No doubt that this COVID-19 situation is a mess. When I look at social media, I see a mixture of various fears. This is the result of uncertainty. Of course, that’s probably the only part that makes any sense. Just think about what we’ve been told in the last few months. It’s a global killer. Stay indoors. Well, it’s not too bad. Economies are starting to open back up. The threat is over. It didn’t kill too many Americans, after all! People are relieved and ready to get back to work. Wait! Not so fast! New information is coming in. We haven’t counted every infected person. We can’t test everyone. Things are changing. We are not sure why people are suddenly dead weeks after infection. Reinfection is possible. You can become immune. Wait, perhaps not. Never mind, things are getting worse.

Are you confused yet? Me too! I consider myself a very rational person, and yet, I can’t help but think that something feels very “off.” But that doesn’t mean we need to start making emotional decisions. Instead, that means that we need to dig deep, examine more, and look for clues. Let me provide a couple of perspectives regarding COVID-19. These are just a few things that I believe most of us should at least consider.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I am not an expert in virology. However, a simple review of my studies will demonstrate that while I may not be a “pro” in that world, my position is not coming from a place of total ignorance. Regardless, take what I provide you here with a grain of salt and understand that I’m just sort of thinking out loud to help you see things that might have been missed. Links will be provided along the way so you can gather more context if I have not fully explained something.

The first thing to consider is that the situation is still quite new, so there are still quite a few unanswered questions. Too many are too quick to forget this simple point. That hasn’t stopped doctors from coming out and making “definitive” medical claims which end up being wrong, and it hasn’t stopped the commentators from suggesting it’s all been a hoax and nothing more than a bad flu. So perhaps it’s a good time to bring up that there is a big difference between “debunking” something and simply disagreeing with it. Second, a hoax is a falsehood deliberately fabricated to masquerade as the truth. Well, if the coronavirus weren’t real, there would be zero deaths, and people wouldn’t be trying to compare it with influenza. Clearly, it’s something. This leads us right to the claims that the virus is man-made, which contrasts with the claims that it’s natural. And don’t forget the theory of an accident, either.

It’s a confusing mess, and it’s hard to know what to believe anymore. So we look to the supposed experts. But sometimes that is even hard to do. It doesn’t help that outlets such as Newsweek have reported that “the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the organization led by Dr. Fauci, funded scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and other institutions for work on gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses.” Conflict of interest? Direct involvement? Maybe not, but such statements don’t exactly inspire confidence.

Regardless of what you want to believe, we know that people are dying. We know this because even front-line workers are experiencing the deaths first-hand. In some cases, it’s the family having to share the stories of doctors who have died. Furthermore, we see numerous reports of foreign officials that demonstrate the issue as well. We should start there. At the very least, we can conclude that something is going on. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “how real is it and how serious is it?” For that, we look to the dead.

How many dead are there, really? Well, the numbers seem to be in constant flux, and some numbers are being withheld, so it’s hard to know for sure. But here’s the deal, if we want to form solid perspectives, we need solid information. As you know, we are simply not getting that. So if we can’t get solid information, we need to look for clues. So let’s slow down and examine a few things in greater detail.

Globally, a lot of people have died. That much we know. In contrast, here in the states, the death toll is relatively low. However, and evidently, the death toll is rising and will continue to rise. Now, some are saying that it’s the media hyping it up. But it’s not the media suggesting that the death toll is going to continue to rise; it’s the CDC. And according to them, deaths are likely to continue to rise in the coming weeks. Is that a hoax, or is there some truth to that? If it is a hoax, then what is the reason? Or better yet, can both be true?

Here’s the thing, regardless of what outlet you prefer or what expert you choose to follow, they all confirm that deaths are happening – regardless of the number reported or the projection provided. Should we ignore such reports? I’m going to say no. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s the global killer that some are making it out to be. At least not based on that information, and at least not yet.

