https://palladiummag.com/2021/07/15/the-myth-of-panic/ … Yesterday an essay of mine was published in Palladium Magazine. It discusses this theme at length; I will be quoting from it in this thread.
Economies crashed. Hundreds of thousands dead. Lives ruined across the globe. What must the world learn from the great pandemic of 2020? I volunteer this lesson: Discard the myth of panic. A thread.
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Our movies have primed us to prepare for a certain vision of disaster. Some great catastrophe looms, our stories tells us--but the real threat isn't the disaster itself. It is normal people. Alert them to the danger, and what will happen?
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You know the answer: Mass panic. Disorder. A descent into the Hobbseian nightmare as people selfishly put their own survival first.
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This is not just something our movies believe--it is something our leaders believe too. It guides policy. It guided policy in 2020. That story starts in China. Why did Chinese authorities justify stamping out 'rumors' of a new disease? You guessed it:pic.twitter.com/koVhhfyRGk
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But it also drove policy here in America. President Trump is the most famous example:pic.twitter.com/TrLZvZTcir
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End of conversation
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