Why We’re Confused about the Pandemic
If you’re like me, I’m not sure who to believe when it comes to what we should do and when as a society. There’s a reason for that, as this piece from The Atlantic explains—it’s subtitled: A guide to making sense of a problem that is now too big for any one person to fully comprehend. It’s a really long read, and I’ll admit I made it through only about two-thirds and skimmed the rest—enough to get the picture.
Another reason for the confusion is that, as The Heterdox Blog puts it, “Conservatives and Liberals Are Not Experiencing the Same Pandemic.” Or as The Spectator puts it, “COVID statistics are just politics by other means.”
All this leads me to believe that it’s going to be some time before we really get a handle on all this.
Why the Supply Chain Bottleneck?
Here are two pieces that help us understand the problem, from different perspectives. The first begins,
Imagine a world in which the only way to get a soda is to get your doctor to write a prescription. It costs $20 per can. Your insurance company pays. The economy produces about 100,000 sodas each day.
If you lived in this world, do you think you could get people to scale up the production of soda to a level of millions of cans per day? It would be a challenge, but not because it is hard to produce and distribute soda.
The second, “Air Cargo's Coronavirus Problem,” is a video that explains how international cargo is moved—or in the current situation, not moved.
‘Exquisite Scandal’
In the category of leisurely reads, with a mint julip in hand, basking in the warm, damp air of the deep south, a delightful article on Louisiana’s habitual corruption. A taste:
Louisiana had a history of megalomaniac politicians, some power-crazed, like Huey Long, and others just crazy, like his brother Earl Long. The latter made rambling and quixotic trips to the grocery store involving purchases that filled five state limousines when he was governor. When he went to the store, he didn’t just buy one cantaloupe, he bought forty-four cases of cantaloupes. Perhaps today they’d call that OCD, or even Tourette’s—an involuntary urge to buy cantaloupes—and it’s not illegal, it’s just bizarre. But is that a scandal? No, it’s a personality peccadillo, or a psychological disorder—duly depositing him in the state mental hospital at various junctures.
I could never in my heart condemn the governor, whose trial I covered. Neither could the populace, for he was elected to another term after the trial—serving an unprecedented four terms in total. ....
The governor was a wily Cajun with a lot of personality, a country boy but suave. The familiar theory at the trial was that the people of Louisiana would rather be entertained than served with ethics. Some would call this a Gallic attitude, to be blinded by charm at the expense of integrity, and indeed the culture of Louisiana is historically French Catholic. And as the Catholics might say, the fall from grace is inevitable, a mystery to be endured rather than a problem to be solved.
How to Talk about Jesus
I usually end with a short video, but this week it’s one of the better sermons I’ve heard in some time. Like the best sermons, it’s about more than one thing--evangelism, preaching, and more. Thanks to Adam S. and Manina M., who unbeknownst to each other, each sent me a link to this sermon by Bishop Robert Barron. The sermon begins at 7:22.
Grace and peace,
Mark Galli
markgalli.com
RE: "it’s going to be some time before we really get a handle on all this"
Yes. That much is fairly certain. Earlier in this drama I was feeling as though I were watching election-night returns, something I wouldn't normally do. Or a breaking news story, where the facts aren't yet known. That's more in line with the actual situation, but the outcomes of elections can have much more impact on our lives than most breaking news stories that come and go, and I think that is the better match for how I was feeling. It's as though we are putting truth to a vote.
The feeling is a little different now, and as I examine it more closely -- since it seems to be worsening -- it has become more like that which arises from being subjected to crazymaking, A.K.A. "gaslighting". (See Genesis 3:1-5 for an early example.)
The Atlantic article contains many good points. There are a few points that don’t mesh well with my sources, and some important aspects of the problem that are only mentioned in passing if at all. All in all it seems like something that could be helpful for people that are not already deeply engaged in their own research.
I have long been curious about viruses, RNA and retro, and their roles in creation and in sustaining that creation. My sense is that our understanding of their purpose and function is extremely limited and somewhat misguided, although interesting research is coming along that points to other things viruses do in the cell besides reproduce themselves and cause damage.
My great concern is that with few exceptions I hear many public voices talking about how we need to fix 'this' problem (name your problem-- the pandemic is a good choice), how we know we can fix it through hard work and collaboration, and how critical it is that we do fix it. It's human self-reliance at its best, and it ultimately tends toward disaster. I don't know of anywhere else it can go. Is that just another issue we need to work harder on?
It's an old problem. "…As in the days of Noah…as in the days of Lot…Whoever tries to make his life secure will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it…" (excerpts from Luke 17:26-33).