There is nothing so irksome as a military metaphor—focused people “taking no prisoners,” angry people “going nuclear.” Yet when it comes to describing our fight against the coronavirus, such military comparisons seem excusable, even appropriate. As in war, the COVID-19 crisis has seeped into every part of society, the nation is gearing up for a united response, rich and poor alike are being asked to make sacrifices, our political leaders are calling for an end to partisanship, and, as we keep telling ourselves, “we’re all in this together.”
Then too, when it comes to war metaphors, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are marching in lockstep. “We are at war with a virus,” Biden intoned during the last Democratic primary debate. Several days later, Trump agreed: “The world is at war with a hidden enemy,” he tweeted. “We will win.”
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