second, forgive pandora. pandora’s curiosity led her to open a box filled with evils, despite warnings. similarly, during covid, we saw people gathering openly or secretly, even when told not to. let’s stop expecting that to change and instead, like pandora, focus on hope – the only thing left in the box after the evils poured out. in short, let’s focus on mitigating, not castigating.
third, remember icarus. icarus flew too close to the sun with wings of wax and feathers, leading to his fall. true leaders should learn from his arrogance. frankly, i pity the next politician who even whispers the words “lockdown” or “mandate” in lieu of better preparations. staying aloft during the next pandemic will take more wisdom and skill – leaders will need to plan and persuade rather than hector and compel.
fourth, be smart like heracles. heracles, though a demigod hero, completed 12 impossible, near-deadly tasks not by being strong but by asking for help. coping with a pandemic far more lethal than covid will require much more cooperation than last time. we aren’t superheroes and can’t afford to be too proud to ask for assistance.
that leads us to these takeaways:
pandemics are coming. our interconnected world makes frequent pandemics inevitable. h5n1 is just the most immediate threat. the cassandras are right that pandora’s box is already wide open, so let’s foresee and plan accordingly.
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