The future belongs to the pandemic pragmatists
In Washington and the media, the pandemic is, alas, being taken over by extremists. They demand that we choose A or B, the virus or the economy, locking down or setting free. But while they rage and clash, the future will probably be won by Pandemic Pragmatists, who blend and balance both priorities to keep going in the shadow of covid-19.
The Pandemic Pragmatists understand certain realities. First, the novel coronavirus is, for all intents and purposes, here to stay. Treatments will be found to ameliorate it. A vaccine may be developed to protect against it. But like the various strains of influenza and the human immunodeficiency virus — and measles and chickenpox, for heaven’s sake — it might be tamed eventually, but not soon eradicated.
And since we can’t hide from it indefinitely, Pandemic Pragmatists understand that we have to find ways to live with it. Lockdowns and quarantines are severe and temporary responses. We might need them in certain places in the months — even years — to come. But they can’t last forever and ideally shouldn’t even last long, given the tremendous shock they send through the economy and the culture.
I found a resolute example of the Pandemic Pragmatist attitude when I spoke with my friend Greg Gunderson the other day. He is president of Park University in Parkville, Mo. Overlooking the Missouri River near Kansas City, its picturesque campus appears at first glance to be a typical example of the many small colleges and universities founded across America after the Civil War.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-future-belongs-to-the-pandemic-pragmatists/2020/05/15/5f79abc4-96de-11ea-82b4-c8db161ff6e5_story.html
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