That being said, a big issue that I see is that people are trying to say that the coronavirus is nothing more than the flu. They say this because they are trying to suggest the two are equal. Well, that’s probably not the most responsible thing you can do, and it’s actually hurting your cause if that’s the position you’re going to take. That’s like comparing a Chihuahua with a Boxer. Sure, they are both dogs but good luck trying to put both of them in a purse. On April 8, 2020, the Murray Model downgraded the threat to 60,000 dead by August, which is actually lower than the death toll for the seasonal flu of 2017/2018. Of course, that number has since been revised, but I hope you can see my point. Another reason that this is a problem is due to grouping. We wouldn’t want to confuse those two dogs, and we wouldn’t want to make decisions for one dog based on the other.

COVID vs FLU

Let’s take a moment to clear up the flu vs. coronavirus nonsense. To begin with, they are two very different viruses from two very different families. On that alone, the comparisons should stop. To be clear, an influenza virus causes the flu. The SARS-CoV2 virus causes COVID-19. Let me be very clear in the idea that they have different names because they are not the same thing.

Let’s face it, they act differently, replicate at different speeds, impact immunity differently, and so on. For example, the coronavirus impacts the old more than the young, and it kills more men but infects more women. Of course, now we are seeing that patients that “recover” are experiencing huge issues a couple of weeks later. It’s not the flu, and it’s not a hoax! It’s like this, you wouldn’t compare a Ferrari with a Ford Pickup just because they are both “automobiles” that have a steering wheel, four tires, and a radio. You also wouldn’t deny the existence of a Ford Pickup just because it’s not on the racetrack racking up points. I guess I’m just saying be careful what you allow yourself to believe is “comparable” or “false” because doing so merely complicates true evaluation.

Some will suggest that their death rates are similar. But even that’s not entirely accurate, and suggesting so simply doesn’t account for some of the factors. So in the spirit of comparing apples to apples, I like the way Dr. Jeremy Samuel Faust, M.D., M.S., M.A., FACEP, describes it. Dr. Faust practices emergency medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and he is an instructor at Harvard Medical School. He says that “we have to compare counted deaths to counted deaths, not counted deaths to wildly inflated statistical estimates. If we compare, for instance, the number of people who died in the United States from COVID-19 in the second full week of April to the number of people who died from influenza during the worst week of the past seven flu seasons (as reported to the CDC), we find that the novel coronavirus killed between 9.5 and 44 times more people than seasonal flu. In other words, the coronavirus is not anything like the flu: It is much, much worse.“

That might be true, and I like the perspective, but when we look at overall numbers, one can’t help but wonder what we are missing. Because if you look at a COVID-19 tracker, you will see that globally, and so far, just over 235,000 people have died from the virus – if you trust the numbers. This number is rising, but when you factor in the global population, which is roughly 7.8 billion people, that’s only 0.003%.

When you consider the death rate, you could factor in the number of people infected. But that presents a problem because we don’t know how many people are infected or have been infected. Furthermore, too many people also don’t consider that many have developed immunity to influenza. This is not the case with COVID 19. Just think about what that ultimately means for a second. Also, the flu has been around humans for hundreds if not thousands of years, and SARS-CoV 2 has been around humans for about 10 seconds comparatively. It’s just not a good comparison on multiple levels.

I want you to keep in mind that your favorite media outlet is not a medical science lab. Still, you have a choice in what you believe, so the responsibility ultimately falls on you to do the research. Sure, nobody can know everything, but the way I see it, you can choose news media that continues to compare the two as equals and click-baits you with misleading headlines, or you can choose peer-reviewed research and respected medical professionals who repeatedly say it’s not the flu and that the two shouldn’t be compared. The choice seems obvious.

Now, if you chose the professionals, then understand that almost all agree that COVID-19 is deadlier than the flu (even if by just a little). But for clarity, according to the Lancet (arguably the most prestigious medical journal on the planet), for every age group above 20, the fatality risk from COVID-19 is much higher than the flu (as of this moment in time).

The point is that COVID-19 is not the flu (at the very least, technically), and it is likely deadlier than the flu (at the very least, a little). That is if you want to believe highly respected medical experts and leaders in the field of infectious disease over media personalities. But I get it. It helps to compare. Well, if you want to compare it to something, then compare it to another COVID. At least, that would make a little more sense.

