Author: bmmcmanus

Life as we know it is a series of near misses, of “almosts”, of split seconds, of fine lines, of near coincidences in time and space.  Indeed, much of what occurs that determines the best or the worst on this Earth relates for razor thin margins. The possibility of time and space conjunction exists for our species and for all others. These “close calls” can be found in the chance of meeting someone whom one may marry, may enjoy, may educate, may differ with. These close calls can be found in athletics where a half step separates a runner from victory or defeat, a half step separates a hockey player from the puck, a half step means a fly ball out or a home run. These close calls happen on streets and highways every day, yielding good luck or death and disability, yielding horrendous accidents or moments of massive relief. These close calls mean that sometimes a diving eagle gets its prey, and sometimes the prey will live another day.

Close calls could be deemed to be occurrences that have razor thin qualities. Just so close in time and space as be terrifying or exhilarating, deadly or incidental. After all, when one uses a razor it is with the intention of shaving really close to the root of a hair without damaging the skin around it.

Razor-thinness plays a part in our communications and interactions with people in our personal lives and in our professions. Razor thinness in correspondence of course depends on your timing and spacing, but also about the moments when another person is able and willing to “listen” and respond. Once we have fallen off of an ideological cliff, we may not be able to hear, to listen, to respond, or to act in a reasonable manner. That cliff, that razor thinness in political dialogue is exquisitely delicate. It is so delicate that it requires of leaders to be more “big-eared”, “small-mouthed” and composed than perhaps in any other endeavour.  Once people are over an ideological cliff, they may have passed the point of return, beyond where the razor can matter, beyond sensibility. It behooves those who have not fallen off the cliff to listen harder, think further, act sooner and more profoundly in order to salvage the messages and the essential actions that may protect civility and society. We are at this point in a world of so-called populous arousals. Political leaders, average citizens, media outlets, and influencers must draw deep breaths, stand back and stand up for humane considerations. There is too much at stake for the entire world. This is a razor thin moment.

 

On the Gregorian calendar, most peoples of the world are celebrating the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021. There is a sentiment of sadness about 2020 that does not need to be recounted. It is all too clear. The real question is whether humanity will move forward in 2021 in a more effective fashion. Will the great hopes of vaccines be realized by the wide and equitable distribution and administration of the precious products of scientific innovation? Will governmental leaders show more real leadership that embraces a full understanding of social, economic, ethical and cultural elements of our everyday lives? Will the fabric of various societies be jiggled into the common sense of doing fundamental things that are for the benefit of all/others (one for all, and all for one) rather than persisting with a “one for one, none for all” collection of selfish human beings? Will we remember to value each other, regardless of age, sex, gender, race, ethnic group, religion economic status, special talents, and limitations?  Especially, will global society and certain societies in particular, wake up to more sincere honoring and protecting their elderly? Will there be a think-sort-act tank to help bring society back into rhythm in a harmonious fashion? Will nature give us the time to get back on our feet, or will we face another round of infections from viral variants or a new pathogen? Are there lessons from a hundred years ago that were either not learned well or were learned and then forgotten that we need to re-ignite? Is our appreciation for the gift of life we have been given going to increase or fade once “normalization” proceeds? Finally, can we always remember to laugh out loud when things don’t quite go the way we hoped or expected, provided we are not talking about human lives lost?

Speed good will.  Speed good deeds.  Speed solutions for humanity’s challenges. Speed a fulsome foundation for forgiveness and kindness that is much more determined and genuine than the foundations we have laid before.

Tonight, most rational people in the free world are celebrating the confirmation of victory by the Biden-Harris ticket as President Elect and Vice-President Elect of the United States of America. This confirmation by the Electoral College is monumental in critical ways. It affirms the power of democracy and the truly free world. It affirms sensibility and decency. It points towards civility and humanity to reemerge in the country.

