There is so much going on in the world right now. It feels like more than usual. I hate that phrase by the way, “it feels like.” We get in so much trouble by leading with that phrase. Feelings lead to impulsive reactions and decisions. I know in my own life that has caused me to eat more crow than I’d care to admit. Writing this piece makes me a little nervous for that very reason. I’m going to dive ahead anyway. My one request is that if you are going to read this, read all the way to the end. Don’t react part way through or you will miss the point.
Like I said, there’s a lot going on in the world right now. The pandemic has debilitated the nation. Racists are shooting joggers in the street. The FBI is framing career military men. And we are all quick to react. Notice I said react, not respond. Venom and vitriol spew in all directions when it comes to these topics. Generally half-truths are the basis for it because reaction does not have time for research, nor does it seek perspective.
Let’s consider our pandemic situation. According to most news sources, as of today (May8th), there are nearly 1.3 million cases in the US and about 76 thousand deaths. An on the surface reaction here can be tempting. Those are eye-popping numbers on their own. Now let’s consider them in a couple of different contexts. First, let’s look at them in comparison to our total population. There are about 340 million people in the US. So by taking these numbers at face value .38% of the population has contracted the virus, and .02% have died from it. So 99.98% of the population survive this pandemic.
The second context we can talk about is how we are counting. We have been told that we are liberal in counting Covid deaths. Basically anyone who tests positive for Covid at time of death is counted as a Covid death. This is a departure from normal medical practice because we are not considering co-morbidities. That means the likelihood is that deaths as a direct result of Covid are actually quite a bit lower than is being reported. We also have evidence that up to 60% of people who have Covid-19 are asymptomatic. That likely means that they don’t feel sick and don’t go to the doctor so never actually get diagnosed so the number of infected is likely much higher. That means the actual fatality rate for folks who contract the virus is potentially much lower than we are being told.
Let’s contrast that with the number of people who are unemployed as a result of the reaction to this pandemic. The latest numbers are over 20 million. That doesn’t count family members impacted. So which is having the greater impact? You get the idea.
Don’t misunderstand what I am saying here. Every single death related to this is tragic. Every family impacted is devastated, and I wish none of it were happening to anyone. As much as I want those things though, disease is inevitable, and so is death. What I am trying to focus on here is how we are reacting to this situation instead of responding. I am not talking about how the government responds and I am not taking a position either way. I am talking about considering as much information as I have available to me and thinking about how, or if I can do anything to actually make a difference. If I do that I don’t create drama.
Let’s talk for a minute about Ahmaud Arbery. White men shot and killed a black jogger in a botched citizen’s arrest attempt. Another situation that comes with a visceral reaction for a lot of people. I feel awful for his family. I also feel awful for the family of the two men who killed him. Both families are destroyed by this. It is a situation I wish never happened. But I don’t know enough about the actual facts to have any opinion other than that. In reality, most of us don’t. Yet we take to social media and create memes. I saw one yesterday outlining 30 incidents from the last 15 years that were highly publicized where somebody white killed someone black. All tragic situations. Lives destroyed. All situations leveraged to incite a reaction. What happens if information comes to light that reflects poorly on Ahmaud and favorably on the other two men? Does all that anger dissipate? Do we recant our words?
Did you know that 14 people were shot and 5 killed, including a 16 year old boy, on the Southside of Chicago…..YESTERDAY??? The news report was very interesting because it never mentioned the race of any of the victims or the perpetrators. I appreciate that actually because it lets us value all life as the same regardless of race. Do a little digging though, and it brings to light that the victims and the perps were people of color and much of the violence was gang related.
Did you know there was another botched citizens arrest that involved a shooting on May 4th? It involved two white men, one allegedly protecting his neighbor from spousal abuse. Maybe we should hail him as a hero. But what if we find out he was having an affair with his neighbor and just wanted to kill his competition? Then what do we say? Guess it’s a good thing nobody really has heard about it at all.
I bring this up to highlight the difference in how we are conditioned to react. We are outraged over Ahmaud yet apathetic about the other 15 victims. We are quick to believe racism was the driving motivator in his death, and it very well may have been. Yet gang violence doesn’t raise our ire. Clearly one death is more important than another in public opinion right?! I mean, the news tells us so.
Speaking of public opinion, some incredibly disturbing information is coming out about our FBI, DOJ, and former administration. Information that contradicts what many people wanted to believe about the president. Information that exonerates a career military man who committed his life to protecting and serving our country and whose life was completely undone, by what now appears to be a set up. Information that, if true, could result in charges of treason. Social media is eerily quiet on this front. Why is that? People abused their power to try to influence an election at the least, and remove a sitting president from office at the worst. Before you react, understand that this should not have a side of the aisle. It is about the value of your vote and the integrity of our system. Your vote in a loss is still your vote and has value. Yet there was far greater outrage over a legitimately lost election than there is over potential treason at the highest levels of our government.
You’ve been with me this long, hang on a little longer and I’ll get to the point. We hear the word “triggered” thrown around quite a bit. Another word I hate, in case you were wondering. People use it to describe how someone or something causes them to feel and react. In actuality it is us abdicating responsibility for our emotions and the actions that we take as a result of them. There is a group who really understands us though. The media. Both sides. They understand how to pull those emotional triggers with salacious headlines. Or, put in terms that are more accurate, they know how to manipulate their audience to feel how they want them to feel. They get people to come back to watch, read, etc… because they are made to feel part of a collective. “Well if everyone believes this to be true then it must be. I’m in the know. I can talk to my friends about these topics and sound intelligent.” All with very little effort. And the media absolutely know this. They use it to convey the message they want us to parrot, and parrot it we do. We choose sides and draw lines in the sand. We sling mud. We lose relationships.
Well most people do. But some are skeptical. Some question the status quo. They look for the dissenting 3% on a topic and ask why they dissent. They aren’t always popular because they don’t throw their support behind a cause quickly or easily and they ask hard questions. They look for facts, not feelings. They discount sound bites and evaluate actions. They don’t take statistics at face value but ask how the research was done and put the numbers into proper context. These are the people that have a bigger picture perspective on the world and work to be in right relationship. They are also the people that are typically right about most things in the end. It’s a hard role to play because it’s far harder to forgive someone for being right than being wrong. They are also the people who actually respond with ideas on how to make things better instead of just being angry about the way things are. Most importantly they wait to share their opinion until they have as many facts as possible.
I have known a couple of these people over my lifetime, and as much as it drives me crazy that they are almost always right, when I want guidance, they are the people I turn to. They are the people I trust. They are the people I have had the longest standing relationships with because they don’t react, they respond. They are the ones whose influence I need.
I promised I’d get to the point and here we are. I have brought several hot button issues to you today and tried to highlight how we, as a culture, react instead of respond and are divided as a result. I have tried to demonstrate how we are conditioned to react to certain stimuli, and who typically applies that stimuli to our emotions. I have tried to show you how continuing down this path will result in greater division and lost relationships. I have also given you an example of the type of person that can rise above the circumstances. That’s my suggestion for our world. I know it’s asking a lot, but instead of reacting and posting your anger, wait. Learn more about any given situation. Question the story. Think about who may benefit from your visceral reaction and who may be trying to manipulate your emotions for their gain. Give your friend, neighbor, family member, the benefit of the doubt. Evaluate a situation on its own merit, not with bias tinted eyes.
There is a lot going on in our world. Pandemics, Racists, Traitors……Could Sure Use Some More Skeptics.
Author Duane Deats 
Your writing is so good. Makes you think. I like that.
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