Now, I know that what I just shared seems to differ from what physicians Dan Erickson, and Artin Massihi of Accelerated Urgent Care in Bakersfield, California, had to say recently. They, too, compared it to the flu, and their contrasting statements have gone viral (until their video was removed for going against the W.H.O.). But are they right? Well, I disagree with the flu part, but who am I? I do agree with their resistance to the lockdown. Of course, being confined around people who are potentially sick is a bad idea. However, staying at home and not getting outside is simply a bad idea though. But you have to make up your own mind.

It’s a tough call for the layman, but as demonstrated previously, some doctors get things wrong and have to retract, and some doctors get it right. My point is that we (including medical professionals) need to start comparing apples to apples because confusing one with the other is actually counterproductive.

At the same time, I want you to keep in mind that these experts are trying to find answers themselves. We all are. And as mentioned previously, we still have some unanswered questions. Additionally, we should probably temper this divide and blanket trust with the idea that medical doctors are often more deadly than these viruses because they are humans and make mistakes. Furthermore, we know some doctors have a demonstrated conflict of interest. The point I’m trying to make here is that while doctors and scientists are probably better sources than news personalities, they are still people and will get some things wrong from time to time as well.

Let me explain it like this. I can promise you that while some of these doctors are saying it one way and some are saying it the other way, there is a 100% chance that some of them are wrong! Only time will tell on this one, but I’m going to be very careful until that truth is realized. And I’ll talk about this in a bit but isn’t the inconsistency among health professionals intriguing? Shouldn’t that raise an alarm or two?

The Number of Dead

It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that if this was so deadly, we would likely see “essential” workers dying in droves. I’ve seen that on social media several times in recent days. However, that’s not entirely true. Being the devil’s advocate, I can’t help but notice that people are avoiding each other, taking precautions, washing their hands more, touching their faces less, wearing their masks, and yet we continue to see some infections and deaths, and we are still expecting the death toll to rise (if the CDC is correct).

Interestingly enough, there are arguments being made that not only will the masks not protect you, but wearing the masks will actually make people more susceptible. Experts disagree on whether or not that’s true but doesn’t that allude to something real? After all, that would have to mean they are suggesting that it would make us more susceptible to the virus – meaning that there is actually a virus. But is it killing as many as they say? I understand that it’s hard to trust what you see or read these days. And while we can understand that something is likely happening, we can’t ignore the claims from medical professionals that COVID-19 death certificates are being manipulated.

Additionally, according to the New York Post, “The federal government is classifying the deaths of patients infected with the coronavirus as COVID-19 deaths, regardless of any underlying health issues that could have contributed to the loss of someone’s life.” Many have used this as evidence to suggest that the numbers are being inflated. That’s understandable, but we should consider the contrast as well. For example, many deaths are not being counted or only recently started to get counted (like in nursing homes, for instance), and many experts are now alluding to an undercount of the death toll due to false negatives on tests and a lack of testing overall.

Clearly, the count is off, but is the count really off by “tens of thousands” as some suggest? Well, it seems plausible to me, but it has already been claimed that we may not know the official count until it’s all over. Would you believe the numbers at that point anyway? At the very least, it’s something to keep in mind. Not all is as some would have you believe, and clearly, not all is as it seems.

Personally, I want you to do the opposite of living in fear or panic. I want you to think without emotional bias. I want you to form a robust opinion based on ALL sides. I also want you to examine the in-fighting and the constant backtracking and see it for what it is. Doing so will likely give you a more robust opinion and perspective. Let me give you an example of what I mean.

For me, COVID-19 is definitely not as bad as some tried to make it out to be (at least so far), BUT it is still definitely something to take seriously. In fact, it is my opinion that you should take ANY virus seriously. However, I want everyone to take a more balanced approach. For instance, when comparing it to other COVID’s, it’s not nearly as bad as SARS or even MERS. However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t protect yourself because, clearly, it’s a dangerous killer when compared to the common cold.

