As Time magazine recently reported, librarians are seeing a definite spike in censorship activity. Deborah Caldwell-Stone, executive director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, called it “an unprecedented volume of challenges.” From Texas to South Carolina, to Virginia to Florida and beyond, conservative governors and advocacy groups are removing books from school library shelves, particularly those that deal with the two subjects they find most threatening: sexuality and race.

This once-in-a-generation legislation would bring down the costs of things families depend on — like health care, prescription drugs, paid leave and child care — create millions of good-paying jobs, tackle the climate crisis, invest in a just and humane immigration system, rebuild our care economy, and open the doors to educational opportunity with universal preschool and grants for low-income students and students of color.

If Putin invades Ukraine, if China invades Taiwan, if Iran finishes a nuclear bomb, if North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un decides to move against South Korea, all of them may see this as the ideal opportunity to engage in behavior they might think twice about if America had a strong president.

It’s possible for a political leader to be a robust nationalist and social conservative without jailing the political opposition, assassinating critics, invading and dismembering neighboring countries, enriching a kleptocracy, and installing a de facto dictator for life.

At this stage of the pandemic, lots of us are thinking wishfully. And lots of us are acting on that thinking by moving out of COVID’s path.