Reality, Risk and Responsibility

Whenever people question the wisdom of the possibly-well-intentioned “stay at home” orders, there are those who scream "But this Virus is REAL! It really KILLS people!" – and accuse others of denying its reality.

We know. We agree. COVID-19, also known as the Wuhan Flu or the CCP Virus, is certainly real. It certainly does kill some people.

Frankly, even those who refer to it as a hoax aren’t actually denying that it’s real. Even they acknowledge its existence; they are just saying that the danger is overblown, that it’s a genuine, occasionally fatal disease, but it isn’t as big a public health concern as has been presented. An important distinction.

Yes, we know that the CCP Virus kills people. We know that it is often the last straw that kills the already weak and dying. We acknowledge this. We are not arguing this with anyone.

But we also know that it very rarely attacks the healthy. It does occasionally, but very rarely. We now know, with months of observation, that if you start out healthy, you will probably never even know you had it.

Two examples from recent news headlines are country singer Joe Diffie and Senator Warren’s brother, Donald Reed Herring, both of whom died of the CCP Virus.

Joe Diffie was a reasonably healthy 61-year-old; Donald Herring was a very sick 86-year-old, already dying of cancer and heart disease. Both made headlines for having died “of the COVID-19 virus.”

But to be fair, we must recognize that Donald Herring’s death was a typical example of the effects of this virus; Joe Diffie’s death was the exception.

No lack of compassion here on either case; we are always sad when a loved one dies. But we must remember that Mr. Herring was going to pass away this year either way. Joe Diffie wasn’t. And Joe Diffie’s case, tragic as it was, is a rarity. Most healthy people don’t get a bad reaction to this thing.

Public policy needs to be based on acknowledging this difference, and rationally responding to these odds.

Admitting the facts shouldn’t shock anyone. It’s just data. It’s just listing and discussing the facts we need, in order to make wise decisions, both in terms of personal choice and public policy. But many in both the formal media and social media are attacked hourly, just for discussing these data points rationally and objectively. Why do you think that is?

The CCP Virus is real, and by the time this is over, it will likely have killed between 30,000 and 100,000 Americans this year.

But the seasonal flu is real too, and it kills people too, anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000 vulnerable Americans per year… probably about the same lethal range that the CCP Virus will have. We don’t shut down America for the seasonal flu. We watch our old and vulnerable a little more closely during flu season, but we live our lives, because we must.

There is risk in American life. There has always been, and there will always be.

Just driving to and from work, after all, has risk. Fatal commutes, from car crashes to pedestrians being hit by buses or trains, are real too, and are statistically significant in our big cities, but that doesn't cause us to give up on driving, or to shut down the highways and transit systems.

Heck, we don’t even lock up convicted drunk drivers, or even try to stop illegal immigrants from getting jobs as truck drivers and cabbies, despite flagrant disobedience of the rules of the road. We acknowledge that commutes involve risk, and we live with the risk. Because we know we must.

In many cases, just accepting a job includes a fatal risk. Seeking employment as a policeman or fireman is practically a death sentence in some areas, because of how dangerous their communities are... These heroes are injured or killed in the line of duty all the time, but that doesn't cause us to close down our fire and police departments. We appreciate their service, and we live with the risk. Because we know we must.

Plenty of private sector jobs are just as dangerous, or even more so. Think of the workers resurfacing our highways, with 65mph cars and trucks whizzing past them, or construction workers on skyscrapers, living their days in the crow’s nest of a crane or on an I-beam 100 feet above the ground. Think of power-line workers and other electricians dealing with 220-volt systems and troubleshooting failed equipment. These jobs have worse odds than taking your chances with the CCP Virus, but that doesn’t stop them from going to work every day.

Truckers drive for a living, and many haul dangerous products like flammable, toxic, and other HazMat materials. Many truckers have to climb on flatbeds to tarp their loads (this is the source of the majority of injuries in that profession, in fact). Many must drive a hundred thousand miles a year on roads and bridges that the politicians have allowed to fall into disrepair, or on natural routes so dangerous that nothing can make them totally safe (try driving an 18-wheeler through the Blue Ridge Mountains or across the Rockies sometime).

Serving in the military is dangerous too. Not only can you be shot at in battle, if you have the bad luck to serve in a time of war, but in addition, there are tons of risks even in peacetime. Training exercises, the heat and pressure of basic training, test piloting new equipment like fighter planes and bombers... all these pose risk of life and limb. Always have. But we can't just shut down the armed forces, and send home the millions of valiant patriots who serve. We live in a world of terrorists and rogue states and powerful enemy nations. We must keep our armed services in place, and we are grateful to every patriot who accepts that risk and signs onto his commission.

The medical profession is rightly in the news these days for their heroic tasks, but that’s nothing new either. Doctors and nurses have always dealt with contagious conditions; they knew it from their first days of medical school, if not sooner, but it didn’t stop them from picking this honorable profession. It’s their career choice, and they decided to live with that risk, as have the biomedical engineers, chemists and biologists who work in the lab to develop the tools they rely on.

We need them, so we appreciate those who take these jobs. The jobs are necessary, so, by definition, living with the risk that the jobs include is necessary too.

These are just a few of the examples that come to mind quickly. There are hundreds more. Life in America involves risk.... no matter whether there's a viral epidemic or not.

So, is there a risk today? Yes, of course. There always is, and it is somewhat elevated while this new disease is out there. We need to keep our sick, weak, and older people at home, and as safe as is practical. The most vulnerable should shelter in place, and order food for delivery, and keep the phone handy to call an ambulance if needed.

But we cannot shut down the economy that pays for our ambulances and roads, the economy that pays for the grocery stores from which you order, the economy that funds the pharmaceutical makers and hospitals that will treat the fraction of a fraction of a percent of people who get a truly severe case.

This economy is funded by our factories, our retail stores, our car dealers, our restaurants. The so-called “essential” economy only exists because of the so-called “non-essential” economy. They work in tandem. Eliminate one, and you eliminate both.

There have always been risks in life, and just one more has been added this year. That’s all.

We HAVE to accept that risk, and go about our daily lives, with care, with courage, and with diligence, because otherwise, we are not America.

John F. Di Leo is a Chicagoland-based trade compliance trainer, writer and actor. His columns have run in Illinois Review since 2009.

“An important distinction.”

How many important distinctions are wasted on the left? We could start with the difference between a right and a privilege, and end with the difference between a citizen of the world and a citizen of the United States.

Re Joe Diffie... I did think about clarifying that part when I wrote the piece, and decided against it. Now I wish I had.

According to published reports, Joe Diffie’s dad died of lung cancer and old age a year ago. Since they had the same name, people have assumed that it was the singer who died of lung cancer last month.

But allegedly anyway, according to his widow, the country singer Joe Diffie did not have anything else wrong with him, he was just a normal, reasonably healthy 61 year old who happened to have the awful luck to get sick with a bad case of the CCP Virus and die of it.

It does happen. It’s rare, but it does.

Most common is for this to be what pushes the already-dying over the edge.... like my other example, Liz Warren’s older brother.

The point is, while it’s tragic for this to happen to anyone younger than 70 and without comorbitities, it does happen occasionally... but not frequently enough to justify destroying the economy for it.

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