The thing we need to understand is that this virus is more successful than SARS or MERS because of how it acts and spreads. Personally, I believe that it’s still very early in the game, and I believe that we haven’t seen what this thing can really do yet. There is a good chance that this virus has only cleared its throat. And yes… there is also a chance that we’ve already seen its peak – but I’m not sure I’m ready to accept that based on history and what we are seeing (not necessarily hearing) from officials. Let me tell you why.

The Mutant Potential

Let’s say that this virus is exactly what officials have told us it is. Understand that there is still a lot we don’t know (especially the public), and there is a lot that will likely change by the fall. Look, as you might have heard me say before, it’s not the first round everyone should be worried about. It’s usually the second or third wave where viruses show us their tricks.

I see a lot of comparisons to the Spanish flu on this. Fine… let’s use the Spanish flu as an example, but that’s not going to help those who are downplaying COVID-19. In fact, the way I look at it, the Spanish flu could be a great warning to us about how we should approach this and perhaps all the reason in the world to slow down on any conclusions.

When the Spanish flu first appeared in early 1918, it had all the hallmarks of the seasonal flu. Nobody thought much about it. Well, look at what’s happening. It’s early, and a lot of people are downplaying the coronavirus and calling it the seasonal flu. Check and Check! Well, the second wave of Spanish flu is when it showed its ugly face.

Let me break this down a bit. The Spanish flu (which is a swine flu) began in January of 1918. The Spanish flu infected roughly 500 million people worldwide and killed roughly 50 million of the infected (about 2.7%) over the entire pandemic. The thing to keep in mind here is that the Spanish flu pandemic provided its worst month in October of 1918 (during its second round and courtesy of mutations), and the pandemic didn’t end until December 1920. So if the coronavirus is like the Spanish flu in any way, we could expect something nasty in the fall and for it to linger around for a couple of years.

Well, guess what? Experts expect another round of COVID in the fall with a bunch of mutations along with it, and they are saying it could last about two years. The reason this concerns me is that viruses also have the ability to merge with other viruses. Look back to 2009. Do you remember when health authorities were concerned about the H1N1 virus recombining with the seasonal flu? Specifically, they were worried it would mutate into a more lethal form. Viruses are crafty like that, and I haven’t seen anything to suggest that this virus doesn’t have the same capability.

The opportunity for SARS-CoV 2 – COVID 19 – to mutate and merge with something else is quite possible. Furthermore, the fact that it’s a new virus that we still know so little about should be raising alarms in anyone that knows anything about the subject. Does this not raise some questions for you?

Does the fact that we continue to see these “wow moments” not give you pause? It sure does for me. It seems like each week, we were given a “wow moment” that doctors and scientists didn’t see coming – like with it spreading to pets, which they were previously so sure wasn’t possible. In fact, now they are suggesting that the young seem to be less likely to catch or pass it. That would be a pretty big wow-non-flu moment if it’s true. Or how about the situation with smokers or the blood-clots? Which by the way, you might recall when I wrote about nicotine not being the devil!

But I get it – people are frustrated, broke, confused, and angry. Some people want to risk it all to get back to work. So let’s balance it. If it is a real threat, that would be a costly mistake. Of course, if the threat is not real, it would be very costly not to get back to work. We win and lose either way, but we likely wouldn’t know it until it was too late – thanks in great part to the lack of information and trust. It’s a tough call. This is why information is so important. Yet, I don’t see people protesting for more information. Instead, I see them protesting for everything else.

As for the confusion, well, you can thank the media, social media, a lack of transparency, and a heated political divide that aims to divide this country even further. You can participate in that if you want, but it’s not getting us the answers we need. However, if you look outside of the United States, it doesn’t take much to see that perhaps there is simply more to the story than a left-right battle. Still, each of us has to make a decision.

Let me be clear. The regular flu season and the second wave of COVID will likely hit us later this year – at the same time. If that isn’t enough to get your attention, then understand that they are already seeing SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A Virus co-infections which are complicating both discovery and recovery for the infected. And here’s another thing to consider, if the reports are true, then this COVID has already mutated anywhere between 3 and 30 times – in just a few short months. Just think about what this could possibly mean for us – or the world.

