Allow me to interrupt Philadelphia SMOKE HYSTERIA 2023!
Did you hear that it’s smokey outside? Have you taken any of these steps?
Have you warned everyone on your timeline and informed them that it’s smokey outside?
Have you posted pictures yet to reinforce that it’s smokey outside in Philadelphia?
If you haven’t you aren’t helping to contribute to the ongoing hysteria of SMOKE 2023!
Yes, it’s crazy. I’ve only seen something like this one other time in my life and it was when we were living in the hills North of Atlanta. Thankfully some rain came through to clear the air and remove the threat. It was weird and it made for some amazing shots of sunrises and sunsets. That was about the extent of it. Since that time, we lived through a pandemic and 24/7 news media learned that the way to keep eyes and ears was to play it up like a scene out of Independence Day. I’m expecting the aliens aren’t coming this time, but be sure to stay tuned!
We learned during the pandemic ways to keep ourselves safe from infection and some of them were later shown to have not possibly be the best strategies. As a cancer patient now, I’m wearing a mask in crowded public or private situations in order to shield myself from illness. If there is anything we can take away from the pandemic it’s that we know how to stay inside and get stuff done. We work from home, we order food from home, we shop from home. We will survive.
Watching the local media coverage it wasn’t so reassuring. I heard yesterday during multiple live television break-ins to cover the smoke “I implore you, keep your children inside!” Though I don’t feel that is horrible advice, it was delivered with a tone of fear and I’m not sure it was completely necessary. Tone matters when delivering a message. How you share information with your audience is a choice. Are you trying to inform or create an aura of “I can’t possibly turn this off!”
At two different points in my radio career, I was being courted to consider doing News/Talk Radio. When considering the possibility of leaving the Toy Store of Media to talk about serious issues this was one of my major concerns. At some point, the direction of media came to be a desire to sow discord. The networks found out that if we are in a state of constant concern, we are on the hook. All outlets appear to have learned this lesson and exploit it.
There are some that are breathing compromised. Many senior citizens could find themselves struggling if exposed to the air outside for long periods of time. The fact is, almost all of us will be just fine if we take normal, sensible precautions. Use recycled air in your car. Keep your windows closed and run your air conditioning. Keep pets with flat faces inside as much as possible.
So before you post the latest Smokey update, think about how you aren’t really being affected negatively but how the constant bombardment of information may negatively be affecting others.
It’s not a reason to close yourself up in the bunker, despite what you are hearing on the news.
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