We suffer from a partisan bug. 

“An NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey released Sunday found that just over half of Americans are worried that a family member may catch the virus that causes COVID-19,” Fox News informs us, “and that six in 10 say the worst is yet to come regarding the pandemic.” But there is a huge difference whether you are a Republican or Democrat: “Sixty-eight percent of Democrats said they were concerned that a family member could contract the virus,” Fox News goes on. “But that number dropped to 40 percent among Republicans. Nearly eight in 10 Democrats felt the worst was yet to come in coping with the pandemic. That number dropped in half to 40 percent among Republicans.”

So why? 

Just to get Trump?

Not likely. The poll, we are informed, was taken mostly before Trump’s big viral speech.

What’s going on?

Let me speculate.

According to Jonathan Haidt and Jordan Peterson, those on the left are much more “open to new experiences” than are those on the right, while conservatives tend to be far more conscientious than liberals.

Being “open” suggests activities likely to spread contagion, so those who lean left are also more open to contagion, while more cautious and indeed suspicious conservatives would be less likely to catch bad stuff. Additionally, conservative defensiveness and readiness to defend the in-group — which is said to be a hallmark of “the right” — breeds a constant readiness, which, when crisis comes, means conservatives would be less likely to panic. 

Not so those on the left. After their incaution comes the panic. And the spontaneous lust for a Messiah — their favorite pagan savior, the State.

The trick is to find some balance. We must be open, but we must also be cautious and ready to defend self and in-group from aggression and . . . contagion.

But we cannot expect a lot of balance during a crisis.

Which suggests we should work on the balance in better times.