The Covid-19 pandemic was terrifying, justifiably so. A disease that was previously unheard of in 2019 became the third leading cause of death in 2020. As of today, more than 780,000 Americans died—more than 780,000 mothers, fathers, aunts, grandfathers, lovers, sisters, and friends. The disease, transmitted through a respiratory virus, has evoked horror movie tropes—we never knew whether we were close to someone who was infected, or even whether we ourselves might be infected, spreading the disease to others.
In 2020, we became afraid quickly, changing how we live in ways that were previously unimaginable over the course of a few short weeks. We kept our distance from others, shifted workplace patterns that had characterized our whole lives, started wearing masks in public spaces, changed or canceled our travel plans, changed our minds about eating in restaurants. Fear of illness and death became a key predictor in our willingness to take measures to slow the spread of Covid-19. Fear was useful—it kept us safe, it saved lives—and gave public health messages their emotional appeal. The opposite of fear was not fearlessness, it was carelessness, which wore the covering of an opposing fear, the loss of personal autonomy, as many complained about quarantines and government mandates.
Read the full post at The Turning Point.