In his inaugural address for his first term beginning in January of 1933, the newly elected President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, made the following statement:

“This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

Much the same could be said today.  The moneychangers in the temple of Wall Street need to be cast out, because their actions have unreasonably spooked and frighted the people of this country.  The financial rollercoaster ride of last week appears to be repeating itself this morning, and we must all ask ourselves,  WHY? 

A class Five hurricane is not bearing down on our coasts.  There will be no disruption of food sources, but people are reacting as if there will.  Grocery store shelves are emptying out, and the very sight of that causes panic.  Covid-19, the latest in a long series of coronaviruses, is disrupting our daily lives.  There is no denying that fact. But it is not a Bubonic Plague, Cholera or Yellow Fever event. 

Yes, the mortality rate from the virus is greater than the strains of flu which kill thousands every year.  How much greater will only be determined after the outbreak can be brought under control, and that will take some time, weeks, perhaps months.  In the meantime, we must all accept the realities of life and temporarily adjust our lifestyles.  Common sense measures like “social distancing”, washing our hands more frequently, and restricting our  activities by avoiding crowds and contact with people who might be unknowingly spreading the virus but show no outward symptoms themselves. 

We must also realize that this is an election year, and the party out of power in the Executive Branch will do all in its power to regain it, even if its methods are hurting the effort to contain the outbreak and develop a vaccine against the strain.  Unfortunately, the leadership of the Democratic Party is following the theory of former Obama White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who stated:  “Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste”. Instead of working with the Trump administration, they continue to do whatever possible to discredit it for political advantage, and the left leaning national media is all too willing to parrot that message in numerous venues.

Senior citizens, myself and my wife among them, must do all we can to keep ourselves safe and healthy until a vaccine is developed and readily available, but we should NOT succumb to the mindless fear that the Democrats are promoting, and next November remember their actions when we vote.  Above all, we must ponder the words spoken so long ago  by FDR.  They are still true today.