To be or not to be, Act II

Shakespeare, your writing is safe.

One of Seth’s close friends is Mark Olbert. Mark also had a thing or two to say, although not directly about the column. In response to John Dugan’s letter, “Anti-vax views,” Mark wrote, “Please don’t confuse Matt with the facts, John! He has a hard enough time dealing with his own ‘reality.’”

Honestly Mark, do you really believe I have a hard time dealing with my own reality? There was a grain of truth to your statement when I suffered sharing the dais with you for five long years but gladly, those days are over. In my new reality of being a common citizen, I am thoroughly enjoying life and that’s a fact.

But Mark, please allow me to wax philosophical. Isn’t it true we each live in our own reality? And isn’t our reality based on our own interpretation of the facts as we see them? For example, in my reality, God is real. It’s an unquestionable fact and I live my life accordingly. On the other hand, my friend Reno, who I have written about before in this column, is unabashedly doubtful of God’s existence. As a result, he lives his life differently than I do mine. We don’t, however, bash each other over our differences. On the contrary, we engage in discussion and show respect for one another. That’s more than I can say about someone I was on council with for five years.

Next, let’s address the letter John Dugan wrote. John claimed my views on vaccination were “dangerous and largely unfounded.” Why is it dangerous to share one’s thoughts leading to nonvaccination? Was I telling anyone what to do? Was I promoting policy to force others to go without vaccination? Was I persuading for anti-vaccination through lottery or gifts? No, the whole point of my column was to explain my position and to encourage us to understand and respect each other, vaccinated or not.

One last item regarding the responses to my last column. Mr. Dugan and one or two others focused in on an idiom I used. To wit: “you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning.” Never in a million years did I expect anyone to jump to the internet for actual data on people getting struck by lightning. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a era when people didn’t wear a cellphone like an appendage to their body and rally to it for data, particularly not to contest a commonly used saying.

But my apologies people. Next time I will do more research. For example, if I had done so, I could have written, “you have a better chance of getting bit by Fido,” and been more accurate. According to the CDC, who I know Mr. Dugan trusts 100%, more than 350,000 dog bite victims visit the emergency room annually and the numbers are rising.

But honestly, John, you also made an error. In your eagerness to challenge my use of the phrase, you misconstrued the comparison. I simply wrote about the chance of getting hit, not dying. You compared the number of those who caught the virus and died to the number of people who die from a lightning strike. Please read more carefully next time.

Speaking of next time, I have many topics on my “writing wish list.” It could be a real contest deciding which one to choose. Here are some teasers. One is, “What do you use for news?” Another is an introduction to a California treasure: Victor Davis Hanson of Stanford’s Hoover Institute. A third is the curriculum introduced recently into our public schools. I’ve also been known to accept recommendations from you, the audience. See e-mail address below.

A former member of the San Carlos City Council and mayor, Matt Grocott has been involved in political policy on the Peninsula for 17 years. He can be reached by email at mattgrocott@comcast.net.