Our neighbor stopped by yesterday.

He got right to the point. “What do you think of this coronavirus stuff?” he asked.

“I hope you have a stash of canned goods,” we quipped back.

He didn’t like our answer. It seemed like he was searching for some reassurance… that the powers that be had this thing under control.

But we didn’t have it.

“A good friend of mine,” he said with a worried look, “needed a refill of his blood pressure medication. He couldn’t get it. It’s made in China. Everything is made in China these days.”

And so the conversation went.

But our conclusion cheered him up. It left him with hope.

We don’t fear the coronavirus. It’s hardly worse than a bad case of the flu.

What has us so concerned is the reaction to it all.

The Real Sickness

Things would be a lot different if this bug hadn’t gotten its start in communist China.

It has set the stage for a nasty scene.

China has walled folks into their homes. It’s used its massive surveillance state to track and punish folks who dare to think for themselves. It’s shut down businesses, silenced journalists and taken control… all in the name of the “greater good.”

And yet, the virus still got loose.

But here’s the thing. China is now the model. We’re seeing similar extreme measures in Italy… Iran… and Thailand – all for a bug that has a death rate that’s hardly worse than the flu that’s ripping through American homes right now.

The facts, as we told our neighbor, no longer matter.

When the media gets hyped, the government gets power hungry and the masses get spooked… old-fashioned logic seems to be vaccinated right out of us.

Finally… a Reason to Exist

Of course, the fine folks at the World Health Organization sure are having fun with it all. It’s their chance to justify their budget and beg for some more money.

Bruce Aylward is an assistant director-general at the WHO.

On Monday, he donned a face mask (even though nobody was close to him) and held a frenzied presser in Beijing. He praised Wuhan for its willingness to lock folks in their homes… or lock them in its jails.

Worse, he told the world to look at China’s model – at how it “isolated the contacts.”

The world should “jump on this thing superfast,” he said.

We get the idea behind those words. We do.

Lives are at stake. Thousands have died.

But the question isn’t how we can stop the spread of this virus. That’s not how it works.

The question must be how can we minimize its damage… or, better yet, how stupid humans can manage to not make it worse.

From Physical to Fiscal

If, for example, you’re in retirement or nearing retirement… the coronavirus certainly infected your life on Monday.

Stocks plunged and bond yields hit record lows as fears of a government-mandated slowdown blew up on Wall Street.

The market is once again fearing what we’ve long been shouting about… that interest rates will go negative. Docs can’t close off entire cities without the monetary maestros feeling the pinch.

It’s either that or recession.

At this point… we may get both.

But it’s not just money we’re talking about.

Our old pal Liberty is at stake.

The poor guy has a serious case of the flu these days.

Travel restrictions… forced monitoring at home… censorship of the press. It’s not just China.

Checkpoints were erected in Italy. Vacationers in Spain were locked in their hotel. And in Romania, the government wants written statements from all air passengers coming from Italy detailing where they’ve been.

Coming to America

Here in the States… the swamp is gearing up.

It’s just like Rahm Emanuel told reporters in 2008… Never let a serious crisis go to waste.

Trump asked for $2.5 billion to fight the bug, but his political enemies are latching onto an opportunity.

“All of the warning lights are flashing bright red,” said Chuck Schumer. “We are staring down a potential pandemic, and the administration has no plan.”

But here’s where the senator’s rhetoric gets downright dangerous…

“That President Trump is trying to steal funds dedicated to fight Ebola – which is still considered an epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – is indicative of his towering incompetence and further proof that he and his administration aren’t taking the coronavirus crisis as seriously as they need to be.”

With each hyperbolic word by the press and the politicians who feed off it, the psychological virus of fear spreads wider and wider.

Cities get walled off.

Businesses falter.

Stocks drop.

And humans lose a bit more of their greatest right… Liberty.

We don’t pray for the coronavirus to go away. It would require a miracle.

Instead, we pray we get something else for the predators in the news to feast on.

Their ignorance and greed are causing greater harm than this bug could ever dream of.

Their false truth is spreading fast. And if it spreads across America, it’s going to hurt.

We hope you like canned peas.