Despite this hopeful moment, there are shadows all around the situation. While the profoundly deadly and destructive reach of SARS-CoV-2 is causing a crisis as significant as any in decades, it does not compare to the crisis we have seen as an eruptive cancer of failed human substance.  And while there have long been people of frail characters, the 2020 election has exposed a cancer that exceeds most cancers in its malignancy, their metastatic viciousness, their apparent resistance to fundamental societal values. This cancer grows in a primary host – old or aging, Caucasian, shallow-charactered, desperately-insecure, weakly-egoed, falsely masculine, overstated males. The other strange association is with being immersed in an ideology that is monomorphic, anglo-embracing, rich-get-richer, insensitive, unlawful, disgusting, and seemingly changeless. It turns out that such males reside mainly in the political spectrum of the so-called extreme rightward, conservative, pseudo-religious faction. They are a truly embarrassing lot.  If sad could not be sadder, the phenotype of fools has drifted downwards into younger Caucasian males with poor self-images, who like to yell and scream, carry guns that should be illegal, dress like aggravated dorks and threaten people or even knife them. This younger version of the white male caught up in the craziness of the soul-less deniers of democracy is a sorry legacy of a failed educational process, a lack of healthy role models,  a social illness that is disturbing and quite bizarre.

We all know that in general the female species is more caring, more inclusive, more decent than the males. The females, overall, are also more thoughtful, reflective, sharing, selfless, and listening than males. They bring stability to an otherwise tenuous world of war, attacks, conquests and destructive adventures led by males without scruples or beliefs that align with the betterment of humankind. Only a few women view themselves as awful as the white men I have described. Those women who are in that camp of delusional thinking and acting somehow are subverted from what normal decency engenders.

The hope of the world depends on a new dominance of grace, of humility, of forgiveness, of self-effacement, of good humor, of pedagogy, of leadership, of breadth, of diversity, of understanding.  We must know more about the planet, our environment, our oceans, our species, our societies, our solar system, our galaxy, our universe, our whole set of systems from molecules to the largest structures. We have to care more about that which is outside of the human being.  We need to knock down greed for power, money, control, materiality and “stuff”. We certainly will not get where we need to go if we allow the morons who have tried to ruin the USA’s democracy during the current federal elections.  We need to minimize the presence in images or voices of these terrible humans who have threatened worthy people, organizations and institutions as they have raged around the country, trying to damage a historically free, young society.

We need humanity in a way that is difficult to measure but which, in its limitlessness,  sets us apart from barbarians.

Quite some time ago I had written a short piece about masks in various contexts including COVID19. I was then and am even more so now amazed at the irresponsibility of many people who argue against masks. This group of people, suffused through our societies have a similar if not identical demographic as those who choose to not socially distance appropriately.  The attitude that one does not have social responsibility in the heat of a major modern health crisis is indefensible. Given that lives are being lost at a rapid pace, hospitals and other healthcare facilities are being stretched beyond the limit of functionality, healthcare workers are exhausted, resources in the form of protection, diagnostics, beds and medicines are stretched, local and regional governments are in extremis, and society is now in a state of anger and despair, it is not surprising that officials have fallen to fines and other forms of penalization for stupid behavior.  This is NOT about free speech, freedom of any other right, or freedom of human beings in general. This is pure selfish, illiterate nonsense.

It is sadly interesting and perhaps to be expected that when one sees people without masks on their faces in public places as mandated, they are much more likely to be of the male subspecies than female. The strange association that males make with machoism, freedom and rendering themselves a societal blight is perhaps linked to testosterone levels and perennial brain malfunction. The bravado of saying ” I don’t need to or will not wear a mask or be told what I can do” really reflects the male insecurity. While it is associated with certain political parties, it is likely that “masklessness” has a constituent preponderance among male creatures in such parties. Not wearing a mask is akin to buying a big car with a big engine, making a big noise, or carrying a weapon in public in order to compensate for a weak self image and lack of character.

Looking out for our families, our friends, our neighbors, our infirm and vulnerable……this is the essence of being socially responsible. Not wearing a mask or distancing or respecting the orders or laws of this dire time is completely out of line with being a member on a civilized society. Being socially humane is not about “socialism” or some other ideology. It is about being truly human. People in some jurisdictions have confused being socially responsible with a political philosophy like socialism. They are distinct form one another.

