You have segued into the consideration of the political impacts of pandemics. There could be many. We are seeing some already as opposition to our president wasted no time in using this crisis to jump on him. A month ago he was a threat to become (or already was, we were told) an authoritarian grabbing power to bend us to his will, but now he is criticized for not being authoritarian enough to grab power to force us to his will by taking unspecified actions in our everyday life to fight a disease not yet here in any measurable capacity. No one knows what will happen yet or what to do, but because the man refuses to run around like his hair is on fire, he must not be taking the threat seriously even though he is known as a serious germaphobe in his everyday life.
Fear is a powerful thing, and in politics it rules. As this latest “pandemic” excellerates both here and abroad as it most certainly will until hopefully warm weather stems it, it will be interesting to see what other changes it brings. My fear beyond the death and sickness is what authoritarian force will come out of it? In our country who and what is the leading authoritarian figure and institution here? If your answer was The Government Party - the Democrat Party - and Mr. Command & Control - Bernard Sanders - you would win the prize. Remember, the Great Depression brought an overwhelming move to bring our arguably most autocratic president in our history, Franklin Delano Roosevelt...certainly the most such in peace time. It could happen again.
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“You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution