Neither a Rock Nor an Island

I mentioned COVID yesterday. We should be free of it by now, but… well, nowhere near enough people were willing to do what it took to stamp on it*. We are, thanks to the economic and political events set in motion in the 1980s, in an era which does not lend itself to people putting aside their personal agenda to further the public interest. I’m pretty sure I was one of those who pointed out waaaaay back when this started that “If you are worried about getting sick, wear a mask; I’m not, so I won’t” enhances the likelihood of transmission, since masks are a lot better at keeping the sickness in a sickie than keeping it out of the uninfected.

This was a problem with the 1919 Influenza too, though, so I can’t (entirely) blame Reaganomics. Rugged individualism, on the other hand, has a lot to answer for.

*Vietnam did a pretty damn good job, with its emphasis on collective action. Just imagine where we’d be now if the rest of the world had shut down for long enough to do away with domestic transmission…

Today’s pen: Sheaffer Targa
Today’s ink: Herbin Bleu Myosotis

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