Perhaps among the worst of behaviors, or stated beliefs, there are some people who promote the view that we must sacrifice people in order to save society’s economy, to “open up the economy”. They are even willing to sacrifice their own mother on that false premise. Political leaders of certain stripes have expressed this point of view.  It is the doctrine of dough heads. Indeed, these political “leaders” are indefensibly immoral and indeed criminal in their confused and confusing approaches to crisis.  All it takes for leaders in these situations is to acknowledge the limits of their actual expertise and only speak from facts drawn from those with real expertise in the complicate aspects of pandemics. Half facts, ideas, or opinions are extraordinarily damaging without expertise.

There are things important to teach our children by action, by voice, and especially by shared discussions about the pandemic. What people like Dr Bonnie Henry having been urging for months…..”~remember we are in it together for everyone’s wellbeing and benefit, to listen, listen, listen, to think about and act for the wellbeing of others, to do the basics that have been known since 1918 to save lives in the setting of viral pandemics, to respect the vulnerable, to be kind to others, to not be selfish…..these are the crucial maxims of our time.

Regrettably, my thoughts, which are not unique or special, are ones shared in several societies over the past months, are so simple and easy to act on, but have not been addressed with any consistency. This inconsistency has enabled, fostered, promoted, expanded, worsened the pandemic, especially in the USA, in certain provinces in Canada, and in several other countries and regions of the world. The proverbial horse is long out of the barn and down the lane. The virus has won this battle. The first wave of infections never really stopped in the USA, and was followed by a second pseudo-wave, that now has been followed by a massive third wave. The pandemic is running its course, augmented by the poor behavior of citizens and inspired by poor leadership of selfish politicians. Basically, we, as the so-called smartest species on the planet Earth, have shown how vastly different IQ and EQ really are.  While vaccines are emerging and will temper the pain in healthcare settings and longterm care shortly, this will not be enough to save a million more victims soon to die, or to curtail the chronic ailments arising in the wake of acute COVID19 syndromes.

Finally, as Dr Sanjay Gupta has said recently, science cannot save us from ourselves. It can only help us if we are willing and able to learn and act.

 

In recent times, the issues of masking up to help prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the setting of a global pandemic has been a topic of considerable discussion and argumentation. While we in North America were slow to adopt masks, along with mainstay social distancing, to help quell the virus, as evidence accumulated, it has become clear that masks are essential as a tool to help stop illness and save lives. The droplet blocking properties of masks are unequivocal and since airborne transmission through large and small droplets is the main vehicle for community-based transmission of the virus, no one should be hesitating to wear a mask when asked or required.

There are goofy people – the so-called anti-maskers, the “freedom brigade”, the uninformed, the “hoax” promoters, and desperately naive politicians in some countries – who continue to fight against rules and guidelines that require or strongly recommend masks.

It is a strange world wherein masks are appropriate for robbing banks, hosting masquerade balls and covering faces for traditional religious reasons, yet people will fight over, die over, yell about wearing masks that save their own lives and those lives of others unpredictably vulnerable to severe and often fatal infections.

Masks come in different flavours for anti-virus transmission……home-made, commercial, clothe, plastic, disposable, reusable, full-face, half face, clear, coloured, graphically designed, and more. People have become creative in producing cheap masks for front-line workers in health, community protection, essential stores and services, and elsewhere. The mask makers for cheap or for free should be honoured.  Those gouging and selling for too much money should be banned at a time like this.

May we reach a point where masks are no longer necessary, when truly useful medicines are made or validated, truly effective and safe vaccines are globally distributed at affordable prices, when we understand the multi-organ mechanisms of this novel infectious agent.

This small facet of the COVID19 story shall be a lesson as we look toward controlling this pandemic and properly preparing for the next one, which undoubtedly will arise.

