Can We Fix Stupid?

I find myself going on to Facebook once a day.  I specifically look for the Ventura County Coronavirus page with it's updates on the status of COVID-19 in our county.  We're actually doing pretty well.  While there has been an uptick in cases, the number of hospitalizations and deaths has been low.  Inevitably, there's someone who comments that this is all a media hoax, and they highlight the low numbers and say that 99% of people recover from the virus.  Every time I see these types of comments, I feel an obligation to respond.  I don't call them stupid.  I don't call them ignorant.  I don't lower myself to the name calling that some of these comments include in their rants.  I actually try to point out where they're correct.  We have been doing well in our county.  That isn't cause to celebrate. Other counties that have taken their eye off the ball, so to speak, are doing much worse.  Now is the time to continue to stay focused.  I also repeatedly let people know that not everyone recovers from this virus, and the risks go up with age.  

Why do I bother? Does it make a difference?  I think I bother for the same reason that I've been obsessed with battling this virus and every entity that doesn't know what it's doing.  If you don't say something, you have no one to blame but yourself.  I have no idea if the people who rant ever read my comment, and if they do, whether it makes a difference.  However, if just one of them stops to think for a second, it would have been worth it.

Maybe not.  As I wrote this, it struck me that if one of the people who go on a rant pauses for a second to reconsider their position...is that one second worth the several minutes that I took to write a response?  One thing is certain, there are only 24 hours in a day, and I have been pushing the limits of that day for 8 1/2 months.  I do need to pace myself.  Life is, after all, just like an Ironman.  The only analogy I can come up with related to doing an Ironman is my propensity to tell other athletes to walk during the run portion, especially when I see them struggling on an uphill portion.  I feel a need to let them know that if they "save their energy" early on, they'll have more at the end.  I've learned that the hard way and have always felt a need to share what I know with others (pretty standard fare for me).  Does it change their behavior?  I don't know.  Maybe. Sometimes.  I still do it.  I guess that's who I am. It doesn't matter if we can fix stupid. I always have to tri.