The Great Experiment
Is it safe to go out? Is it safe for the restaurant or the hair salon to open?
I don’t know, and neither do you. Neither does Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis, or the Key Biscayne Village Council.
But I can tell you this – we’ll find out damn soon because the incubation period is typically five days.
The reason I say no one knows is because no one ever can really know the future. That’s why it’s called the “future.” It is a state of existence that has yet to take place. All one can do is make predictions, which hopefully are based on science, yes, but more importantly logic. Sometimes people ignore predictions about hurricanes, and they drown, but sometimes, the predictions are wrong, and people win their gambles.
As I walked alongside the Village Green yesterday, I saw hundreds of people about. Few wore facial coverings, and many were congregating well within the recommended six-foot separation barrier.
Talk about gambling. Maybe we should rename it the Village Casino.
Police sat in their cars, but really, what were they supposed to do? Question every group and determine whether it was a family? Whether people playing soccer fell within the exceptions to the social-distancing rules? How could they possibly do that? Our police chief is a swell guy, but please, don’t give the police impossible rules to enforce.
Let’s face it. Society is reopening. Maybe a little slower here than in other U.S. communities, but it will reopen even as the virus continues its somewhat slower but still inexorable spread, even though the Village Council has voted against contact tracing, the process the scientists say is necessary at this point.
The pressure from human nature is just too much.
This has happened before, you know, and I don’t mean the 1918 pandemic.
The Apple was shiny in the Garden of Eden. Both Adam and Eve wanted it. Go ahead, bite. You know it’s really O.K. for you to do it. Who cares what that mean old smarty pants warned me about? Who cares about the CDC or the fact that we’re invoking the Defense Production Act to keep the meat plants operating, or that there are strange new reports of recovered people getting sick again? It’s nearly summer, and it’s barbecue time. My will be done.
This is the Great Experiment. If the scientists are right, we will start seeing an increase in cases, sickness, and death. If they are wrong, everything will be just fine. Let’s book that cruise!
Better watch out, gramps.
But that’s not the only experiment I’m referring to. No, I’m talking about an experiment on whether society can engage in logical thinking as a basis for us working in groups. This experiment is under way. And the elements of logic seem to be in shorter supply than hand sanitizer.
What elements? Facts, for example. And knowing the difference between a fact, an opinion, a premise and an argument. Oh – and this is really important – being able to spot a “logical fallacy.”
If my WhatsApp is any guide, the logical fallacy team is winning. The most common errors are of the ad hominem kind, with its cousin, whataboutism. But there are plenty more.
Now, illogical beliefs have held sway for centuries in many societies, but usually, with consequences people didn’t like. And this experiment, the world logic test, so far is showing some interesting results.
In addition to showing that despite our iPhones and other beloved tech, people really aren’t that logical, the virus also has exposed many other weaknesses in our nation and the social compact it is founded on. The fragility of our health systems, our supply chains, and our economics are now readily apparent. These are also being tested. Care to give it a grade? You’re entitled.
If logic is in short supply, then, it’s probably not the best solution to fighting the virus. I mean, if someone can’t fly, giving a person a plane is not going to help. Perhaps the way to fight is not with logic, but love. Compassion, grace – these are weapons the virus cannot overcome. A time of great sorrow and sadness is upon us, and in this kind of a time, one’s heart will always matter more than one’s head.
Stay safe!
Personal Note: I have recovered from my COVID-19 exposure, though my sense of smell is returning slowly. Thanks to the hundreds of people who reached out to me to wish me well. It really matters! If you are someone who tested positive and recovered, I encourage you to join me in donating convalescent plasma through oneblood.org. The snacks are free!