Listening to Mr. Nightmare again and I am struck by the thought that people will, in time, lose their minds. I say this because a number of people really are looking for someone to do/believe/act upon. Often people are not looking for the best within themselves but instead looking to get ahead and take advantage of other people. I fear this is the basic human nature which is mitigated by social expectation and the law. We, as a people, will get away with what we can.
What does that mean for Covid? I suggest we look no further than our fiction. There is an overwhelming thematic feel in fiction that once things get weird, we get violent and stupid and very very scared. Parts of this are unfolding now. Parts of this are purely story elements designed to make the fiction more engaging. How much do we rely on these fictional expectations in order to determine what happens next?
Here is what actually worries me: We have, for some time now, been dealing with an increasingly armed and militant sect of the American public. Often that element is associated with right wing ideology, racism, and hoarding. These militias are also largely associated with rural America. I don’t live there, but it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t matter to me or to the people I love.
This time is trying. We have to figure out how to stay together and stay sane as a nation.