The Coming Bout of COVID Polarization

An early flu season — something that begins spreading in late September or October in a state such as Minnesota or Wisconsin — could bring us to a boiling point.

Donald Trump sometimes calls the coronavirus “the invisible enemy.” Occasionally he comes up with an evocative phrase. And for me it evokes the way the disease harms the society that contends with it. By adopting quarantines, the cities empty, and the protective presence of citizens is withdrawn from shopping and nightlife districts, thus inviting much of the chaos and looting...