A plea for sanity and personal responsibility in the pandemic age

(Creative Commons)

I have been as tired as anyone else of COVID-19 restrictions. I have been as concerned as anyone else about the potential effect of this crisis on “the economy” — meaning the real lives and spending power of me, my friends and neighbors.

I understand that we are all frustrated, and scared, and tired as hell.

But I am also angry. I am angry because people whom I love and respect are starting to sound like tinfoil hat conspiracy theorists on social media. I am angry because America had already been drifting towards a situation where we create our own “truth” by latching on to whatever commentator or or voice reflects our own pre-existing beliefs and preconceptions, and this crisis has laid that aspect of our evolving national character bare for anyone who wants to see it.

The fact of the matter is that COVID-19 is a serious illness, which has killed and affected people around the globe. It’s not a hoax, it’s not a secret plan by Bill Gates to promote vaccination, it’s not a partisan trick. It’s a real virus that really has the potential to kill people.

The vast majority of real immunologists around the world have been studying the disease and are working hard to fight it. In the meantime, we need to protect ourselves — and each other — with responsible…