SATURDAY STORY - AUGUST 14, 2021

 

SATURDAY STORY - AUGUST 14, 2021

Let’s do a modified story (since we’ve done Aesop’s Fables all week)

*****

The boy watched the sheep.  Although young, the boy had a knack for keeping the sheep from straying and keeping the predators away  

About two years into his tending the sheep, boredom came over him.  He decided to have some fun and excitement.  When they had bedded down close enough to the little town, he went to a high point overlooking the village and yelled “Help, help!!  There is a wolf attacking the sheep.”

Ten men from the village rushed up the hillside with torches and guns to shoot the wolves.  Sheep were important to the economy of the region because of their wool and their meat.  Wolves would decimate the flock and would be a problem. 

Andy (the boy) pointed out where the supposed wolf came into the camp.  He gave confusing answers to their questions.

Did you see the wolf?  Yes answered Andy, but later he because of the darkness he couldn’t be sure - maybe a big dog.

Did you see more than one?  Yes answered Andy, which caused the men to search harder.  A herd of wolves close to the village would be troublesome.  When winter came, the wolves would hunt in packs and might even come into town and snatch small children.

After a long search that took most of the night, the men determined that no sheep had been taken, no evidence of foul play, no blood, no wolf droppings. 

Finally, the men were sure that no wolf had been in the area.  Nine of the men left to go to the village, but one man checked out the far reaches of the flock.  When this man came back to the area, he found the boy doubled up in laughter for the prank he had played on the men.

*****

This happened three times with no wolves found.  

But, one night a real wolf pack came into the camp and although Andy did protect most of the sheep, he lost about half of the group.  He yelled, “HELP, HELP, A WOLF” but this time the people didn’t believe him.

*****

A new version.

The year 2023

A Congressional hearing on COVID is ongoing.  

First up is Governor Smith.

Committee Chair: “Governor Smith, when did you require masks in your state?

Governor Smith.  “As a prudent servant of the people, I felt obligated to allow people to choose to wear masks or not.  It wasn’t until the President and the National Director of Health mandated masks, that I reluctantly required people to wear masks.  Our economy needed to keep rolling and closing businesses, restaurants, bars, and churches because of a little scare about a new strain of flu, just wasn’t warranted. “

“But once my state had the highest per capita of deaths, hospitalizations, and ran out of necessary equipment, I know I had to act responsibly and with my authority, so I closed down all non-essentials businesses.  I instituted a full requirement for people to wear masks outside of their homes.  I did allow restaurants to continue with delivery and grocery stores to have limited hours and also to have home delivery.  Because these businesses needed transportation, I mandated that a minimum of 20% of all gas stations must be opened. 

“I didn’t know what to do with schools, so worked with the State Education Agency.  Some districts had a mask requirement and some didn’t.

Committee Chair: “I think you allow the three major universities in the state to play football.  Why is that”.

Governor Smith “That is a good question, Congressman.  With the people at home, there was getting to be marital spats.  Police were called out to 28% more domestic violence cases and I determined that we needed a distraction and thus allowed these universities to play football.”

Committee Chair.  “I heard some talk that pressure from university alumni as well as athletic directors was so strong that you caved into that pressure.  Is that so?”

Governor Smith.  “Of course not.  I am my own man. Yes, some of these alumni are friends and major donors to my campaign.  (Aside - oops - strike that).  Yes, I listened to reasonable people on many issues.  Athletics is part of the American fabric and with reasonable controls, such as much smaller crowds in person at the game, and getting air time on ESPN and revenue from the ESPN ads (Strike that) was vital to our economy.  Do you know that at the height of the pandemic, over 52% of the wonderful citizens of my state were either working from home or not working at all?  Can I tell you about my wonderful relief program for those who were laid off because of the pandemic?”

Committee Chair: “No governor, we don’t need to hear about your programs. Can you enlighten us about your stance on vaccination?

Governor Smith, “I believe in democracy and free will.  My citizens had the freedom to get the vaccine or not.  I don’t want to force anybody to get vaccinated if they don’t want to.”

Committee Chair: “So, even though you state had one of the highest death rates and ran out of ICU beds, you choose not to require vaccinations.”

Governor Smith: “Of course, people could choose to get vaccinated.  In effect, they could choose whether to live or die.”  

Committee Chair:  “Thank you, Governor Smith.  Committee, I am calling Governor Jones to testify.”

*****

Committee Chair: “Thank you Governor Jones for joining us today”.

Governor Jones “I’m glad to be here.

Committee Chair: “Governor Jones, did you require masks in your state?”

Governor Jones. “When the pandemic really hit hard in March 2020, I took the guidelines that had been suggested by the CDC and instituted a policy that said ‘Everybody needed to wear a mask if they were in public.   I’d like to think that helped my state keep our number of cases and number of deaths low.  

Committee Chair: “Did your policing units stop people who were not wearing masks and fine them?”

Governor Jones.  “We viewed this as a national emergency.  We tried to take prudent approaches to the pandemic and wearing masks, washing hands, and keeping distance between you and others were the guidelines.  But, no, people were not arresting people in their cars who were not wearing masks.  We did have some businesses that were open (mostly grocery stores and delivery-only restaurants), and they put staff at their doors and refused service to those without masks.  Our policing authorities were called into a few cases where a citizen refused to wear a mask to a store and got belligerent.  My goal as the chief executive officer for my state was to keep us healthy and if wearing masks kept us healthy, we would do it. And we think it did work and did keep our infection levels low.”

Committee Chair: What about athletics?

Governor Jones.  “I was pressured to let our nationally ranked football teams play.  I do recognize the value of sports, but sports in this case is entertainment and wasn’t essential in my opinion.  I do see that in other states, such public gatherings, even though limited did have more cases of COVID.  I got hit hard by alumni, donors, athletic directors and I think in a time of a National Emergency safety comes first.

We also implemented a vaccination program. All state employees must have been vaccinated or submit to a weekly COVID test.

All in all Chair, our state seemed to get through the pandemic with some of the lower infection and death rates. I'm proud of my people for putting aside differences and working together on this common, but nasty, problem.

*****

I am not trying to say who was right and who was wrong.  I do want to say that at times the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has been like crying “wolf”. There was information and misinformation; there were recommended actions and various flavoring of the implementation of those actions. 

Maybe in a few years, as we sort things out, we can find some answers.  But, until then, it “might” (or might not”) be like asking for help when it isn’t needed.  

LOVE WINS - but in this case, cool heads, good research, smart health protocols, and informed people should make the difference.

Karen