we will get through this.