The sky is falling (today, anyway)

Honestly, I don't truly understand how the stock market works, other than it has gained in value over time, including the past year.

I see this morning that the Dow is down 900 points because investors are worried... about the pandemic, about lack of government responses, about less growth. And probably much more.

I assume that within a day or two the prices will start correcting, since there is little logic behind this sort of fear and that there aren't any decent options for investing money. We make pennies each month from our checking account, for instance. 

I don't need cash at this moment, so the vagaries of the market don't really matter. The advice from "professionals" is to stick to an investment strategy that makes sense and then avoid worrying about day-to-day changes. It's the big picture that counts.

Not easy to do that, of course, when the top headlines on each news site shout about the sharp plunge. 

I contrast investments in the market with how people should deal with the pandemic and vaccinations. In that case, closing your eyes and avoiding thinking about the dangers is not recommended. Professionals are close to unanimous on getting vaccinated.

My choice is to opt for expert advice rather than panic, to choose smart science over politics and skepticism.

These days, that sounds like some distant America.