Realer than maybe even most regulars here realize. The entire purpose of this entire exercise is to unite the country, and the world though shared hardship. This isn't going to be over in a few weeks, maybe not even in a few months. It can't be, or it won't be effective in it's goal.
Think about the crew's role in 'White Squall', and what that implies the role of this community might be. Too many people (including myself) are in "sit back, relax and enjoy the show" mode, I think this level of comfort might be disrupted very soon when the full extent of what's going on begins to resonate with the larger population.