Overreacting

MAX BROOKS,the son of legendary maker of hilarious socially relevant movies Mel Brooks, recently appeared in a public service commercial, a hilarious one, in which he and his famed father were on opposite sides of a glass door, and Mel was telling max to hit the road to get the hell away, to not spread the virus. Max immediately complies, fearful of his foreboding potential power to spread a deadly virus unto his own father, and to wipe out a generation of legendary comedian geniuses, including Dick Van Dyke and Carl Reiner. Social distancing, baby. Max Brooks is a popular author. In his novel "World War Z", a synthetic virus is used as a weapon, is highly contagious, and turns people into zombies. Perhaps a metaphor for Trump and his followers. His soon to be released "Devolution" rumor has it, concerns an organized uprising by big foot (Sasquatch) against the human race. Superficially, the odds don't sound good. Fictional subject matter notwithstanding, Brooks lectures at West Point and other places on his area of expertise; disaster preparedness and response. Talking about the Trump administration's response to Corona virus, Brooks asserts that had the response been adequate, rather than chaotic, inconsistent, and clumsy, the entire situation would one day be remembered as the "great virus overreaction of 2020". The epidemic would have been stopped soon after its initial appearance on the west coast. We the people went into hibernation way too late, and universal testing was never implemented. Brooks reminds us that there was a time when all the necessary supplies and equipment to fight an epidemic was stockpiled in what were called "fall out shelters", which, those of a certain age will recall, were once ubiquitous, safety holes beneath the Earth for people to hide in in the event of a Russian nuclear attack. Facemasks, ventilators, rubber gloves, LL Mnnner of medical supplies, once upon a time, were coming out of our ears.But alas, the cold war ended, and the bottom line, the almighty dollar, reigned supreme in freedom's land. If only Coronavirus had staged its invasion in 1965.