The longer this virus goes on, the more I am reminded of Don Henley’s 1982 song “Dirty Laundry.”
A friend and his wife declined an invitation to come over for a glass of wine (OK, maybe a bottle) on the back porch the other night. They were concerned about being with their daughter the next day, who is immuno-suppressed. I get it.
It’s funny. We went back to our office a few weeks ago. There are only 3 of us in 1,500 square feet, so we will have no trouble distancing. After 2 months as shut-ins, we felt like we were being adventurous, but very, very careful.
We have a few friends who have been doing mask-less socializing for weeks. They haven’t had any problems yet, but Texas had its highest new COVID infection and death toll yesterday. I know that their claim of “it’s all bullshit” is all bullshit, but we have to figure out the new normal.
This isn’t going away in another month or two, and those of us who can earn a living remotely can’t just become a nation of well-off hermits, depending on a separate class of citizens to feed us and provide our goods.
Morlocks and Eloi
I have a number of clients who own essential industries. They never stopped going to work in fully staffed operations every single day. Those of us who are lucky enough to maintain an income and work remotely marvel at those who act as if nothing is wrong. In some cases, we think it’s courageous. In others…not so much.
My Morlocks and Eloi blog on Awake at 2 o’clock back on April 3 predicted this. That was ten weeks ago, when we had about 2,000,000 fewer cases, we were just beginning to see Shelter in Place orders, no PPP applications had yet been submitted, and masks were widely discounted as ineffective by the CDC.
In hindsight, the rumor that they were waiting for health care workers to be supplied first seems to have some veracity. It’s getting tougher to sneeze <GRIN> at some conspiracy theories when others are so apparently true.
Dirty Laundry
My biggest disappointment is that where things like this have historically pulled Americans together, we have this time been driven further apart. How can the crisis of the century become so politicized? We all acknowledge that it is highly contagious, and deadly to at-risk folks.
I’ve heard arguments about severity, pre-existing conditions, and socio-economic factors. No one, however, disagrees that it spreads like wildfire and kills old people.
Damned media, who thrive on causing people to get angry. Tell Alexa to play Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry.” The coldness of the lines. The bubble-headed bleach blond with the gleam in her eye. Is the head dead yet? The boys in the newsroom have a running bet. Get the widow on the set.
Most importantly, the chorus – “Kick ’em when they’re up, Kick ’em when they’re down.”
CNN decries a feckless president, and Neanderthals who want to infect your world and kill Grandma. Fox trumpets (pun intended) the liberal plot to deprive us all of our American lifestyle and our cherished liberties. No mercy. No discussion of what’s going right. Just kick the other guys relentlessly.
Those who are either out of work, fascinated by slow-motion train wrecks, or simply really worried are staying home and digesting this stuff all day long.
New Normal – Accepting Individual Rights
Part of the new normal has to involve turning off the television. We need to spread an awareness that these are not thought leaders or investigative journalists. They are pitchmen preaching to the choir from carefully censored scripts. They make millions by stirring things up, never from calming them down.
Now, with the protests, I can watch two different cable networks and see two different countries. One just shows cops beating up peaceful protestors. The other just shows rioters burning and looting.
I’m not seeking to be trolled, but I’d welcome someone who could tell me the last time you saw a “news” show that said, “We should all calm down, and learn to live with folks who have different opinions than we do. It’s OK to have a difference of opinion.”
No chance. WE are crusaders, and THEY are infidels. (Regardless of which we or they you connect with.) There is no advertising money in cooperation and compromise.
The Solution to Media Inflammation
Here is my recommended solution. We can tame the runaway media bias with existing legislation, and without censorship. All we need is a wave of public opinion.
Broadcast licenses are worth billions of dollars. They come with a requirement that the license owners use a portion of their airtime for public service. Multiple administrations have let this requirement erode so that now public service is limited to occasional “public service announcements.”
The newsroom has become a profit center. Reporting accuracy takes a distant back seat to attracting the most eyeballs. That requires dirty laundry.
Make broadcasters stick to the spirit of the law. Two hours of news each day without commercials. Say a half an hour at 8:00 AM and another half an hour at 11:00 PM, with a full hour at 6:00 PM.
You can report the news any way you want, but it should be news. That means the events of the day, not opinions about what happened last week. The whole world, not six different retellings of the same story. You can slant it any way you wish, but you just can’t use it to sell advertising. If you want to feature an editorial personality, use your advertiser-paid time to do it.
It’s easy to understand why we are so intolerant of each other. Just follow the money.
100% accurate observation, John. Well written.
You hit the nail on the head! Fast money and power lead while respect and common sense are kicked to the curb.
Thanks Larry and Chip. Pass it along!
Hi John
An external perspective …Your media is broken because your system is broken – just 2 parties who are constantly in campaign mode – from election to mid-terms to next election have over the decades created an Us versus Them culture in everything that is powered by he who has the most money – its black or white, red or blue and any debates starts with “but what about their …….”. The best media in the world is public media, strongly supported by the tax payer, but independent of the party on power. The only place I get any news on the USA is now from NPR, our own CBC or the BBC – (occasionally The Economist). Fox and CNN are not media outlets – they are mouthpieces for either red or blue. The only other place in the world where Sean Hannity would get the power he has, is in a 3rd world country.
John – your column is well done, such alienation, not seeing each other’s points of views. I’ve never had it come into business discussions so much, it’s challenging each side’s core values. Malcolm is spot on about our political system and news outlets (although I’d contrast Fox with MSNBC, CNN being the middle spot), but he might be surprised to learn that the right believes NPR is just another Democratic Party mouthpiece – they boycott it.
Don\’t get me wrong but Covid-19 has been good for my business, yet I still write to complain because of the absolute and complete devastation I am witnessing of our State and National economies, our individual rights, our freedoms, our wealth and our happiness.
In Texas, more than 11,000 people died from flu and its complications during the 2017-18 flu season, including 16 children, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said.
As of today in Texas, 2,220 people, 75% of whom were living in Nursing homes with the highest demographic of over the age of 80, have died of Covid-19 related illnesses. No children under 19 have died as of this writing.
So why now? Why is this a big deal when the 17-18 non pandemic flu season killed so many more?
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/emergency-real
Not to harp on my topic, but perhaps it’s partially because it was a worldwide hot media story. Then we had the protests, and there was a new “new” story. COVID is worse than ever, but now everyone is kinds zzzzzzz unless you are among the increasing number that have it. Now if it really does overwhelm the hospital system, I think we will decide that we should have paid more attention.