Commentary By Samuel Strait – January 2, 2022 I recently received Christmas Greetings from my sister in law, who is native to South Africa. She is currently back in her native country visiting relatives and had the following to say about the recent surge of the Omicron Variant of Covid. "I am not sure what everyone is worried about as the Omicron Variant has created little in the way of problems here. A lot of people are testing positive for it, but it seems to be no more than a mild cold if anything. Beside, I not sure why anyone in the United States should worry as we have very little access to the kind of healthcare available in the United States and are managing quite nicely." After considering her words carefully, it comes to mind that a fairly large segment of the population here in the US and Europe are in full panic mode over this latest wrinkle in the Covid saga. Mass media has been whipping up the hysteria, social media is in a frenzy, and a majority of our citizens are consumed by fear. Seems they have locked in on the idea that Covid represents "death" with an almost manic terror, that they might be the next ones to greet the grim reaper. No amount of data or information will convince them otherwise. Science, logic, correctness, or the truth has no space in this world created by national or global health officials. Announcements can change daily with no science, data, even outright lies which contradict all that was said before, make any impression on Mass Formation Psychosis afflicted. So what exactly is MFP, or Mass Formation Psychosis? In layman's terms it simply means that a person has an unyielding belief that disaster is at their personal doorstep that will lead to their demise. There is no reasoning with the person as they have been convinced completely that this is their fate. There are four conditions which are necessary for society to be subject to mass psychosis. The first is lack of societal bonding. It is easily pointed out that Western nations have struggled with loneliness long before the pandemic, and government lockdowns, isolation, and the stoking of fear of infection from the virus has made lack of community involvement more dangerous. The second element of MFP is growing numbers of people who find no purpose in their lives. Dead end jobs that do not stimulate the employee, frustrations with the pointlessness of the task at hand, and mindless rote and repetitive employment with no end in sight. It becomes difficult for particularly young people or even adults that still behave like children to find some sense of purpose, further alienating them form societal contact. The third element is increasing anxiety found in all age groups in a society. I suspect that constant references by media and health officials to the increasing and already high levels of people who structure their day around the ingestion of some form of anxiety/ depression medication. Couple that with regular anxiety induced encounters with hostile experiences when out in public or even driving furthers isolates people. The fourth and final sign of MFP is the high levels of frustration and out right aggression found with no clear cause. Temper tantrums from adults over lack of masking that occasionally include physical confrontation. Social media outbursts of the vulgar and crude variety have become common place. Further signs of it being the product of all three of the conditions described above. This might be considered childish behavior as it is most often found in young people, yet in today's world it can just as readily be displayed by people of all ages. As I have said many times before on this platform, it is hard to understand how mass induced hysteria can become so utterly in possession of someone's head that science, critical thinking, and common sense are jettisoned for a narrative about the pandemic that changes by the day. As the narrative breaks down from new data, facts, and science, one would think that it would begin to penetrate the minds that have become so zombie like. Yet the answer is NO, as enough of the mass remains addicted to the narrative by their fear that no reason or rational can penetrate the current Mass Formation Psychosis over fear of negative consequences from Covid that inhabits this Country. One only can hope that enough people suffer some form of tragedy to wake them from this psychosis before it is too late.