The Republic of Maskafornia

I'm starting to think the pandemic is getting to people.Then again, the same thing happened in 1918.

As usual, the media has differing opinions about it. Emphasis on the word "opinion." Because these are opinion pieces. Not journalism.

Take for instance, this Wasington Post article entitled "In 1918, Americans were asked to wear masks. Some refused — and paid the price." It was written on July 1st. But in April, the same newspaper published another opinion entitled "Everyone wore masks during the 1918 flu pandemic. They were useless."

We've gotten to the point where there is no distinction between hard journalism and op-ed pieces and most people aren't taking the time to search for the qualifier underneath the byline.

There should be a better way to distinguish between the two, or at least run the point/counter-point side by side or consecutively. But then there wouldn't be as many clicks.