There’s a strong desire in the psyche of the modern, hyper-politicized American to inflict discomfort and petty cruelty for its own sake on others, especially if they don’t want to comply. The chinavirus crisis has predictably brought out the worst behavior in these people, but now morality has been added to it. I cannot remember a time in my life where failure to follow some bullshit political talking point wasn’t a sign of deep personal evil. In light of that, this chinavirus ordeal is nothing special, but simply the next level in our civilization’s ongoing effort to perfect the moral panic.

The most incredible thing about America’s moral panics is how they are never ever allowed to end but can only intensify until the next one inevitably comes along to distract the people and continue the circle of life. This of course doesn’t mean you’re allowed to forget the previous one and move on, you must now accept this new crisis along with all the others you’ve collected. They’re like taxes but on social life: “if you want to participate in society you will pay your mental and verbal dues”, which means when the herd is spooked you will join the stampede. That they’re headed towards a societal cliff never factors in until they’re lying at the bottom of the ravine and wondering why their lives were ruined so inexplicably.

This whole thing has been yet another episode of society’s worst having an outsized say in everyone else’s lives, but coupled with the moral dimension of “doing this makes you good, not doing this makes you evil”. C.S. Lewis compared the burglar to the moral busybody and came to the conclusion that the burglar was better, due solely to the burglar’s behavior stopping once he’s stolen what he wanted, whereas the busybody will never leave you alone because he acts with his conscience’s approval. That is the most serious issue of this whole thing: the absolute moral-tyranny that gets unleashed whenever some issue is identified. There can’t be a moderate response, it must be total and all-consuming, all reason abandoned, and if the “cure” is worse than the disease then so be it, at least we weren’t evil like those other people who didn’t do what they were told.