The point is that I think it would be unwise to make any final judgments regarding your safety until after we get more information. The virus will die down a bit this summer, but I think we should use this summer to prepare accordingly (just in case). I understand that my opinions are my own and that everyone has one, but if you’re still with me, then take everything that I have provided thus far and add it to what we can see with our own eyes. When I do that, I become convinced that there is either a lot we are not being told or that there is a lot that they simply don’t know yet. Frankly, I’m not sure which is scarier.

A Big Mystery or Conspiracy?

In recent weeks, I have actually seen several claims that we are all being lied to. Perhaps, but which part? Who can definitively say? Are the conspiracies real? Is it all Russian disinformation? Is there another explanation?

This hole gets deep. There are doctors now coming out who are in TOTAL opposition to the narratives being shared. For example, Dr. Andrew Kaufman has stated that a virus is not causing a new disease and that there is no evidence of increased mortality. Specifically, he’s saying that the COVID virus has never been isolated, and he’s speaking out against the agenda! But does he have an agenda that we should be concerned about? Because his statements contrast dramatically with suggestions that there will 100,000 deaths by the end of summer. And frankly, there are doctors who are getting quite angry about the conspiracies going around as well. At the same time, there are doctors that are angry at the government for its lack of response. Would there be anger if there was no threat?

There is a lot of mystery surrounding this, and the lack of transparency not only breeds conspiracy, it actually erodes any trust that many were willing to originally extend. It doesn’t help when we see stories about senior officials pushing spy agencies to hunt for evidence to support their narratives. It also doesn’t help when we can see this crazy push to censor information rather than share it. And if that wasn’t enough, how about the news that funeral home directors throughout New York City are questioning the number of deaths officially attributed to the virus?

And yes, the censorship is real. We all need to understand that they are dialing back and censoring information related to the virus on almost all fronts. Hopefully, we can all see that clearly. But what did the administration think was going to happen when they announced that they would be funneling information? What are the people supposed to think when The White House blocks Dr. Anthony Fauci from testifying before Congress? If you are unaware of the censorship, then just Google “coronavirus censorship” to see what I mean. Or look at the reports of states ceasing the release of statistics due to a mismatch in the numbers of the dead. If knowledge is power, then they are rendering us powerless – and sometimes helpless.

The question we need to ask is, “why the secrecy?” Why are world governments censoring so much information related to the virus? Why has social media jumped on board? Why hide the higher death numbers when people are doubting the lethality? These acts are the problem, not the solution. Is it a conspiracy? Is it a cover-up? Is it, so the public doesn’t lose their minds? Is it because there is some other agenda at play? Is it because there is something rather serious about the virus that they know about but don’t want us to discover or panic over? Was this all just a handy excuse to collapse an already fragile and failing global economy? What is the endgame here? Questions and theories abound, but one thing is for certain, their lack of transparency has done more harm than good. The people are getting angry!

And then there is the 5G theory. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that people are paranoid about 5G technology, and this is especially true when you consider the growing surveillance state. But some are suggesting that the coronavirus pandemic and 5G have a direct link. If you haven’t heard about this one, basically, some are suggesting that the virus hype is actually a cover for a mass global 5G deployment during the lockdown. Dr. Rashid Buttar seems to be the one leading this one. He has publicly accused Fauci, Gates, and the media of using COVID-19 to drive this hidden agenda. Is he right? Officials from around the world obviously disagree.

Meanwhile, something we should all keep in mind (and something I am paying particularly close attention to) is that officials are still investing and planning on a long-term response as though they are still expecting something significant. This is often missed on social media. A great example of this comes from an article out of Kansas talking about health officials creating “non-congregate housing plans” for four western Kansas counties. But this is merely one example of many throughout the country. That’s a lot of money and resources being dedicated to something coming down the road. Another example is that they are already telling schools to prepare for E-Learning in the fall instead of holding regular classes. Clearly, many officials either don’t believe that this is over, or they are desperately trying to keep the narrative going, but just how bad it all might get remains to be seen.

