COVID-19, Someone You Should Know, and the god of fear
Happy Saint Patricks day to everyone!
The upside to the virus panic is that the roads are amazingly clear on my morning commute and this will probably be one of the safest St Patricks days ever to be on the streets of America.
Not much has changed policy wise in the last 24 hours, but here is an article written by Allen West which is a breath of fresh air amongst all of the doomsdayers out there - seriously, every single news article is about the corona virus. Admittedly, having a bio-weapon loose on the globe is of concern, but you just know there are strings being pulled about other serious issues while America is distracted by all the talk of illness and quarantines.
In Mr. West's article, he talks about managing fear and not letting it control us. He's right. As an example he uses the routing of the Confederate Army at the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union troops were led in a bayonet charge by General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlin, a true example of a citizen soldier. If you don't read the article, which you really should, General Chamberlin is someone you should know because he embodied what leadership under pressure and outright terror can do and earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for it.
I still advocate "light prepping", for lack of a better word, and a heightened sense of security. Justified or not, panic is amongst us and some will not act well - looking for victims they can steal supplies from and just striking out in terror as the mask of civility begins to slide away.
Don't allow fear to make your decisions for you. Don't ignore the danger which prowls in the night, be that an unseen virus or a violent opportunist, but control your reactions and lead, by example if nothing else.
We have a big social rollercoaster ahead of us, economically more than health wise, I believe, but no matter the enemy, engage not in a panicked fit of chaos, but in measured terms to turn the tide to your side.
The upside to the virus panic is that the roads are amazingly clear on my morning commute and this will probably be one of the safest St Patricks days ever to be on the streets of America.
Not much has changed policy wise in the last 24 hours, but here is an article written by Allen West which is a breath of fresh air amongst all of the doomsdayers out there - seriously, every single news article is about the corona virus. Admittedly, having a bio-weapon loose on the globe is of concern, but you just know there are strings being pulled about other serious issues while America is distracted by all the talk of illness and quarantines.
In Mr. West's article, he talks about managing fear and not letting it control us. He's right. As an example he uses the routing of the Confederate Army at the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union troops were led in a bayonet charge by General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlin, a true example of a citizen soldier. If you don't read the article, which you really should, General Chamberlin is someone you should know because he embodied what leadership under pressure and outright terror can do and earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for it.
I still advocate "light prepping", for lack of a better word, and a heightened sense of security. Justified or not, panic is amongst us and some will not act well - looking for victims they can steal supplies from and just striking out in terror as the mask of civility begins to slide away.
Don't allow fear to make your decisions for you. Don't ignore the danger which prowls in the night, be that an unseen virus or a violent opportunist, but control your reactions and lead, by example if nothing else.
We have a big social rollercoaster ahead of us, economically more than health wise, I believe, but no matter the enemy, engage not in a panicked fit of chaos, but in measured terms to turn the tide to your side.
