Though I was never even remotely a right-winger in anything, I am beginning to see some truth in what that side is saying now. A lot of this is excruciatingly true and seems to conclude we WON'T get out of this thing if the issue is managed in the dysfunctional, dystopian way it seems to be now.
We can't live on the edge of Armageddon! And it's not happening anyway. It won't, in spite of all the dire predictions. We can't have the Emmys on Zoom, cancel Christmas and basically give up the precious and crucial (to mental health and wholeness) rituals of civilization forever, which is what I see coming.
Already young people have had to cancel ALL their rites of passage which are a crucial part of their identity as emerging adults. A big chunk will be missing forever. We're stopgapping our way along in ways which I see as bizarre and even grotesque (a choir practicing singing with masks on!).
People have cancelled their weddings, for God's sake, changing the entire course of their lives, and some relationships may not last through the anxiety and strain. And let's not talk about the small businesses that are crashing down like a great row of dominos. So what is the answer? Good sense may be a good start, something between Trump's idiotic, blustering denial and the rantings of the left, which are becoming more and more narrow and militant.
You can't put a foot wrong or say one single "wrong" thing or the Twitterati will attack you en masse and in public, and meantime the narrow, intolerant rules and the lingo become more complicated and confusing all the time. If you're gay, you are now identified as LGBTQRST+2, whatever THAT particular equation means. But get it wrong, and you're suddenly "homophobic".
Meantime, the culture continues to sexually exploit little girls in a movie like Cuties. Sometimes I want to throw in the towel myself.
