President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The only thing you have to fear is fear itself.” He told the American public during arguably the worst crisis in United States history—World War II. The current coronavirus pandemic may end up being worse when it is all said and done. Panic shopping, school, municipal, and state closures across the country feed fear.
While the virus itself is concerning and threatening, the fear and hysteria brought by the disease is crippling as well. Concern for the well-being of elderly citizens is a valid fear for everyone. My grandmother is in her mid-nineties and my mom has pre-existing health conditions. I am concerned for their safety. I cannot even begin to fathom how those infected with COVID-19 are feeling. So much is unknown.
In the first half of The Flash Season 6, the primary villain was Dr. Ramsey Rosso, Bloodwork. He was working on a cure for the cancer (HLH) that killed his mother. Rosso ended up being infected by the same disease. His fear of death turned an initially heroic pursuit into a paranoia.
Ramsey used dark matter as a binding agent for the HLH cure. This ended up transforming him into a meta-human. Rosso gained the power of haemokinesis: an ability to manipulate blood creating constructs, increased strength, and regeneration. Infecting others’ blood also allowed Bloodwork to exercise mind control over his victims.
“I will never accept death, not like you did.“—Ramsey Rosso to Rachel Rosso
Fear feeds doubt
The entire Bloodwork story-arc felt apocalyptic. His victims even resembled zombies. Fear of death motivated Rosso’s work. He couldn’t understand how his mother was so calm in the face of dying. While I have been blessed to have both my parents, I have experienced losing children.
In 2014 and 2017, we mourned the loss of our unborn children. Losing a baby is excruciating. It crippled me. I hated God for a while. Fear of losing subsequent unborn children led to my wife and I having doubts about getting pregnant ever again. Doubts led to despair. It was all fed by fear. Fear of loss. But even more a fear of the unknown. How would I continue life?
But I continued to pray. Continued moving.
I began watching The Flash during this suffering in my life. Barry Allen’s character and suffering appealed to me. I found strength in the Catholic Church and the sacraments, but I also found strength in superheroes.
The dichotomy between Barry Allen’s acceptance versus Ramsey Rosso’s fear of death reminds me of how people are approaching the coronavirus pandemic. Frankly, at first, I was skeptical about the severity of the virus. I didn’t completely understand what was going on. I did exercise caution and followed all the best hygiene practices (and still today). However, the other way I noticed people react to all the news about the coronavirus was panic. Hysteria or paranoia would be a more accurate term.
Such a mindset has no root in reason. Fear begets more fear. Hoarding of toilet paper and other essential goods stems from a selfish mindset. I watched a video talking about the psychology of panic shopping.
Various motivations cause such behaviors but the one I thought most interesting was that it provided people with a sense of control. Owning 10,000 rolls of toilet paper or five months worth of hand sanitizer lets one at least remove one variable of uncertainty in their life.
Need to control the unknown
As a scientist and doctor, Ramsey was calculated and did not like to leave things up to faith. He believed that infecting the citizens of Central City with his dark matter blood was saving humanity. While he cured them of ailments, the cost was too high. Bloodwork eradicated his cancer and his humanity with it. He hated his mother’s choice to accept death. Rosso didn’t want to leave the salvation of humanity up to free will.
Barry Allen experiencing the murder of his mother, and later father, taught him that he cannot change the past. He traveled back in time to stop the Reverse Flash from killing his mom. However, that created a new timeline, Flashpoint, and Barry learned that things ended being worse for everyone else he loved.
Everything happens for a reason. Before accepting the loss of my unborn children, I never understood that phrase. But it was only trusting in God, during my dark night of suffering, to make me able to find hope the present pandemic.
St. Teresa of Avila wrote, “It isn’t good to let our thoughts disturb us or worry us at all.” Her words remind me of an exchange between Bloodwork and the Flash. Barry catches Rosso trying to steal dark matter samples at Star Labs to stave off his impending death.
Barry Allen: “I thought you wanted to save people.”
Rosso: “HLH is not just my mother’s disease. First it killed her. And now it’s killing me. I am marking a calendar every day until I die. Waiting to fall off a cliff. Powerless to grab onto anything or anyone. I watched my mother die off the same cliff with a smile on her face. She didn’t even fight.”
Barry: “I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. I know you’re angry.”
Rosso: “This isn’t anger. It’s the pain beneath my anger. It takes courage to fight death.”
Barry: “Maybe it takes more courage to accept it.”
Death is one of the guarantees in life. It is also a great unknown. Is it the end? Or the beginning to eternal life?
Love is always the end goal
Love provides you with hope and stability during suffering. Fleeing from death is not the answer. It only leads to doubt, fear, and confusion. Survival instincts take over. Self-preservation. It is natural.
You should do everything in your power to stay safe during this viral pandemic. Trust in science, good hygiene practices, and health experts. But Jesus’ command to love your neighbor is not cancelled or suspended during a quarantine.
Barry Allen’s love for his family, friends, and citizens allowed him to overcome his fear of the unknown. He continued to serve others in the face of adversity. Fear need not control you when you trust in Love.
Matt Chicoine
Matthew Chicoine is a free-lance writer, a life-long Catholic, and an avid truth seeker. He earned an M.A. in theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2014 and enjoys binge reading Tolkien, Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Fulton Sheen and comic books. Visit his blog at https://thesimplecatholic.