Archive: Opinions

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, …"  -- Charles Dickens, 1859

People love to quote Charles Dicken's opening line from 'A Tale of Two Cities', which was a novel that takes place during the French Revolution.  That line applies to so many other situations, and especially to the one we are in now.  One of the most unique things about the coronavirus pandemic is that it applies to virtually every country in the world.  And it's bringing out all of the things Dickens talked about: wisdom, foolishness, belief, and incredulity.

A few of my friends are in the camp that says social distancing and quarantining are extreme measures, an over-reaction to a disease that isn't worse than flu.  That we should continue as normal and trust that God will save us from becoming infected. That despite the scientific evidence, statistics, and -- if they don't want to believe scientists, the anecdotal cases of communities that continued public meetings, church services, and so on that are hit hard by the virus.  This brings to mind a joke that has been repeated so often that it has become a cliché:

A man scampered to his rooftop in a flood, and prayed to God for help.

Soon a man in a rowboat came by shouted, "Jump in, I can save you."

The man shouted back, "No thank you, I'm praying to God and he will save me."

So the rowboat went away.  Then a man in motorboat came by and shouted, "Jump in, I can save you."

The stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and I have faith He will save me."

So the motorboat went away.  Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety."

The man again replied, "I'm praying to God and he is going to save me -- I have faith.  So no thanks!"

So the helicopter flew away.  The water rose above his rooftop and the man drowned and went to Heaven. When he came face to face with God, he complained, "I had faith in you but you didn't save me, you let me drown. I don't understand... why?"

God replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter. What more did you expect?"

I always hear George Burns' version of God in my head when I think of this joke.

God sent us national Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Doctor Anthony S. Fauci, the CDC, and locally, the Tompkins County Health Department. 

Tompkins County is an example of a community that is following the recommendations of these scientists and health organizations with very good results.  As of Wednesday we only had 132 people testing positive for COVID-19, and the only two people who died here had been transferred from New York City, so no local deaths.  That is amazing, especially when you see daily news reports of communities that didn't shut down suffering devastating levels of infection.

So it seems like we're getting good advice.  What more do we expect?

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