April 17, 2021
The best of times. And the worst of times.
It is the best of times, in a way. Just a year after sinking into what may be the worst crisis the world has seen since the second world war, we have a number of vaccines that will help save hundreds of thousands of lives from being lost to the Corona family of viruses. It is only a matter of when, not if, anymore. We now have a clear path forward. In nearly every state across America, folks across all age groups are now eligible to get inoculated.
Thanks to advances in science, we have come to take top notch achievements for granted. Often, we don’t pause to acknowledge the difficulty and perseverance that went into them. The availability of vaccines in just over a year is one such amazing feat. We owe a great deal to the researchers who worked around the clock to get us an antidote. Sadly, there are those who refuse and resist. Over 50% of American men who lean Republican do not plan to get the vaccine. That’s a shame.
On other fronts, the US economy looks strong. It is expected to grow at levels not seen in decades. Biden’s infrastructure spending push, if it comes through and it likely should, could keep things humming for a decade. I feel cautiously optimistic about where America is headed. Of course, there is still a great deal of work to be done. Not everyone who lost their jobs last year has got them back. But, the clouds are parting, and sunlight is emerging. We’ve got sensible, grown up folks running the show. Fingers crossed.
In some parts of the world, it looks like the worst of times. Even as we race to increase vaccine supplies and grow the ranks of the vaccinated, the pandemic continues to rage. Last week on Indian Twitter, my timeline was filled with tweets about people losing loved ones, photographs of hospitals and crematoriums overflowing, etc. Hospitals, I read, are running out of beds. I saw a photograph of two men sharing the same bed in a Delhi hospital. Sometimes, the media tends to blow things out of proportion to get a few extra clicks on their websites. Also, I tend to not draw conclusions based on what I see on Twitter. A lot of the Twitterati are drama queens. Having said that, I’m sure that not all of the Covid-related news from India or elsewhere can be dismissed as fake news.
Every country has struggled through the pandemic and India is no exception. In Rome, Italy, funeral workers went on strike as coffins piled up in cemeteries. Michigan’s governor is at loggerheads with the White House over whether to lock the state down in response to escalating case counts. In Brazil, hospitals have run out of sedatives, forcing healthcare workers to physically restrain patients while intubating them. Things are still grim. Even so, I can’t help but observe that the Indian government’s lack of focus and planning, and its chronic inability to stay focused and execute to relatively straightforward goals has worsened what was already a tough situation. They had a year to prepare and they’ve fallen short. While this is no time for finger pointing and blame games, times like these are sordid reminders that incompetent leaders can cost us dearly. I just hope that we are able to vaccinate more people around the world at a faster rate. We are not out of this until all of us are out of this.
It’s interesting to observe what professions and roles get included in public esteem ceremonies and pageantry. India has a Teachers’ Day but no specific day for the military, which gets recognized along with a bunch of others on its Republic Day. America has two holidays - Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day - to celebrate its military but none for public health. Perhaps we can keep Veterans’ Day for the military, and repurpose Memorial Day to honor our public healthcare workers? Or, even have a whole new holiday for them? Just so you know, healthcare is now at 17-18% of our GDP whereas Defence is at around 3-4%.
How does a cop not know the difference between a taser and a gun? A Minneapolis cop shot Daunte Wright last week, thinking that she was about to taser him. She yelled “Taser” thrice before firing a single bullet and recoiling in horror. Inadequate training? An honest mistake in the moment? I think there’s a fair bit of both here. The cop in question has resigned along with her chief. If it were up to me, I’d choose to NOT prosecute the cop given that she has resigned and will likely spend the rest of her life in the shadow of guilt and self-doubt. I believe she is genuinely horrified at her mistake. Then again, I don’t have the facts in my possession. A life has been lost and I concede that there must be real consequences even for genuine mistakes when they are fatal.
In 2019, a software engineer in London who was testing an app that would tell users the route and model of any passing plane looked up at the sky and pointed it at an overhead plane. Then, he saw something falling out of it. He went in search and found the house of another software engineer whose patio had been “totally destroyed” by the falling object. The object that fell out of the sky was a human body. It belonged to a stowaway on the Kenyan Airways flight from Nairobi to London. To this day, the police have not been able to identify the man. Last week, he was buried in London in an unmarked grave. There are many like him. They keep quiet counsel in unvisited graves and their stories vanish with them.
Who’s interested in a flying car? A Silicon Valley startup called NFT is accepting a refundable deposit of $5k if you’d like to join its Founders Club and buy one of the 1,500 limited edition models they plan to build. The car will have folding wings, a 150mph top speed, a 250 mile range powered by six batteries, and dual gas motors to charge the batteries. The plane is called Aska, Japanese for flying bird, and will set you back by a modest $789,000 on delivery. There’s no word yet on whether the car will include floor mats.
Finally, a nugget from history. Diogenes, aka Diogenes the Cynic, a Greek philosopher, was once kidnapped by pirates who planned to sell him off into servitude. So, they asked him to list his skills so they could find the right master for the right price. He replied, “My skills lie in leading men. So, you should look for a buyer who needs a master.” The expletives yelled by the pirates in response is not documented but I think it’s safe to assume that some choice words were exchanged. This story ought be told to everyone who goes to business school. :)
Stay safe. Have a wonderful week ahead. Do write back, wave your hands, blink your eyes or anything that lets me know that you’re reading this :)