The Washington Post ran an op-ed Tuesday by a doctor who says that, with the distribution of vaccine for the coronavirus accelerating, she’s experiencing “fears” about “reentry” to normal life.
In under two months, there is supposedly going to be enough vaccine on the market for every person who wants it to be able to get it. If that scares you, that’s your right — but you’re the lunatic.
It’s time to move on from the days of letting the most fearful person in the room set the terms of how the rest of us live.
For a full year, we deferred to the exceedingly timorous out of respect for those at high risk of falling severely ill or dying from a highly contagious, airborne virus. The fear and anxiety were understandable before. We could bear it when they acted out shaming others over mask-wearing or “nonessential travel,” or anything formerly known as “fun.” Perhaps they had lost a loved one.
But the party for the pitiful needs to end. So does deference to the crowd that claims to “follow the science,” right up until they don’t. These people relished the attention and status granted them by the equally hysterical news media that gladly dialed up the level of public panic.
The number of new infections has been dropping since January. There’s a growing scientific consensus that we’re fast approaching herd immunity. None of that is an excuse to live recklessly, but the fearmongers have shown that they can’t be trusted to define what it means to “live recklessly.”
It is not reckless for business owners to want to reopen their bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues or for families to cross the country in order to spend time with loved ones whose time on earth might be short anyway. To “live recklessly” is not for young, low-risk individuals to determine that it’s relatively safe for them to socialize with others.
To allow the panicking COVID-19 hysterics to continue setting the terms is to live like CNN’s Jake Tapper. Earlier this month, he posted a photo on Twitter of a delicious-looking martini. “This is very exciting,” he wrote with the photo. But, he was sure to add that he was “in one of those outdoor two-person dining tent things.”
Tapper couldn’t for two seconds relax on the pandemic. He had to let us know that although he was indeed doing something social, maybe even fun, it wasn’t too fun because he was outside in a tent where it’s safe.
It’s a surprise he didn’t include a photo of himself wearing eight masks. Back in October, he told his audience, “It’s OK to be afraid of COVID, and it’s OK that it’s dominating your life.” No, that’s really not OK.
Tapper is free to live that way until he dies of fear if he chooses. But I don’t want to anymore. COVID-19 is receding, and the COVID-shamers who won’t quiet down are the ones who should be shamed now.
