People have asked me why I am so alarmed by the division and the hysteria surrounding the COVID crisis. Well given that the division is nearly entirely on party lines, it seems to me that the crisis could be used for political purposes, and that could deteriorate very quickly. History shows that unchecked people can do unthinkable things, especially when fear is the driving force.
Today a libertarian friend was completely cool with $2,000 day fines for not talking to contract tracers. Could there be a time when people would be cool with boxing up all presumptive positives or people who refuse to wear a mask for the “good of the many?”
This is a good way to suppress your opponent. Who can argue against saving the world from a deadly disease, right? We must do whatever it takes to save humanity.
“During the Black Death of the 14th century, Jews were massacred because many had believed that they had somehow caused the plague, perhaps by poisoning thousands of wells across the continent.”