Thaddeus Michaels: Why did the whole world lose its nerve?
The conclusion...
How do we escape this?
Eventually, we run into the old reality that ‘facts don’t care about your feelings’. Covid-19 hysteria is an emotional, identity-driven position masquerading as a set of facts.
It has spread so widely, though, that there are few control cases available for comparison, besides Sweden.
Sweden is a useful example for lockdown sceptics, but it is too easy for pro-lockdown voices to dismiss Sweden as an outlier country that anyway experienced a higher death toll than neighbouring countries.
On individual questions like school closures, we are starting to see some emerging evidence that the hysterics were wrong. Perhaps similar evidence will emerge soon on measures like track and trace, mask wearing, and so on.
Many of the ‘Covid Hero’ countries like New Zealand will see that status diminish as they find themselves vulnerable to imported outbreaks. That may help to recalibrate the debate.
Sadly, though, I fear it will only be the rampant social, economic and psychological destruction we inflict on the world’s youth that will eventually up-end the mainstream consensus.
