One pave stone at a time, our country now has the opportunity to repair the potholes in our path to a better future. It will take all of us–Democrats, Republicans, independents and all the remaining political parties who siphon votes off for causes that cannot succeed without broader appeal. It will take a concerted effort to, as Biden says, quit seeing people who disagree with us as the “enemy”.
[THIS ESSAY REPRESENTS MY OWN OPINIONS, AND DOES NOT REFLECT THE POSITION OR VIEWS OF WD-40 COMPANY, NOR ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES OR STAKEHOLDERS.]
I listened to the Democratic convention this week. With each speech, each testimony, I began to feel the hope that I have gradually been losing since 2016.
As we continued through Trump’s presidency, and especially through this year’s catastrophes, the fiasco of leadership in our country drained me. I’m far from alone. I know, democracy has always been a fiasco, but it’s the best of the alternative forms of government, by light years. The thing is, a democracy is only as good as the leaders we elect.
There’s a critical point in the evolution of an idea, an effort, a program and even a career field when the description of it is condensed into an acronym. The reason for it is that when language begins to refer to something often in several words which takes a long time to say, someone will find a shorter way to refer to it. For example, “earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization” becomes EBITDA. “Generally accepted accounting principles” becomes GAAP. “Learning and development” becomes L&D.
This is a once-in-a-century field study. So many elements are being tested. The virus’ hypothesis is that it can procreate in the population of the human species at the balanced rate of transmission and mortality that ensures it will survive. We know how to eradicate the disease. We just don’t have the collective will to do what’s necessary. It would require every human being to stay in one place for two weeks or until they recover, without any chance of transmission to even one other human being outside of their immediate household. If we did that, everybody who already had it would recover or not. No more virus.
The virus knows this, and therefore is trying to mutate as it goes along so that its mortality rate is low enough to prevent the human population from wanting to stay in one place for two weeks. If the mortality rate was 30%, even with treatment, the world’s leaders would have a much higher motivation to attempt to freeze movement and therefore contact completely. But if the mortality rate, and just as important, the hospitalization rate, is low enough, then humans might relax their vigilance sufficiently to allow the virus to continue replicating at a sustainable level. The virus is aiming for that sweet spot.
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