Against Fear | City Journal
Reopening is still the right policy. Mandatory outdoor mask-wearing is merely a way for government to turn citizens into walking billboards of fear, sending the false message that danger is everywhere. Infection rarely leads to death. Most of the infected recover. Given his governmental duties, the surprise is that Trump as president, another kind of front-line worker has not gotten sick before now.
Last week, Trump gave a debate performance embodying what the Left likes to call toxic masculinity. Today, anticipating his departure from the hospital, Trump tweeted: Don t be afraid of Covid. Don t let it dominate your life. The mainstream media blew its top, calling the tweet dangerous, gross, and almost impossible to believe. Let them fume. Trump is now modelling masculine leadership at its best: upbeat, rational, and unbowed.
Yes, well, maybe. In my case, I’m following the advice of my MD wife, which involves staying home, wearing a mask and generally not being very masculine, I suppose. So I can save my life and marriage at the same time! It’s a win-win! I would prefer to be teaching in person, although I do like not having to commute. My doctor, who really is a most estimable man, also advises me to do all the precautionary stuff. “It’s no joke,” he says of our little gift from China, and I suspect from China’s scientists, those little devils. I also suspect that if and when Biden wins, we will experience a miraculous change in atmosphere and unexpectedly it will be much safer for everyone to get back to work in person, at least for those who still have jobs. We’ll have to wait and see.