Life’s Episodes: Most activities, events, and occurrences in our world of experience are characterized by episodic swings from periods of peaceful quietude to spikes of excessive, even frenzied activity. From the formation of the universe, the rise and fall of planets and stars, to the ecosystems of planets like Earth, to the moments in the temporally tiny span of human lives, we are astonished and often befuddled by the ebb and flow of actions, reactions and consequences. At times, events are so explosively disruptive, they exceed the capacity of even our wisest collective conscience to comprehend what is happening.  Such are our lives in this time of SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID19 it conveys.

SARS-CoV-2, The Protagonist: There have been prior pandemics around the globe, including the now famously recalled 1918 Spanish influenza scourge, and the more recently memorable HIV-1 and SARS-CoV epidemics that have sizeably affected Canada. As well there are ongoing scourges, including tuberculosis, malaria, dengue fever, and other brutal organismic battles that microbes inevitably enter into with humans. However, SARS-CoV-2, the protagonist, and the weaponry that it brings in its attack on humans, is a formidable foe. The array of clinical syndromes that the virus produces across age groups and especially among the most vulnerable peoples is quite impressive. The virus is skilled at being the consummate parasite, preying on those least able to fight back for the ultimate kill, but also invoking clinical events that are less clearly explained like excessive blood clots across ages and surges in self-attacking immune responses in children. The consequences of these latter virus-induced processes are not as frequent as death in the elderly or in those with overall ill health in the mid-life, but they do cause much suffering and at times death too. This is the situation we face.

Memories of Attacks Fade: Life as we knew it before the end of January, 2020, was changed irrevocably by the insidious, relentless spread of COVID19 around the world. In Wuhan, then onwards to other cities, countries and continent, the virus brought its morbid and mortal signature. It truly gave our heads a shake. The virus and its sequelae reminded us how poor we are at remembering past experiences. Not until weeks into the battle did we harbour enough fear to intensify memory recall, or in fact, learning about this new adversary. Given the rolling waves of invasion that the virus employed as it clandestinely crossed geo-political boundaries, night and day, it is perhaps not surprising that we felt taken by surprise.  This series of surprise attacks caught us on our heels, not really ready, not believing.

Confusion and Confabulation in Communication: Being caught off-guard is understandable, but once the pestilence had emerged, the human race adapted very spottily and irregularly. Part of this failure to react with coordinated vigour to squelch the legions of virus related to the multitude of voices, the dyssynchrony of messages, the frailty of facts, and the uncharted mysteries of a novel human-pathogenic virus. The failure to plan for this pandemic, despite prior pandemics, and despite sage advice from virologists, epidemiologists, and public health officials resides significantly in failures in political leadership around the world. Failure to acknowledge the emergent threat has cost many lives. Indeed, throughout all of this cataclysm, we have variously been reminded how important the economy is, and, as a deflection, how many deaths occur from other causes.  We still are hearing how important the economy is to each country and to the world at large.  While no one can argue that a lot of what has built the world we know boils down to dollars and cents, the juxtaposition of dollars-lost with lives-lost, smacks of inhumanity, injustice, inequality and even criminal messaging.  The virus decided to jump to humans at a bad time in the global communications environment, one in which messaging can rapidly ad repeatedly confuse innocent bystanders.

The collision of a deadly virus with a post-truth world, one in which money speaks too loudly and compassion speaks too softly, has wreaked havoc on those exposed citizens who work in transit services, law enforcement, firefighting, as essential home product supplies, and more. Our healthcare workers, including the custodial staff and others less evident than nurses, physicians, and technicians, have taken a beating. The right equipment has rarely been at hand.  Strange deals have been made to get supplies that are necessary, a number of which yielded no supplies or faulty supplies.  Testing for the virus is all over the map, even to this very day – variable quality, variable availability, variable policy of implementation, variable interpretation, and so forth. We don’t really know who is infected, how many have been infected, nor how many are infectious. The door of opportunity has opened for several scams and the hackers of the world have rallied to their golden egg of electronic communications to reach into more private data sets than usual.

