I had a
valued listener drop me a line on Monday about our coverage of the pandemic. It
was one of those “stop and think” moments. So let me tell you what the person---who
will remain anonymous---said…
“…while I
know it is your job to keep people informed about the virus, it also would be
nice if you put some positive news about it out there too instead of just
focusing on the negative.”
The listener
goes on to write that well over 80-percent of the people who get it, make a
full recovery. Of all the cases in Illinois, the author says, that over half of
them no longer have the virus.
I won’t argue
the stats because they change daily and I am not convinced the Illinois
Department of Public Health has a handle
on true numbers.
Please
understand, it is not our news operation’s job to find the silver lining in a
world-wide pandemic. We report what we get from national, state and local
leaders. They haven’t been blowing sunshine up our skirts.
The President’s
own Surgeon General calls this our Pearl Harbor…our 9-11 moment. I know there is a lack of true
optimism when the commander-in-chief himself says over 200-thousand people will
die. We passed 10-thousand deaths on Monday. 9-11 saw 3,000 deaths and Pearl Harbor 2400 die. Do the math.
By nature,
I’m an optimist. By experience, I’m a realist.
Please don’t
shoot the messenger.
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