Left Instills Abject, Irrational Fear in Our Politics and Lives

“Be afraid. Be very afraid.” That’s the message coming loudly and clearly from the Left-wing media ever since President Trump left Walter Reed Medical Center, returning to the White House, and resuming his duties as leader of the free world.

The Democratic-media complex is absolutely apoplectic over two succinct sentences buried in the first of a flurry of presidential tweets following the president’s recovery from a brief bout with coronavirus.

“Don’t be afraid of Covid,” the president urged Americans.

“Don’t let it dominate your life.”

No message could be more directly at odds with the Left’s perspective on the pandemic.

Liberals have been telling us for the better part of a year that we should cower in abject fear of the virus, to the point of eagerly overturning every aspect of our lives at the faintest hint of a suggestion from any doctor, researcher, or other “expert” the Left deems credible.

Credentialed authorities who diverge from the Leftist consensus are castigated, ridiculed, and shunned — presumably to drive home the point that dissenting opinions will not be tolerated.

Only irrational fear could possibly induce millions of people to acquiesce to the encroachments demanded by “science” in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

So terrified have we become by the mere prospect of becoming infected by a virus that is simultaneously deadly and benign that we have allowed our elected officials to become tyrants, indiscriminately shutting down schools, businesses, and even houses of worship while mandating the wearing of masks in virtually every imaginable setting despite the fact that doing so is largely an exercise in virtue signalling.

Rational fear is of no use to demagogues, because it only serves to inspire behavioral changes that are demonstrable and proportional to the magnitude of the risk at hand.

We tolerate the risk of allowing radios in cars, despite the fact that even momentary distraction increases the risk of a potentially fatal accident. We tolerate the risk of allowing children to compete in organized sports, even though it means some of them will suffer concussions, sprained ankles, and broken bones.

Historically, at least, we have even tolerated the risk of being in close proximity to other human beings while engaging in professional, academic, and religious activities, despite the knowledge that such proximity facilitates the spread of germs that cause colds, flu, and other ailments.

For some reason, though, many Americans have accepted the extraordinary precepts of the coronavirus age, all of which are based on the underlying assumption that our goal must be to prevent every possible instance of COVID infection.

As a result, we have suffered catastrophic job losses, an inestimable toll on our mental health as a result of social isolation, and the sacrifice of nearly every activity that brings even a small degree of enjoyment to our lives.

In short, we have — as a society — allowed our irrational fear of the coronavirus to dominate virtually every aspect of our daily lives, and we are paying a horrific price, both individually and collectively, for our emotionally-driven behavior.

President Trump, fresh from his own face-to-face encounter with the invisible enemy, has articulated the rational alternative: we should take sensible precautions such as washing your hands and staying home if you’re sick — especially those of us who are at especially high-risk for complications from COVID — but we must not let ourselves become so afraid of this virus that we allow fear-based reactions to dominate our lives.

And if the president’s word isn’t good enough for you, keep in mind that both the Bible as well as the Torah instructed us to “be not afraid.”

Jason D. Meister is an Advisory Board Member of Donald J. Trump for President Inc., and frequently appears on national television and radio broadcasts, including various interviews on: Fox News, Fox Business Network, Wall Street Journal Live, Bloomberg, One America News, Sky News, Newsmax TV, Huff Post Live, and Sirius XM. Mr. Meister is a successful investor, developer, and published op-ed author. He has written for various publications including The Epoch Times, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Townhall, Fox News, Fox Business, Newsmax, Real Clear Politics, Real Clear Markets, American Greatness, Tennessee Star, The Ohio Star, and the Minnesota Sun. Twitter: @jason_meister.