Doubters and Believers in the Time of the Pandemic

Until now, the great divide separating we, the people, had been defined chiefly by where one stood regarding our current president. But as the coronavirus raced its way cross country, a new divide opened up between “doubters,” who've insisted the viral threat isn't nearly as bad as some make it seem, and “believers,” who are quaking in their boots, fearing the end is near. While these two ends of the human response spectrum—the fearless and the fearful—have coexisted for eons, the extremity of this outbreak has widened the gap, compounding the challenges we collectively face as a nation.

Some disbelievers consider the protective measures put in place (if not in every place) draconian, extreme, and unnecessary. After all, they complain, most who become infected get only somewhat sick, so how can one justify bringing everyday life and the economy to a halt? Such attitudes terrify believers who do the math: if one careless freedom-lover gets infected, over the next month a hundred more Americans will become infected and two will die. Is one person's right to freely mingle more precious than another's right to life? Those who buy the grave projections offered by epidemiologists deeply distrust disbelievers, who, they fear, might blithely “party on”—selfishly placing others at risk by failing to follow the recommended precautions. Shaming such disbelieving noncompliers has become commonplace—whether they are called out publicly or are privately held in contempt in the confines of one's mind. And so the divide widens.