A common form of hubris is the presumption that we can control everything. If we compile the best available data, put together an expert team, and devise the right plan, we can completely master our destiny.
Then a turn of fate comes out of left field and throws a wrench in our plans. The escalating coronavirus outbreak is a perfect reminder that there are forces bigger than us, and they scoff at our best-laid plans.
We can, perhaps, be forgiven for failing to anticipate a threat of this magnitude. It’s been a long time since the world faced this kind of crisis. The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 might be the closest historical analog.
Take a quick glance at our elites’ bumbling response to the Wu Flu, and it’s clear that a calamity of this scale never entered into their calculus. Warnings had been leaking out of China since at least January about how dire the situation was, but the West’s rulers couldn’t put their globalist experiment on hold for even a couple of weeks. Their pet ideology couldn’t countenance reasonable measures like border closings, and now their subjects are paying the price.
Stateside, meanwhile, Donald Trump may have found the only way to lose his 2020 reelection bid against dementia patient Joe Biden. Trump won in 2016 as the quintessential outsider candidate. But instead of representing Main Street, his governing priorities have veered more and more toward Wall Street.
The influence of Trump’s bankster advisers was evident in the series of now-embarrassing, “It’s just the flu, bro!” tweets he issued in the last weeks.
And look, downplaying the crisis to stave off economic panic made sense. It was shortsighted and foolish, but you could see where market worshipers like Bill Mitchell were coming from. They’d convinced the President to stake his reelection on his robust economic numbers. If Corona-chan threatened those numbers, perhaps it was expedient that a few thousand die for the market’s sake.
Now it’s clear that the amateur Cassandras like Jim’s good friend on Twitter were on to something. Pretending the problem didn’t exist failed to avert economic disaster–and will probably worsen it in the long run.
What’s especially frustrating is we know what 2016 Trump would have done. He’d have correctly used the outbreak as an indictment against globalism, closed the ports, and fast-tracked the wall.
Instead of taking the candidate Trump approach, President Trump heeded the bow tie-clad Iagos and bet everything on the stock market. Like many who trusted that fickle mistress before him, he’s now back at square one. All $11.5 trillion the stock market gained since he took office has now evaporated.
With no wall to speak of, Obamacare still on the books, and Hillary Clinton still walking free, Trump doesn’t have much to run on right now.
To his credit, the President seemed to wake up on Wednesday and start taking the corona virus seriously. He made the long-overdue announcement that the outbreak is a global pandemic and declared the sorts of travel bans we should have seen weeks ago. Still, better late than never.
Watch President Trump’s full corona virus live stream here:
This speech was a step in the right direction. The economic damage has been done and is unlikely to be repaired by November. Hopefully those facts will encourage Trump to ditch his advisers’ GOPe market worship and recommit to the nationalist and populist issues that got him elected.
Every crisis is an opportunity, as our Chinese friends are fond of reminding us. Corona-chan has certainly visited Trump with a crisis, but she also offers him an opportunity for huge political gains if he course corrects tackles globalism like his base wants.
It’s decision time for Trump. Thankfully, he’s showing signs of choosing rightly.
For a story even scarier than Corona-chan, get my metaphysical horror novel Nethereal now for 99 cents!
Brian,
well in my province, the government finally banned any events with 250 people or more. So many cutural and political events have been cancelled. The schools in the biggest city have shut down for a week. the universities have chosen different closings amd so on.
In summary, the economy took precedence until it didn't anymore anymore.
Again the positive outcomes:
a) people have finally clued in that deindustrializing your country for cheap prices is really dumbass. Time to repatriate manufacturing and logistics.
2) Always put people and especially citizens first
3) The whole nature of work, schooling and commuting will be completely reevaluated.
xavier
One positive from this mess is that my church has promoted recording and streaming our services from 'goal' to 'priority'. Other churches in our area and denomination already do it, but ours is a smaller, older congregation. Corona-chan would do quite a number on our flock, so letting people stay home when sick without missing church could be a real blessing.
I'm two steps away from believing this virus is divine punishment for materialist humanists who lost their souls long ago.
https://twitter.com/ScottMGreer/status/1238449348607971330
It's taking every part of my faith in Christ to not go full nihilist right now.
I wouldn't call Corona-chan a direct divine chastisement, but secondary causes are more than capable of enforcing the natural law.
God needn't will the fire to be hot for you to get burned for playing with it.
Why are you downcast, o my soul, and why so disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.
Amen.
Considering that Biden was in charge of handling the swine flu outbreak, and did a very bad job of it, I doubt he'll be able to wield corona-chan as a weapon against Trump.
Why not? Being morally bankrupt hasn't stopped the progressives from claiming the moral high ground so far.
I'm sure he'll do his best, but it won't work.
Welp, I hope everyone stocked up on toilet paper. Life in this burb was business as usual until Trump declared a state of emergency. Now the county's gym/pool is closed. Aldis was out of tp. So were cvs and Walmart.
Folks, if you haven't quarantine shopped yet, do it asap. It's about to get crazy. Send the women out for food so you're not trying to survive corona chan with a case of mountain dew, 2 bags of dorritos, and 3 bottles of your favorite booze. Those things are important, but you need food food too.
I really hope Vox Day's theory is right that corona chan is hiding the storm instead of Trump's Boomer supreme moment.
Important safety tips. If anyone hasn't stocked up on essentials yet, consider that the outbreak timeline in the US is mirroring that of Italy, so lock downs and store closures are coming soon. Get to the store, calmly, preferably late at night to avoid crowds, but get there while the getting's good.
Q was a hoax whose mantle has long since been taken up by 8 chan refugees to prank Boomers.
Brian
Yup Spain is now where Italy was last week but faster. Canada's been very coy about clodingvthe U.S border.
The central govt still refuses to lockdown Madrid even though it's the epicentre.
Sure a state of emergency was declared but its pandemic theater. Look we're actualizing action verbs(tm) followed by photogenic hero pose
xavier