There are a lot of theories to consider, and each theory appears to have two sides. But even the parts that seem rather straightforward tend to have some inconsistencies. But we have to be careful about how we see these or what conclusions we draw from them. For instance, people on social media have been pointing out that the United States holds approximately 5% of the world’s population but currently claims about a third of all global positive tests. They point to this as evidence of a lie or conspiracy. Does this demonstrate something sinister, or does it merely demonstrate that we have a strong medical system that is simply catching more of the cases? I suppose either is possible. Again, be careful what you allow yourself to believe and try to see each piece from multiple sides.

Then as mentioned before, I am having a hard time wrapping my head around how divided the medical community is. How is this possible? Better yet, why? Is it due entirely to the lack of clarity? Is it rooted in hope or even fear? I mean, if this was anything like the flu, we would likely see some sort of consistency. After all, we don’t see this kind of divide over the flu (which is also another clue that it’s not like the flu), and we don’t see this kind of divide over other diseases such as the cold, MRSA, HIV, etc., etc. It either is, or it isn’t.

Then there are the theories surrounding vaccines. Some suggest that Gates is trying to put computer chips in the vaccines. Well, actually, there are quite a few theories on the vaccine front. Meanwhile, it has been rumored that Moderna was discovered to be using HEK 293 to produce the Spike (S) protein for the COVID-19 vaccine. For clarity, HEK 293 is basically aborted baby cells. I’m actually kind of surprised that I haven’t seen more backlash about that one.

But then there are the subtle warning signs. If we are on the verge of opening up our economy, then why are so many organizations and agencies planning as though the worst is yet to come? That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence and seems entirely contradictory. I mean, am I the only one who has noticed that the actions of officials sort of point to the idea that perhaps it’s not quite safe enough to open back up? For me, when a selfish politician is demonstrating concern about their well-being while trying to get their constituents back outside, I take pause.

Yes, there are a ton of theories out there, but we should also pay homage to the idea that someone has to be right and someone has to be wrong. And that’s scary because arguably the most sinister of theories is that all of this is a hoax for political reasons. Supposed reasons for this hoax include a government power grab, the entry of a new global order, or something as simple as a Democrat plan that attempts to keep citizens locked up at home to ensure mail-in ballots come election time (among a few others). While I would like to ignore such claims as nothing more than a conspiracy theory, one can’t help but note that the answers that we do have don’t necessarily inspire confidence to the contrary. While seemingly remote, history has a way of demonstrating that weirder (or sometimes even darker) things have happened. It makes you think.

Be Prepared As Well As Safe

I have asked a lot of questions today. I don’t know the answers. And if it sounds like I’m all over the place, it’s because I am. There is a lot to consider and a lot we simply don’t know. I agree that right now, things are confusing. At least, at times, this does not look like a very scary situation and/or that perhaps an alternate agenda is at play. Of course, at other times, the opposite of both seems real as well. But no matter how I look at it, it seems to me that the potential for a much bigger problem is very real, regardless of which narrative we go with. This is especially true when you factor in censorship and long-term plans. Remember, they are now saying that this pandemic could last as long as two years. Either way, and even according to surveys, the trust is gone.

Still, when I examine the actions of officials and agencies that demonstrate that this is probably not over yet, something in me wants to pay attention and act accordingly. When I look at the data, it appears to be real. But I still can’t help but feel that they know more than what is being shared. At the same time, I see the erosions of Constitutional rights in the name of safety. I see the arrests and increased security, and I see the tyrannical compliance measures being deployed or the government threatening action against private citizens for pointing out the obvious. That is alarming, and I completely disagree with how they are going about all that. However, I also recognize that such acts are nothing new because Constitutional erosions have been going on for quite some time and seem to spike during any national disaster. In fact, I think that speaks more about the American people than of the government. And with all that being said, I also see government layoffs and economic hardships that actually hurt the establishment. There just doesn’t seem to be a clear pattern to suggest a definitive one way or the other.

