thankful for voice of reason

My first introduction to Anthony Fauci was through a link posted on fb to a pundit's page.
When I shared the video interview done with the man of science, I went to youtube, to not confuse issues with the pundit's political rhetoric.
I do, however, laud Trevor Noah for asking intelligent questions.



I even more laud Anthony Fauci for his calm, thoughtful, responses.
That information was not anything new to me, as I follow the news of the world.
To date, worldwide, there are 528,000 active cases and there have been 34,000 deaths.
There's some good news, too: 152,000 people have had SARS-CoV-2 and are still alive and breathing, having made full recoveries.
While not outstanding, it is hopeful.
Hopeful is what I felt when I watched this video.
Hopeful.
Now, I have even more hope.
This gentle man, with decades of research on respiratory failure and virus activity going back to the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic, has managed to do something others have not: he has caused our President to see reason.
I heard the news last night and felt a weight lifted.
I heard the President say that Easter was off the table, that the American public was to officially continue to shelter in place until April 30, that we might possibly be able to return to regular operation on June 1.
Now, I've read those words on the one news source I trust.
i thank You, God.

I have several in my family who blindly follow the President.
My concern for them has been monumental for the past few weeks, as the spread of the virus has grown, both away and here in this country.
I have not been the only one concerned.
People all over the world have been following the actions and words of our President, watching helplessly as he turned a deaf ear and blind eye to the truth.
Anthony Fauci has dealt with ignorant Presidents before.
The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, caused by the Human Immunodeficiency virus infection, started during Ronald Reagan's first term in the White House.
So, there's that.
Almost forty years later, the 79-year-old Fauci is again trying to preach science to politicians.
However, the man has learned how to deal with irascible people.
No doubt, he has had much experience as the director of the NIH's Allergy and Infectious Diseases division for the past 36 years.
He was only 44 years old when he attained that title.
The fact that he still has it speaks volumes about his research... and about his ability to communicate about that research.
The clinical research physician has even received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award that the United States offers to civilians.
However, none of that impressed the President.
What truly got his attention was the media sensation that the man has become.
The above video has been viewed by more than eight million people since it was posted a mere four days ago.
Moreover, Dr. Fauci has been interviewed many times this year, by print media, by national talk radio hosts, and by television journalists.
That made the man "a major television star" in our President's mind.
Add the fact that Fauci has a completely nonthreatening demeanor and soft-spoken tone of speech and that is what made his advice palatable to the man in the White House.
i thank You, God.

Now, maybe, we can keep the death toll in this country below 100,000.
That's ever so much better than two million, which had been Fauci's earlier forecast.
Given that the majority of those would have been in the over-50 crowd, and given that I know far too many in that demographic, I am grateful for the downsized number.
i thank You, God.