The Galli Report: 08.21.20

Pandemic prognosis, living for a million years, and some lost who were found.

Coronavirus, Now and Upcoming
I ran across two articles this week that helped me gain a more complex understanding of the coronavirus.

The first I think is mistitled: “The Horrible Misreporting of COVID Data.” It’s not so much that the data itself has been horribly misreported, though it has been confusing and inadequate in many ways. But as the author explains, it’s really hard to get solid data quickly about something this widespread and still somewhat mysterious. Nonetheless, some unfortunate conclusions have been drawn from the data we do have.

The next piece is a bit speculative—"How the pandemic might play out in 2021 and beyond”-- but the speculation is driven by reasonable assumptions and good data. Most of us have gotten used to the idea that the virus will be with us for some months if not years, and this article more concretely shows what that might be like.

Fantasy or Future Reality?
Speaking of speculation, the Scientific American wonders, “What if We Could Live for a Million Years?” It seems like a far-fetched fantasy, until you consider that those of us who are Christians actually believe we will live for a million years, and perhaps a little longer if the word eternity means anything. In which case the question is, So, what will it be like to live for a million years or longer with one another in the new heaven and new earth?

Lost and Found
I glance at most history pieces I run across in my weekly reading, but as much as I enjoy history, most don’t grab my attention. Recently though, I bumped into a couple of quirky pieces that fascinated me.

The first is about a World War II Canadian prisoner of war in Japan just as that global conflict ended. Surprisingly his life, and that of his comrades, was still in peril, because the camp commander “had written orders to kill his prisoners ‘by any means at his disposal’ if their rescue seemed imminent.”

The second is about the so-called lost colony at Roanoke Island, a colony that has been nothing but an asterisk in American history.  Now that they are not lost, they are more interesting than ever, especially since they seem to have decided to move in with a local Native American tribe, and apparently lived peacefully with them for the rest of their lives.

What interests me about such people--these prisoners of war and these early Roanoke colonists—is their vulnerability as well as their isolation from the larger historical sweep of things; I like to imagine how they made sense of their lives, and how they determined to live faithfully in the time and place God had given them.

A Way to Kick Off the Election Season
Finally a reminder about the online Convention on Founding Principles, which is a couple of days away (August 24-27). The many speakers—okay, I’m one of them—will address the pressing need to revive the political values upon which our nation was founded, many of which seem to be floating off to sea. I’m speaking on why moral character—and not just political skill—is vital for the men and women who lead us.

Here’s a video introducing the convention. It starts on my birthday, and it would be a nice treat if GR readers would register and, if nothing else, listen at least to my talk and send along comments—even disagreements, if handled with …

Grace and peace!

Mark Galli
markgalli.com