Crucial Leadership: I hold leaders responsible for what has been a haphazard effort during this pandemic. Political leaders have been too worried about election or re-election, not able to make decisions in the interests of the public’s well-being. Opposition, like the leaders, are too focused on ideology and not enough on principles. They are too worried about the economy to protect social and economically vulnerable workers in the meat and fossil fuels industries; too worried about job losses than life losses. Genuine leadership requires integrity: selfless, humanistic, thoughtful, fair, substantive and consistent leadership. Too often through this crisis, on a global scale we have seen deceit, dishonesty, degeneracy.  To lead requires enough humility to listen, grow one’s ears and rest one’s voice. It demands advisement by experts, working in syncopated harmony, in an “action-room” where the lights burn 24 hours a day. Leadership needs avenues for correspondence and communication of truths, of real issues, and strategies for winning the fight. This means, of course, that the relationship to a reliable public press and media core is never more critical than when such crisis is upon us all as a global village. Leadership means making sure that corporate partners in building technologies are of high integrity and high skill. In Canada, we have been quite fortunate that despite having a very fragmentary healthcare “system” with certain critical gaps for the elderly, we have had great advisement by wise scholars and practitioners.  And our leaders have mostly listened well and acted accordingly.  Others peoples internationally have not been so lucky.

Learning for the Next Wave: As we push forward, gradually beating back the first wave of attack by SARS-CoV-2, we must be persistent, vigilant and cooperative in our commitment to save lives, save health care, save the economy, protect human decency and quell the obtuse voices. Together new understanding will emerge, new effective therapeutics will arise, a vaccine will come. We will have grown. We should be stronger. The temporal lobes must keep memories of these times, not to make us afraid or sad, but to allow us the informed courage to fight again when another attack sweeps in upon us.

For millennia, life forces on planet Earth have evolved as a largely symphonic, albeit at times acrimonious, dance among species of plants and animals. The evolution of species has been depicted as the survival of the fittest.  Within species, certainly adaptations in form and function have been spurred by various ambient influences which over long periods changed shapes, sizes, colours, content and roles of species throughout the world we know. It is this remarkable progression that has always made me have one singular wish……..to observe a two-day time-lapse historical review of such changes from the beginning of life forms on Earth.  Of course, this wish is nonsensical, and a genuine dream to never be realized, but it would be such a monstrously gorgeous experience.

These thoughts have been recently sharpened by watching various National Geographic and related documentary films. The pretty incredible photography of our planet, including of the species on it, is almost always full of natural selective processes and inter-species rivalries. There are always scenes of predation. The predator-prey relationship is a keystone to the manner in which the network of animals and plants are sustained on the earth and in the seas and lakes. While this predation challenges the senses when first seen, after reflection one fully realizes the necessity of the food chain for the diversity of life that the planet enjoys.

While we do not think so much about humans as predator, in fact they are among the most organized predators. Over a long period of time, humans have gone from tracking wild prey to domesticating animals that then are captive prey. We have a rather weird and archaic relationship to animals then.  In different cultures and societies many different domesticated and wild animals are prey for humans…..a range of fowl, deer, elk, moose, bison, bear, fish, dogs, cats, cattle, horses and more…..basically, human will eat almost anything. Sort of at the top of the food chain, humans take advantage of this perch to “raid the cupboard” of nature to the fullest and broadest extent. Humans in certain societies practiced cannibalism, preying on their own species, but thankfully that approach is now passed.

Which leaves me to my final thoughts on this subject for today….. although humans rarely eat each other alive these days, they still display predatorial behaviour in business, geo-politics and wherever money resides. Sociologically, humans have not lost the instinct to acquire, hold, control, mandate, dominate, suppress and annihilate other humans. It is a trailing of our millennia of preying upon other species and ourselves. This transference to sociological predation is in some ways more manageable from an emotional and intellectual standpoint than wildlife predation. Yet, the drive to “own and operate” brings out a darkness in the halls of many institutions, and perhaps most sadly and dangerously, in the halls of government and the boardrooms of industry. May leadership be aggressively considerate of all constituents affected.  May we enable more of those not among the strongest to strive, survive and thrive.

