How have we come from “We have nothing to fear but fear itself” to “Fear is virtuous…and mandatory?”

From the beginning, fear has driven the government response to the coronavirus pandemic.  Americans have been told they should be afraid.  More important, they have been instructed that expressing fear, through the wearing of masks and self-isolation by the healthy, is their moral duty.

For the first time in United States history, fear is no longer seen as an emotion to overcome, like jealousy or greed, but rather as one to embrace.  We should be proud to be afraid, we are told, and we should call out anyone who isn’t.  In fact, any act of courage must be condemned as immoral as well as illegal.

As a practicing psychiatrist, I believe people are suffering from delusional psychosis — a fixed false belief contrary to reality.