Yes, I’m calculating the days from last Thursday. Trump spoke on TV Wednesday night, and then the freak-out began on Thursday, escalating every day until…

Yesterday.

Up until yesterday, every day was a new story, you stayed glued to the news, noting the conflicting opinions, trying to find answers to feel safe and then we found out none of us are safe. Which brings me to this story:

“Producer Andrew Watt, 29, Says He’s Tested Positive For Coronavirus: ‘This is Not a Joke'”

Watt is 29, his doctor said “there was no way he could have COVID-19 because he hadn’t left the country and only goes to the studio and straight home.”

You think you’re immune, you think it won’t happen to you, you think the only reason to self-quarantine is because you’re protecting the oldsters…but you could get it, and you could die from it.

This is the problem, people who are not taking self-quarantining seriously. Which brings me to the next article:

“The Single Most Important Lesson From the 1918 Influenza – Containment – the attempt to limit spread of a virus and even eliminate it – has failed”

This is the best article on the coronavirus I’ve read in days. It’s a bit dry, but you should read it. Bottom line: Unless everybody takes self-quarantining seriously it will have no effect.

The best example is from the army, back in 1918. 99 of 120 basic-training camps were quarantined. Civilians could not enter and soldiers entering were quarantined and symptomatic soldiers were quarantined and entire units were quarantined if a couple of soldiers were sick. So what happened? THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CAMPS THAT WERE QUARANTINED AND THOSE THAT WERE NOT!

“But an Army study found no difference in morbidity and mortality between camps that did and did not follow orders, because over time most became sloppy. Further investigation found that only a tiny number of camps rigidly enforced measures.”

To make it simple:

“For interventions to work, people have to comply and they have to sustain that compliance; most of that depends on voluntary efforts and individual behavior. Army camps in wartime failed to sustain compliance, so it will be an enormous challenge for civilian communities in peacetime to do so.”

In other words, if we don’t take self-quarantining seriously, if we all don’t stay home, if we all don’t minimize contact with others, all this effort will be for nil, the virus will spread and many will become infected and many will die.

So what is the backbone of America? Does it have character? Or are we just rugged individuals who need to go our own way in an era where it’s every person for themselves and I don’t care about you, even though there may be consequences for me. This ethos always comes back to bite you in the ass. In the L.A. riots of ’92, rioters came to Hollywood, next time they’re coming to the Valley. In the sixties, the riots stayed in their own neighborhoods, not anymore. Same deal with income inequality, past is prologue, ever hear of the French Revolution? And one thing about revolutions, they happen overnight, they’re not long in the planning, like the one in France and the Arab Spring of a decade ago. Everything appears normal, and then the kettle overflows.

Meanwhile, the media is starting to change its course, false equivalencies are going out the window. On the front page of the “New York Times” today the headline is: “Saying He Long Saw Pandemic, Trump Rewrites History.” The media was never this brazen, at least not print/newspapers. In this era of life and death, finally truth is being spoken.

But not by everybody.

“From Jerry Falwell Jr. to Dr. Drew: 5 Coronavirus Doubters – While public health experts warn people to take precautions, these popular media figures insist that the virus is overhyped”

Dr. Drew?? Wasn’t he the guy dispensing authoritative addiction advice, not only on radio but TV? Who can trust this guy anymore?

Which brings us to two issues:

1. Trust. Without it, we’re screwed. In that article about the 1918 flu it says “Society began fraying – so much that the scientist who was in charge of the armed forces’ division of communicable disease worried that if the pandemic continued its accelerating for a few more weeks, ‘civilization could easily disappear from the face of the earth.'” We need a coherent narrative from people we trust. This is where Trump screwed up. For three years he was the President of some of the people, his base. And then when he was forced to be President of all of the people not only could he not do it, the rest of the people did not trust him, and still do not trust him as he constantly shifts position.

2. Credibility. Why should we ever trust Dr. Drew again? I certainly won’t. In an era where money is king, character has taken a back seat. But in a moment, now, where money is no longer everything, we see that character triumphs. This is also what screwed Trump. For him it was all about the stock market, but then when it crashed, today falling below the number it was at when he took office, what else has he got to say?

But we always knew that Trump was this person. But how about everybody else? Everything has been excused because of the money involved. Or the power, it’s all about team-playing. James Carville eviscerated his credibility by saying to cancel the Democratic primaries”:

“‘Let’s shut this puppy down’: James Carville says it’s time to end Democratic primary after Biden’s big night'”

I get it, I get it, you want Biden to be the candidate, but at the risk of eliminating the process? Almost no one believes that should happen, and in one fell swoop you’re alienating a ton of people, no matter who wins the nomination. But, those on TV are famous, and well-paid, and they’re essentially selling advertising, so they lose control of who they are, they make dramatic statements to shock people for ratings and when we investigate what they say when the heat dies down, it’s hogwash. Kinda like the talking heads on Fox News:

“On Fox News, suddenly a very different tune about the coronavirus”

That’s self-explanatory.

But got to give credit to the “Los Angeles Times,” their piece today was entitled:

“Editorial: Hey, anti-vaxxers, are you ready to get your shot yet?”

Point being, if and when they come up with a coronavirus vaccine, are these same people railing against measles shots and the rest of the vaccinations gonna refuse to get it? OF COURSE NOT! These inane anti-vaxxers are riding on the back of herd immunity, believe me, if their kid got measles they’d change their tune, the same way anti-abortion people switch their view when their daughter gets pregnant (don’t hassle me, I’ve lived through this with people I know).

And if Republicans are still reading, I point everyone to this opinion piece in the “Washington Post”:

“Republicans like me built this moment. Then we looked the other way”

Bottom line? We need government and science and experts. This guy lays it out directly and concisely, everybody should read it.

So where does this leave us?

I’m on high alert. This is not how I want to die. And you always think it can’t be you and then…it is.

Even young ‘uns:

“Children and Coronavirus: Research Finds Some Become Seriously Ill – A study of more than 2,000 children with the virus in China found that babies were especially vulnerable to developing severe infection.”

My father died at 70, of cancer. He was stunned he made it to that age, since his father did not. I thought I’d live longer, now I’m not so sure. Somebody dies, it could be you.

So, I’m not interacting with anybody live, no way. People lie about where they’ve been, they go out to eat with people who they’re convinced are not infected. It’s kinda like sex. People get pregnant and they say they used birth control. Every time? Even when you were having your period? Well, no, because…

Because why?

People get caught up in the moment, they do not foresee the consequences of their actions. They get themselves in situations they can never get out of.

I don’t want to be one of those people.

And you don’t either.