Feahhh Itself

We’re all familiar with the saying about the cure being worse than the disease – which probably isn’t true all that often. But FEAR certainly is worse. We have been advised not to panic about the coronavirus, but are we taking that advice? The stock market has been collapsing, meetings are being cancelled, schools are closing in many countries, and the face-mask makers can’t keep up with the demand.

There are some scary things about the coronavirus for sure. There is no cure, and it spreads rapidly. But if you catch it, there’s a way better-than-even chance you’re going to survive. According to reports, the majority of those who do come down with COVID-19 experience only mild symptoms. Yes, the death rate is higher than with the typical seasonal flu, but ALL flus are deadly to some.

My view is a contrary one. I am not an epidemiologist, but I wonder whether quarantine is working. I can see how it can slow the spread of the disease, but in this case, I think the horse has already left the barn. The US testing capability is way below what it should be. I have a sneaking suspicion that if the whole American population were tasted, there would be many thousands coming up positive for coronavirus. You may be carrying it yourself, though you don’t yet present symptoms.

So what do we do about it as individuals? Certainly it’s always a good idea this time of year to wash your hands frequently, catch sudden sneezes in your sleeve  or even lighten up on handshaking. But how far do we need to go in altering our lifestyles? Do we stop going to restaurants, movies, sports events, cocktail parties, or even family gatherings? Catching the disease from a family member is exactly the same as getting it from a stranger. Do we shun those people or lock ourselves up?

The stock market is a good barometer of hope and fear, but is not always reasonable. You may feel rushed to sell a stock that has fallen in recent days, but the product that stock represents hasn’t changed. Yes, there are supply chain problems, but are they permanent? Is the economy going to be allowed to grind to a halt?

It’s our bad luck that we don’t have the national leadership we need at this moment. The President feels this is just another hoax, and says that some miracle will cause the coronavirus to disappear. He’s dead wrong about the hoax and very likely wrong about the miracle bit, but not about the ending, which may come later than we’d like. But the coronavirus WILL end, just like SARS, H1N1, the Asian and even the Spanish flus before it. For the most part, our species absorbs these things and comes out on the other side, though sometimes not without great cost. In the meantime, science may come up with a solution that keeps this disease and its cousins from visiting us again.

Life itself is a risk. You could come down suddenly with any number of diseases or conditions much more serious than coronavirus, for which there is also no cure and that you could not have avoided.

Governments may be either prompt or slow to react to this crisis. But in the end, we as individuals are responsible for our own level of fear, and with what attitude we confront what lies ahead of us in our own lives.