Protestors, some of them wearing MAGA hats and waving Confederate flags, have been defying stay at home orders in Ohio and Michigan to stage demonstrations. A news photo from Ohio by photojournalist Joshua Bickel shows a group of them crammed against the windowed, locked door of the Ohio statehouse, faces distorted, mouths agape, vividly illustrating why zombie films are as much about political and social satire as horror.

So, we watch from where we shelter as the call to “put on your big boy pants” gains momentum. Putting on “big boy pants” apparently means not being squeamish about all those vulnerable people who will die if the quarantine is lifted too soon. It’s especially infuriating when the “big boy pants” enthusiasts point out — accurately — that being poor and unemployed endangers human lives. The same powerful people who have made poverty lethal in this country now cite that deadliness as a reason to ignore science and lift the quarantine.

Is America on the road to another civil war? One of our two major political parties is confronting the fact that, unless they take drastic action, they are not only going to lose the presidency, but may end as a mainstream political force. The Wisconsin election, in which voters were forced to choose between voting and personal safety, illustrated how far the GOP is willing to go. Yes, they lost that election, but historically, the American right’s response to defeat has been to double down, not back off. Our Republican president is talking about wielding absolute authority. He’s threatened to adjourn congress. So far, the leaders in his own party seem unwilling to say “no” to him. It looks from here as if many Republicans are willing to dismantle our entire system if doing so can keep them in power.

Right now I’m suffering from low-grade anxiety, not about the virus, but about managing a big zoom event tonight at the library. We’ll see how it goes.