The Replacements, starring Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman, is among my favorite guilty pleasure movies. It is a film that never aspires to be more than what it is, which is entertainment.
However, in spite of its inauspicious ambitions, it has some resonance. Among my favorite scenes is the scene where Reeves' character, quarterback Shane Falco, explains to his teammates what he means when he says that quicksand is what he fears the most:
It is inarguable that at the highest levels of our government, the response to the COVID-19 global pandemic was inadequate. Unless the massive relief package Congress passed recently contained funding for Professor Peabody's WABAC Machine, rehashing the point seems to serve little purpose now. Solace shall have to be taken from the knowledge that history is written not in pencil, but in indelible ink, and from the hope that those who know what really happened shall not permit themselves to be lied to, anew, in November.
One of those concerns belongs to yesterday, the other to tomorrow. We the people of these United States need to concern ourselves with today - the present. Undeniably, there is a need to re-ignite this nation's economic engine. That being said, having been so stunningly wrong in our preparations for this contagion by moving too slowly we cannot exacerbate the problem by moving too hastily in our efforts to recover from the damage it has inflicted. The time we wasted earlier this year is lost to us forever. No amount of running as fast as we can now will get it back. For those of you struggling with the answer to Coach Wooden's rhetorical question, the answer is "never".
We have one opportunity to get this right. One. There will be no second chance. No do-over. No Mulligan. The difference between clearing the cobwebs out of the nation's economic engine and blowing the lid off of Pandora's Box is neither slight nor insubstantial. We must move with purpose but not in haste.
Simply put,
Stay well. Stay safe. Whenever you can, stay home.
-AK
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