What will the post-Coronavirus new normal be? President Trump is talking up re-opening the country’s economy as soon as possible, but the question really is how will Americans respond? Dr. Bart ROssi, Phh.D. responds.
The country has been rocked by the Coronavirus pandemic. The Trump allies and supporters continue to follow the president’s lead and their talking points seem to mirror his. His statements, however, have shifted despite his insistence that he has been consistent.
When he spoke in early February about there only being 15 cases because they’ve been out in front of it and “we have everything under control”, they followed suit. When the virus then exploded, he shifted his narrative to it being serious and he’s known how bad it was all along, even before it was labeled a pandemic. Conservative media also seems to shift their narratives to follow his.
He suggested that the slow response to the pandemic was actually Obama’s fault, because, saying
“made changes that only complicated things further.”
“For decades the @CDCgov looked at, and studied, its testing system, but did nothing about it,” Trump tweeted.
But this seems to follow his reality TV-style of governing. At the same time, President Trump had many warnings of a forthcoming pandemic, and how unprepared we were for it. There were warnings in 2017.
Simulations were run in 2019 that resulted in grave warnings:
The simulation’s sobering results — contained in a draft report dated October 2019 that has not previously been reported — drove home just how underfunded, underprepared and uncoordinated the federal government would be for a life-or-death battle with a virus for which no treatment existed.
Should he have jumped into action to prepare then? Critics and defenders can battle out that debate, but for now, that is not the question we face.
The real issue is keeping people safe while also coming up with a plan of how to kick-start the economic engine that drives the country. Many organizations have jumped into action to urge people to stay home. STSL19.com says Spread Awareness, Not Disease, selling wristbands saying Stay Home Save lives to raise money for medical institutions and workers. Actress Rose McGowan joined the effort.
Post-Coronavirus New Normal
History will settle the debate later. For now, experts, the President, pundits, and critics have to wrestle with ‘what do we do now?’
There has been a lot of talk ranging from handling the medical protection of citizens to testing, to unemployment, and the havoc the virus is causing to the economy. Who will really be the drivers of the solutions? President Trump initially said the virus would pass by April and suggested opening the country back up by Easter. That didn’t happen. It couldn’t happen without putting many more lives at risk. Moreover, opening the economy up too soon might risk the spread of the virus re-igniting a second spike of the spread.
And, who will really be the drivers of when the economy will one, the President, governors, or the public?
The President can declare returning to business as usual, but will there be pushback? Governors, medical experts, and the general public all have a voice.
There have been some talking head supporters of the president echoing his view that the cure should not be worse than the virus itself, suggesting that if we let the economy fully crash we won’t have a country left. Some pundits have gone as far as stating that if they had to risk their lives to ensure the continuation of the country for their kids and grandkids, then so be it. They were ready to make that sacrifice.
In this episode of Wink News Fact vs. Fear, Dr. Bart ROssi suggests that it is the American people that will decide. Regardless of what the politicians ultimately do, it is their behavior that will determine what follows. What comes first in opening the country, money or people?
Dr. Rossi discusses the post-Coronavirus new normal and the psychology of human behavior.