In my lifetime, which is not all that short, I have rarely known a time when I could not give or get a hug when the time was right. We are rarely away from those we love that much to not be able to hug. As it turns out, hugging is an important way in which we express affection, reassurance, kindness, forgiveness, sadness and several other emotionally-cementing feelings.  A hug is like the idea of a home instead of the structure of a house.  A hug reminds us that we are loved and we love. It is a part of our humanity.

Along comes SARS-CoV-2 and COVID19…..not only does the virus and the clinical syndromes it invokes cause illness, stress, death and fear, but also they necessitate that we stay at home, often alone, but in particular, they inflict the worst of psycho-emotional trauma by isolating people infected in healthcare organizations by themselves. The caregivers do their very best to care and provide support in the sterile environment of a hospital ward, but no touching, not too close, not to personal. Worse yet, the sicker the patient is, the more isolated and “instrumented” they become, and ultimately, if they are near death, the family is not allowed to visit.  And, as has been discussed by others, the dying, frightened patient has no family supports, and their final moments will be alone. The inhumanity that is conveyed by the virus being present is profound and will be long-lasting in its obverse effects on family members and close friends. It is a harsh circumstance for compassionate, fatigued, teary-eyed healthcare workers who say goodbye to an isolated human being.  The degree of isolation is more intense when there are numerous people in intensive care wards, where life and death struggles are pervasive. There are not hugs.

Even workers in other roles beyond health care who are deemed to be providing “essential services” have no hugs. Instead, they have customers, members of the pubic-at-large, people needing a service or a product, who are physically distanced, nervous, expectant, and uncomfortable.  These people in essential services include the police, firefighters, transit operators, hardware store experts, home services experts, meat-packing plant workers, among others. They are in the awkward position of “having to work” while staying safe in the midst of people who may not be very evenly apprised of what social or physical distancing is or needs to be. Focusing on the task at hand, often puts those workers at risk.  Indeed, just like healthcare workers, the police, firefighters, transit workers, meat packing plant workers and others have been exposed to the virus, have died from the virus. Their have been few hugs for these unfortunate victims.

In the current environment, the peoples of the world are going hug-less. Grandmothers, grandfathers, grandchildren, mothers, fathers, neighbours, strangers, friends and colleagues………all without a standard dose of hugs. So, just as exercise is one the best, cheap medicines for body and mind, hugs are medicine for the soul. We are desperately missing the regular administration of this therapy. It is leaving a sense of disconnection, frustration and loss that is akin to the loss of someone we love when they die. But in this circumstance, we are grieving that loss of human contact, physical, emotional and mental on a constant, expansive way. That crucial hug is missing. Those peoples who live as migrants have often lost the opportunity to hug…….now we know how that feels!

As the first wave of COVID19 subsides, and social/physical distancing is not so stringent. We should take the opportunity to hug everyone you know more often than ever before, more strongly, more deeply.  The hug has been an act we have taken for granted. Life and times now remind us that hugs are to be treasured since they may never come again.

Today is just another day.  But wait, another day is amazing.  And, today the Beach Grove Golf Club reopened for Members. There was an absolute frenzy as people signed up for slots beginning mid-morning. The course is in great shape for this much delayed “opening day”.

There is much more to say about this day and golf. There are many local, national and international indicators of the obverse reactions of people to the stress of being closed up in their homes. These indicators are in part a barometer for mental health status.

Although there are many different perspectives on how and when to “reopen” various aspects of our lives, perhaps the most obviously helpful step was the opening of many golf courses. It is widely believed that golf, properly played in the COVID19 days of this spring, is one of the best activities to assuage poor mental and physical health status.  It is filled with a sense of belonging, many breaths of fresh air, many rays of sunshine, a good long walk pushing a cart, swinging and loosening up those shoulders, and laughing at those early season missed shots. This is nothing but wonderful for the hearts and souls of men, women and juniors.  All ages are out and about, safely.  Even the many birds……blackbirds, robins, wrens, swallows, crows, gulls, ducks, geese, hawks and eagles to name a few…….seem a little happier with their human friends in the mix.

We can than be thankful that a wee-Scot invented the game of golf quite long ago. Little did we know that golf would play such an important role in our emergence from a lock-down.  Cheers to all!

