You know you’re in trouble when even the prime minister of Italy makes more sense than the typical American governor or CDC official. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Monday’s initial reopening of Italy: “We are about to enter the phase of coexistence with the virus, and we need to be aware that during this phase the contagion curve could climb back in some areas. We need to speak honestly. This risk exists, but we need to face it with strategy and rigour.”
He’s actually acknowledging there’s a risk. This seems like something most Americans (especially leftists) are unwilling to do. “It’s zero risk — or nothing.” The form this fantasy takes is a vaccine. The magical thinking goes like this: “There will be a vaccine, hopefully soon. Once that vaccine exists, all maladies — not just coronavirus — will somehow disappear, forever. There will be ZERO risk. Everyone will comply with the vaccine, of course. There will no bureaucratic bungling in Washington DC or state capitals; and there will be no resistance.”
THIS is the standard right now for America opening back up. It’s particularly true in blue states, because states with a Democratic majority are the most — well, the most statist. They are the ones who love Big Government and who feel Big Government can do no wrong.
Tyrannical politics is based on faulty thinking. The widespread thinking about coronavirus is not simply faulty. I would call it delusional. If I, as a mental health professional, saw an individual thinking the way leftist governors and Americans think right now, I would label the individual delusional and barely capable of simple, normal functioning.
We can’t go on like this. Not economically, not psychologically — not in any way. If you think we can, then you are unable to cope with reality. Even the Italian prime minister has a little more grip on reality than you do.