The Eventually Emerging Truth About Coronavirus
It has oft been said that somewhere between the two extremes of an argument, therein lies the truth. It has also oft been said that, eventually, all truth comes out in the end, given enough time.
Largely, both of these statements hold up under scrutiny- at least, more often than not.
Thanks in large part to the fact that overtly-biased news reporting, during a span of forty years, and growing worse every year, and thanks to an overall distrust of government going back to the Johnson Administration (Gulf of Tonkin/Warren Commission, anyone?), we Americans have grown to be quite a skeptical lot and yet, all the more gullible, too.
Given all of the misinformation with which we are beset, both from our mainstream media as well as our social media, one might be tempted to believe that we would become ever more discerning about what we read and what we hear but, sadly, just the opposite seems to be occurring.
Though this writer is far from qualified to be the absolute arbiter of truth- on any topic- there is much myth that must be set asunder, if we are ever able to see the very light of day, once the pandemic has subsided and our lives return to some state of normalcy, if not sanity.
Coronavirus COVID-19 originated in the Wuhan Province of the People’s Republic of China. While the very first cases began towards the end of October 2019, it was not acknowledged until the very end of last year. Since that time, the Chinese government has repeatedly lied- lied about its origin, lied about its number of cases and deaths, and lied about its nature and its spread- albeit with criminal aiding and abetting on the part of the World Health Organization. Those lies, on the part of the Chinese communists, continue to this day and, whether or not the release of this virus was intentional or accidental, their culpability in the worldwide spread of this disease is unmistakable. The fact that, only recently, officials in their government have threatened to withhold antibiotic formularies such as penicillin and other such antibiotics from the United States (97% of which come from the People’s Republic of China), reveals that nation’s criminal mindset. The fact that they sold back to Italy, the very same protective masks Italy had previously donated to help them, also reveals a complete lack of ethical behavior, not to mention any semblance of international cooperation and respect. Intentionally or not, the government of the People’s Republic of China has committed biological war crimes against the rest of humanity, and they should well be held to account for this assault, one way or another.
The fact that our mainstream media has taken to cloak this culpability, whether out of corporate or political considerations, makes them accountable as well, for aiding and abetting a foreign adversary. The fact that this same mainstream media seeks to sow division within the President’s Task Force on Coronavirus, and lack of faith in that task force’s recommendations to contain the spread of this virus, shows just how far off they have drifted in their responsibility to keep the public informed and reinforces the oft-held view that the press is largely anti-American. Consider how they constantly suggest a division between the President and the medical professionals on his task force, when in reality, there is none.
For example, they point to Dr. Tony Fauci’s scientific skepticism of the efficacy of a regimen of hydroxychloroquine combined with Zithromax Z-Pak, which is based on achieving an exhaustive study of this efficacy in a controlled, double-blind study- usually required for FDA approval. They also point to the President’s full-throated endorsement of its widespread use now, while we are in the midst of peak infection, in the knowledge that this may be the only treatment at present to both contain the virulent spread of this virus and curtail its fatality. These two positions are not mutually exclusive of one another, for both speak the truth- albeit from opposite approaches. Trump no more seeks to disdain further research, than Fauci seeks to prevent saving countless lives, but no one would know this, based on the reckless reporting of these two facts, which begs the question as to the political motives behind sowing such seeds of misinformation and malcontent.
Others will tell us that the numbers of both confirmed cases of, and deaths from, coronavirus COVID-19 are inflated, which defies all logic…
Why?
Well, confirmed cases of coronavirus infection are based upon positive results of COVID-19 testing, while confirmed deaths are based upon the mortality rates of confirmed cases. Given the fact that tens of thousands go untested entirely can only suggest that these numbers are vastly deflated, not inflated. Many throughout the world are dying of a myriad of causes- but whether or not coronavirus is present or, for that matter, causational in these deaths can only be absolutely known in post-mortem testing. Yet, the high demands for testing of suspected infections amongst the living, prevent this post-mortem testing, ex post facto. The fact that the United States has conducted more such tests than the rest of the world, also demands the realization of the fact that worldwide numbers being reported are also understated- perhaps vastly so. Only the naïve can possibly believe the Chinese assertion that there have been no more cases of the coronavirus in China during the last two or three weeks- once a liar, ever the liar… person, state or country.
Another erroneous assumption is because the H1N1 virus of 2009-2010 resulted in far more American deaths than the coronavirus has thus far, the seriousness of this pandemic is being overstated. Well, the ugly and undeniable truth is that the Obama administration failed to recognize the seriousness of that epidemic for more than six months, before finally taking action on it. Had they acted with anywhere near the urgency of the Trump administration, the death toll from H1N1 would have been far lower.
There will be plenty of time to evaluate the actions taken by this government once this pandemic has run its course, and we have returned to that seemingly far-off, but sooner-than-we-think concept of normalcy. Though hindsight is usually 20/20, it is our personal opinion that the President’s actions and his administration’s management of this crisis will stand well the tests of scrutiny and time but, again, such judgements are for a later time and date. That said, the heavy ounce of prevention in which most of us are presently engaged is far better than the potential ton of cure that would result from paying attention to those who would risk far worse, by insisting we return to this normalcy right now. Economies recover, but lost lives never do, and all of us would do quite well to remember this. There is no doubt that our lives will see much drastic change- some good and some not so good- when the pandemic has passed but, again, ours is the task of living and surviving today, and letting tomorrow take care of itself, and in its own time.
Think about it…
-Drew Nickell, 7 April 2020
© 2020 by Drew Nickell, all rights reserved.
author of “Bending Your Ear- a Collection of Essays on the Issues of Our Times”
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