You may be wondering, “What Happened to Discover SPRINGFORD???”
Well, like everything this year, the lockdowns and restrictions have infringed on our ability to operate as designed. Our 3rd season was cut short and we attempted to continue with a virtual interview format. Though we thoroughly enjoyed the conversations we were able to have that otherwise would not have been featured on the main Discover SPRINGFORD show, it became apparent that it is simply not the same as having in-person interviews.
The purpose of Discover SPRINGFORD is to highlight the SPRINGFORD community and the great places to live, work, eat and explore, and doing that through a virtual conference call is simply not going to do it justice.
For me personally, the next Zoom conversation I have will be too soon. I thrive on in-person interaction and there is no replacement for it no matter how many commercials or PSAs try to program me into thinking otherwise.
Our community needs our small businesses and it needs them to remain open for people to visit them IN PERSON without restriction. EVERY BUSINESS IS ESSENTIAL because it provides jobs which allow people to feed their families. Most small businesses cannot survive at 50% capacity or with strictly online services. We need the freedom to make healthy choices for our families. Freedom can be dangerous. Freedom comes with risks. But freedom also grants you the ability to choose what’s best for you and your family. A healthy community is more than just the absence of a particular virus. It requires mental, emotional, and economic health as well.
We need to be able to discuss the negative effects of the virus, AS WELL AS the negative effects of any mitigation strategies in order to make the best decisions for our communities. If we cannot weigh the pros and cons of our decisions for fear of offending then we will end up making poor decisions.
When we look at data we need context. 227,000 virus-related deaths is a staggering figure and my heart goes out to the families who have lost loved ones this year, as it does to everyone who loses a family member from whatever cause. But did you know that 250,000 people die EVERY YEAR from medical malpractice? It’s the third leading cause of death in the US. Did you know that on average 7,750 every day in the US, which means that approximately 2,363,750 people have died this year as of today. The World Health Organization (who just recently reversed it’s previous position and is now opposing lockdowns) estimates that 3 million people worldwide die from alcohol abuse EVERY YEAR. If we really want to save lives, shouldn’t we just ban alcohol then?
A recent study of excess deaths shows that nearly 100,000 people ages 25-44 have died this year and experts suggest that these are deaths of despair due to the excessive actions taken to counteract the spread of the virus. These people were business owners who lost everything due to shutdowns. They were fathers, mothers, children. These deaths also matter. We are also seeing an increase in isolation deaths among the elderly. Does protecting the elderly from a virus matter much if ultimately they are being forced to die from loneliness? These are hard questions that must be asked. Sure, we can do our part to practice good hygiene and stay home if we are sick, but to stop the spread AT ANY COST? The cure CANNOT be worse than the disease.
We now know significantly more about this pandemic than we did back in March. The CDC released the data showing the survival rate by age demographic, regardless of comorbidities:
Ages 0-19: 99.997%
Ages 20-49: 99.98%
Ages 50-69: 99.5%
Ages 70+: 94.6%
For those under 50, statistically speaking, you are more likely to die from the flu (0.1% mortality rate) than you are from this virus. This is not intended to upset anyone, or diminish the enormous death toll we have experienced as a country, but to show that there are ways we can move forward without destroying more lives and livelihoods.
Discover SPRINGFORD exists to serve as an advocate for the businesses of SPRINGFORD and as a conduit in order to reach the people of SPRINGFORD, and we hope to be able to once again highlight businesses with in-person, face-to-face interviews very soon. Until then, we will be on hiatus.
Godspeed and God Bless America.