Hello everyone.  I trust you and your loved ones are doing the best you can at present. In the face of the SARS-CoV-2 virus-related pandemic and the varied severity of COVID19 ailments, morbidity and mortality, we all have been shaken and humbled. Seemingly remote pandemics like the 1918 influenza catastrophe, and more recent albeit more limited infectious challenges like SARS and MERS, had raised our awareness that microbes rule the planet. Yet, we as a global community were not really ready for what has transpired. The complexity of what unfolded, how it unfolded and what its ultimate impact will be is difficult to comprehend. When this novel human pathogen raced across the world, it was met with uncertainty, false starts, political encumbrance, and is now conveying a large amount of human, social and economic insults.  Facts mean everything.  Commonsense means everything.  Sensibility means everything. Communication approaches mean everything. Leadership for the common good means everything. I wrote the following thoughts down several days back.  Most of them still pertain and will pertain for the foreseeable future. I think COVID19 has laid bare the paucity of substantive leadership in the face of crisis.  We as humans must do better…I would welcome your thoughts.

Few people would disagree that leadership markedly affects the state of humanity. Leadership as such is defined by characteristics including substance, integrity, selflessness, sensibility, humility, passion, clarity, and sensitivity to the needs of others. Leaders must be able to communicate effectively in diverse forums and settings.  They must follow communications with coherent actions, especially aimed at improving society as a whole, protecting the common good, and respecting the planet on which we reside. True leaders believe in equity, equality, fairness, and in having bigger ears than mouths. They listen.

Over millennia, the importance of leadership in villages, towns, cities, regions, countries, and continents has been well documented. Revered leaders are often remembered for their roles in governments and at the time of major international conflict. They are often recalled for their strength in the face of crisis or a pressing societal need. Yet leadership is not limited to the halls of governance, rather it is evident and required across disciplines and sectors that foster progress in thinking, knowledge creation, productivity and innovation. While the generation of new knowledge has accelerated at an algebraically breakneck pace in recent decades, there has always been new information, awareness and guidance arising from the peoples in the communities where we live.  Human beings are privileged to have insight, intuition, intelligence and interest sufficient to impact our local and global societies in steady, albeit cyclical waves of improvement. Such improvement has included the development of a repertoire of skills and activities relevant to public health and its determinants.

The insights of epidemiologists, biologists, modelers, and public health experts, coalescent across borders during crises like pandemics are the essential foundation for saving lives and saving the quality of our societies. Science, music, arts and innovation have long crossed borders and have reached new heights of excellence over centuries, often strongly during crises. This need for sharing of imaginative solutions is amplified and heartening when we are under pressure.

In the current context of SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID19 it causes, the leadership of the world has been flummoxed. Despite former pandemics to learn from, the response has been uneven and incoherent.  The World Health Organization has tried valiantly to maintain a clear messaging process around COVID19, but local situations have required leadership pertinent to particular populations and societies.  This national and local leadership has been a pivot point for comparative success or failure to block the assault of SARS-CoV-2 on human beings. It is tragic that in the maelstrom of uncertainty that the virus has inspired, there are too many voices, not enough ears, and not enough attention to factual underpinnings of the crisis. Too much talking by a range of political leaders, by a range of media outlets and publications, by people informed only by ideology, has led to confusion, chaos and catastrophe in many jurisdictions. Unnecessary lives are being lost and even more lives have been adversely affected permanently. The associated social, economic and political upheaval is only beginning to be gauged.

This too shall pass…  But will we as the guardians of peoples, of societies and the earth have learned sufficiently to better address and smash the inevitable next crisis together, hand-in-hand. Grasping the opportunity for more “consilience” insofar as how the human world learns, adapts, and hopefully thrives in the future (the drawing together of science and humanities ala Edward O Wilson) could foster approaches more equitable and robust than we might dare to imagine… If we do not learn our lessons well and adapt, we will suffer the same ways we are now when confronted by future pandemics, be they driven by viruses, bacteria or other infectious foes.