Plague Journal (59): A storm is coming . . . remain calm

It feels like this quarantine era is coming to a close. States everywhere are loosening restrictions, and even in those states that are not loosening (like mine), people just seem to be getting out and about much more. There's definitely more traffic on the roads. I assume that if we are going to see an upturn in infections because of this it may not show for a couple of weeks. There is also the possibility that warm-weather will act as an inhibitor on the infection rate. Consequently, there may not be a spike in the rate. But it should be noted that in my state of Maine the last 5 days have been among the worst for the average number of new infections per day. Could that be a factor of increased testing only? I have no idea.

So it will be important to watch those infection rates and, after a lag, death rates. Also, metrics related to employment and economic activity generally are going to be a major story. The coming election is going to rest in part, perhaps in large part, on how well the nation is rebounding. 

If the sense of a "comeback" is widespread, producing a general feeling of renewed confidence, Mr. Trump will obviously try to claim responsibility for that. If not, then Trump will have to change the subject. Most likely, he'll try a combination: run a positive campaign extolling his leadership in the crisis, and also a negative track, blaming Obama, the Dems, the Deep State, and Fake News for any lack of success. The emphasis will fall more on the negative track if the economy is still doing badly come September. That negative track has already begun, with much tweeting in recent days about "Obamagate," and also implying that his opponent, Joe Biden, is suffering from dementia.

My personal goal in the coming political melee, which is going to be ugly as well as seemingly unavoidable (unless you completely decouple from social media), is equanimity. Patience, forbearance, calm, thoughtfulness, and a general resistance to political hysteria. The future does not hang by the thread of this or any presidential election. 

Here's what I frequently remind myself: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This sort of fruit shows it worth in the midst of a storm, in the midst of a generalized spirit of hatred, anger, combat, knee-jerk reactions, hysteria, etc. If you are a Christian, prepare yourself by praying for this fruit. You're about to go for a sail on a stormy sea.