The main thing fueling the fear among federal and state officials right now? A hospital system being overwhelmed. That’s a rational fear. However, if people could be educated NOT to rush to the hospital at the first sign of symptoms from an illness that they will almost certainly survive, that might help. But officials can’t be SEEN doing that. Because what if even one person dies? It would make them look bad. So our entire civilization and economy must shut down. Elections canceled, schools closed, trials canceled — civilization is literally shutting down.
By the way, earlier generations of inept federal and state politicians made the decision to move from a private market of medical care to a largely government-run one back in the 1960s. It’s called Medicare and Medicaid. While we have more for-profit medicine than, say, Venezuela, China or Italy, we don’t have the kind of for-profit medical marketplace that we could place more confidence in handling a crisis like coronavirus. Nobody even thinks of that. I suppose it’s too late, and once we’re through the coronavirus hysteria, there will be calls for still MORE socialism, government control, and so forth. Trump will get the blame and capitalism will be damned for failing to give us the utopia socialism always promises, while delivering us hell.
Ignorance is not a pretty thing. And it really causes untold suffering and even death. Americans are mostly ignorant about really important facts. Their schools and politicians have kept them ignorant. Now you see why.
Follow Dr. Hurd on Facebook. Search under “Michael Hurd” (Rehoboth Beach DE). Get up-to-the-minute postings, recommended articles and links, and engage in back-and-forth discussion with Dr. Hurd on topics of interest. Also follow Dr. Hurd on Twitter at @MichaelJHurd1, and see drmichaelhurd on Instagram.