Two things can be true at the same time about COVID-19.

For one, people can take the virus seriously, believe it’s an issue, and believe everyone needs to take the necessary precautions in order to limit the spread of the virus or avoid it altogether.

On the other end, the same person who takes the COVID-19 virus seriously can also be a person who recognizes that a societal collapse could do far more damage to the people than this virus can, and do what’s necessary to keep society afloat by living out their lives as normally as possible.

In the age of the internet, nuance tends to get lost on people. We’re practically encouraged to retreat to one side or another and hold that ground no matter what. Any hint of disagreement should result in a barrage of ad hominem tweets and, if the conditions are right, a complete cancelation of the individual.

In truth, people have valid reasons for believing the above mix of precaution and living life as the correct way to move forward during this pandemic. People need to feed their families, keep roofs over their heads, heat pumping through their vents, and business matters attended to.

Assuming that every single person in America can sit at home and twiddle their thumbs while their life collapses around them is fantasy at best, destructively asinine at worst. At some point, we have to leave our homes and be a society. We have to produce, socialize, and most importantly, exist. It’s completely unrealistic to believe that inaction will happen. We’re not a species that can tolerate this kind of lifestyle, at least not for long.

Herein lies the true stupidity of the COVID-19 situation. There is no reality where humanity continues by standing still. We cannot continue to idly consume without producing first. We cannot grow as a nation, see to its solvency and safety by doing nothing. The nation would collapse, society would collapse, but more importantly, the individual would cease to be both figuratively and very literally.

Humanity is not a species capable of staying still. We’re not wired for the kind of reaction many leaders have planned out in response to the pandemic. It’s stupid to believe that we can all just sit, wait, and degrade until all of our problems pass.

You’re only inviting more problems to arise.

People can be both cautious and responsible, and productive and alive. To say otherwise is a denial of reality and irresponsible.