Keep at it, y’all

This is no time to go wobbly

THE GOVERNOR of Arkansas’ daily press conferences are becoming less and less interesting. Or, better put perhaps, less and less frightening. Thank heavens. What the state — what the nation — needs are less interesting times.

There is good news out there. Which could be bad news. What we don’t need now is for folks to go wobbly.

The papers say there are a couple of safety tests underway for experimental covid-19 vaccines. The governor of the most hard-hit state, New York, says the curve is flattening there. China has opened Wuhan again. And warm weather is ahead in the United States. For some reason — maybe even a good reason — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came out this week to say its leaders are “considering” changing guidelines to make it easier for people to go back to work, after being exposed to the virus, with restrictions. At the state level, the number of those who have recovered from covid-19 in Arkansas is approaching the number that test positive each day.

Even the most trusted man in America, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says he sees “glimmers of hope” in the world. But context is everything:

Dr. Fauci says he sees “glimmers of hope” because of social distancing. He even half-joked that the handshake is dead.

It may be natural for many people, especially many Americans, to look for a bright side in an ongoing crisis. To always expect the moon shot to work. To trust not just in the American spirit but the human one, and that maybe the Chinese, who had a head start, will come up with something tomorrow. Or the English will. Or the French. And history will bend to our desires. “Home by Christmas!” the troops said in late 1944. Before the enemy launched a winter offensive.

As we listen to the doctors on the national level and Dr. Nate Smith on the state level, we hear that things could always get sideways fast. Or sideways-er. Our thoughts and prayers, not to mention a few ventilators, are with Louisiana.

If We the People falter just now, this bug might continue to gain on us.

The other day, at one of the governor’s aforementioned press conferences, someone with the state addressed unemployment benefits and some kinks in the system. And kinks usually occur in systems that are overwhelmed. To which the official said to the citizenry: “Hang with us. I know it’s going to be a challenging couple of weeks.”

That’s good advice, and not just for the unemployed. Now is no time to go wobbly.

Now is the time to continue with the plan. Maybe, just maybe, one day soon the governor’s daily press conferences will be so bland that he’ll cancel them entirely. And we’ll celebrate with him, and all the world, at that time.

“May you live in interesting times.” — an old Chinese curse