This whole thing reminds me of the officer standing in front of a murder scene saying, “Move along, there’s nothing to see here.” Of course, there is; I can see the dead body right behind you. I just want to know if the killer is still on the loose, so I don’t get blind-sided when I walk into my home. Of course, if I heard gunshots and saw people running, I probably wouldn’t seek out the shooter and ask him to prove how deadly his gun is before making my next move. I recognize the inconsistencies, and I am aware that some things are simply not adding up. However, I don’t need to lay in a mass grave to prove to myself that people are dying any more than I need to ask my wife if she’s been cheating after seeing her in bed with someone else. And at the end of the day, trust is earned via transparency, and transparency is simply not something we’ve been given.

So let’s take a moment to pretend that we are being lied to – in either direction. We absolutely must remember that the most successful lies have an abundance of truth interwoven. This is important to note. That’s why I refuse to abandon one narrative for another. Doing so removes you from certain truths that you would otherwise be exposed to. That doesn’t mean that you buy into the narratives. It just means that you remain willing to examine them.

Consider what happens if you don’t do it that way. Imagine if everyone started to believe this was all a hoax, and it turned out to be something terrible. Or imagine if everyone started to believe it was something terrible, and it turned out to be a hoax. Is it possible to be prepared for both? I believe it is, and that’s the route I have chosen to take.

Again, these are just a few things to consider. I could have added more, but I think you get the point. Again, I don’t have the answers or inside information on this one, I don’t have the full story, and I’m not an expert. I have access to the same information that you do. I am, however, armed with my model, and that model says we are entering rough times. Still, a lot of people are in the dark and looking for answers. If you’re one of them, be careful which coat you grab onto. Calm down and feel it out.

The issues are clear, but hopefully, you can see why I believe that forming any conclusions at the moment might be irresponsible and premature. Because I also recognize that we are all still learning about this, and information is rushing in from around the globe. At the same time, we are being inundated with false information and misdirection, and damn those who are doing that on purpose. The point is that while we are seeing plenty of reasons to not trust the establishment, we must also recognize that we should probably hold up on providing blanket trust to these “alternate sources.”

There is a lot to sift through, and some (including you and I) are going to get a few things wrong. So give yourself (and others) a little grace as we figure this out. As for me, I try really hard to make decisions with a robust amount of accurate data. That doesn’t seem entirely possible right now, which means it’s just a little too early for any solid conclusions. However, we still need to recognize that things are seriously jacked up, and that’s a big problem! We don’t know what we don’t know. We can (and probably should) have our suspicions, but I would hold off on conclusions for just a little bit longer = keeping in mind, of course, that someone is right.

Now with all that being said, we must also recognize that governments and parties are seemingly taking advantage of the situation. Perhaps that is the real threat. For example, the Democrats are using the distraction to pass H.R. 5717. This bill is a firearms bill that would essentially ban “assault weapons,” create federal licensing requirements for buying or owning new firearms, as well as establish a 30 percent excise tax and a 50 percent excise tax on firearms and ammunition, respectively. This bill is moving right along, which is scary when you consider how few representatives are showing up to work right now. And while this shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, we also have to recognize that private firms and scammers are taking advantage as well. We now know that publicly traded companies have received more than $1 billion in funds meant for small businesses. The scary part is that taxpayers have no way of knowing who is getting the cash. SO SLOW DOWN AND EXAMINE!

I guess if I had ANY advice to give, it would be to protect yourself and be prepared for anything because while some things just don’t feel right, and while much of it doesn’t add up (at least not yet), it doesn’t mean that you should ignore the terrible tales that we have seen throughout the world nor should we discard the contortions happening right in front of your face. Remember that lies have truth interwoven, so I would imagine that at least some of the conspiracies will be at least partially true, but I would also imagine that a lot of the data regarding the virus will be true as well. Regardless, either way, the last thing we want to do is become the victim.

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Check out this interesting perspective by Dr. Robert Pearl: 3 Coronavirus Facts Americans Must Know Before Returning To Work, School

You might also enjoy this piece from Ed Yong: Why the Coronavirus Is So Confusing

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If you are interested in improving your overall health, you might like my article titled: Three Simple Things You Can Do For Better Health

This article is a transcription (with slight alterations) of a previously recorded podcast. Its purpose is to provide links related to the information discussed during the podcast.