Some of you may be old enough to remember "clear and present danger".
Hysteria circa 1950's. We found out just how much of a threat the USSR really was. (Negligible). But in so doing, free speech was crippled, and a a Pavlovian response was created in the minds of many Americans.

It's a replay of the same old tactic. Create an enemy, make people afraid of that enemy and they do anything you say except think for themselves.

The more things change.................

Frank