When this crisis is over, we will have been provided with the means to separate heroes from goats, and I want to thank the occupant of the White House for creating the opportunity. Actions taken and not taken will be held to account; hidden agendas and attitudes will be revealed; judgements will be made.
One nomination for the hero category must be Dr. Sara Cody, Health Officer for Santa Clara County in the San Francisco bay area. (highlighted in this article) At her instigation, seven bay area counties containing seven million population went into lockdown on March 16, ahead of the state as a whole. The result is proving to be a low infection rate and hospitals able to care for those who get sick. This is the result of superb planning and implementation. How many lives will this woman’s timely action save? We will soon know when we can make comparisons with states which delayed lockdown and suffered higher casualties.
This is a personal matter with me. One of my best friends for sixty years has lived in Berkeley since college. As a rather social person, she and her husband are coping with separation from friends and kinfolk as best they can. Some might consider her, a retired English teacher, to be surplus population and expendable. I don’t. I can feel confident that members of the government in her area knew the right thing to do, did it early, and persisted. I have to commend them — they back up in strength her own efforts to preserve her health.
Heroes vs. Goats
People vs. Profit
Despite the wailing from people with much money, profit when lost can be reacquired, the economy if damaged can be restored.
Lives lost are gone forever.