I don't think I like living in Interesting Times. I could do with some utter boredom in my world.
Leave us be honest. We're all scared and at the same time, baffled as to how scared we should be. Whatever it is that some people have liked about Donald Trump, it probably isn't how his administration projects a sense of confidence that grown-ups are in control and know what to do. That speech he gave last night was appalling, first for his unwell, unsure demeanor and secondly for the vast number of clarifications and corrections his own staff had to issue immediately after it.
We've come to expect that of his off-the-top-of-his-combover, ad-lib ramblings…but this was a prepared speech that didn't have correct information on the TelePrompter. Rod Dreher, a pundit who politically is on Trump's side, was appalled…
The President of the United States, on live television, reading prepared remarks, told the world that the US was cutting off all trade with Europe for thirty days. But it wasn't true. Completely freaking incompetent. No excuse at all. We are in such trouble…
For a guy who seems to care only about (a) his image and (b) the stock market, Trump sure is doing a lot of damage to both. And we're all sitting here wondering how concerned we should be, how we should protect ourselves as we stare at our calendars, wondering what we should cancel and what will be canceled for us. I actually have an appointment today at my doctor's office for a routine physical. I know I'm going to that but anything beyond it is a big question mark.
We will get through this but it's going to be way more difficult and fraught with worries than it needs to be. The thing to do is to remember that we will get through it.
I need to leave for my appointment soon so I want to just leave you with three thoughts for now. One is to not believe rumors. Rumors, especially on the Internet, seem to be born out of speculation from — and I'll put this in bold because we all have to remember this — someone who has no real information whatsoever. And then someone else treats that as possible inside information and says something based on absolutely nothing but it starts with "I'm hearing that…" and more people think there's a real source somewhere. The fact that something is "going around" doesn't mean it came from anyone with the slightest gram of knowledge about whatever it is.
Second thought: "I don't know" is a powerful, essential phrase in our world. It's what you should say when you don't know instead of trying to act like you know and making up something that might, if only by sheer dumb luck, be a right answer.
And lastly for now: The time you spend panicking and worrying is time you're not spending fixing things. You also may not be doing things you need to do…like, I have scripts that need to be written. I also need to divert some (but not all) of my limited brainpower towards checking to see if I'm doing everything I need to do to deal with these new and as-yet-not-fully-understood problems. But spending time on that and not on getting those scripts done is not good for me because the scripts do have to get done.
It is possible to spend too much time thinking about the coronavirus and also to spend too little. Either one is bad. The way to get through this is to find the sweet spot between them. And it also helps to listen less to "experts" (the kind in quotes) on the Internet and to consult a doctor you trust. Which is what I'm going to do now. Bye.