In 1962, a movie called "Panic in the Year Zero" scared the buttered popcorn out of me, a preteen who loved scary stuff.

The film starred Ray Milland and teen idol Frankie Avalon and chronicled a Los Angeles family trying to survive two hydrogen bombs being dropped on California. Ray and Frankie lived which was outstanding because had Avalon perished, "Beach Blanket Bingo" never would have arrived.

Today, mass panic has returned because of the intense political fallout that is reducing once normal people into sniveling poltroons.

On the right, we have traditional Americans proclaiming the end of times if Kamala becomes president.  It is certainly true that would be an enormous blow to conservative folks.  The Vice President is the most leftwing presidential candidate ever.  She makes Eugene McCarthy look like Rush Limbaugh.

However, the distraught brigade overlooks Congress.  The House and Senate may very well be a formidable red wall. Yes, a President Harris could wreak some havoc using Executive Orders as Joe Biden has done.  But the Supreme Court would provide another brick in the wall.

In the leftist precincts, the specter of Donald Trump returning to the White House has overwhelmed reason especially in DC, LA and New York City.  Many liberals are weeping into their kale salads and avocado toast. America will be Nazi Germany, they wail. My kids will be attending Heinrich Himmler High.

Forgive me for pointing this out but I didn't see any jackboots or SS daggers on display in Trump's first term.  No invasion of Poland, no stiff-arm salutes.

Mar-a-Lago is not the "Eagles Nest."

There is no sympathy here for adults who cannot absorb perspective and who relish propaganda like a fine wine.  However, I am worried about the kids.  Mouth-foaming liberal teachers are legion in this country and some parents live in panic mode round the clock.  Tough on the urchins.

Panic is a foolish emotion.  It almost always leads to terrible decision-making. Yes, this is a turning point election for the land of the free and home of the brave.

And all of us need to be brave no matter what happens.