The Occasional Consideration - 7/29/20

Periodic Meanderings and Ideas Deemed Important by the Author…

An Initial Thought – For twelve years (yes, I’ve been at this for that many years), I’ve assiduously maintained a central political perspective with the occasional barb thrown in both directions. However, in recent months I’ve been accused of being “partisan”. Let me clear, I have many fewer arguments with the Republicans than I do their current leader of state. That being said, I still have problems with my Democrat colleagues as well and point out the errors on that front. If the lens of partisanship is “Trump” then I guess you could, in fact, accuse me of partisanship. If the issue is whether I’m supportive of left or right, I tend towards the middle. Why? Because that’s where problems are solved. My left of center colleagues will think of me as one who gives in. My right of center colleagues will think of me with the same perspective. I think of myself as a practical person who desires a long-term, sustainable solution to the most vexing problems facing our nation. That requires a sense of what’s needed, how to achieve it and over what time frame.

Some Final Thoughts – The other night CNN hosted one of its “Town Hall” meetings with Sanjay Gupta, MD and Anderson Cooper. Their guest was Bill Gates – a person I would describe as prescient, obviously smart and beholden to no one! He clearly knows and has studied pandemics. He knows and has studied vaccines.

• First Thought – As the discussion between the three of them continued, it occurred to me that the USA is absolutely filled to the brim with various experts on most fields of endeavor. In fact, I could argue that the USA is brimming with talent and knowledge – far above the usual nation. BTW – this is not nationalistic thinking but rather just facts. It’s not to say that experts don’t exist elsewhere. They do. It’s just that we are lucky enough to have more than our fair share.
• Second Thought – These experts are no doubt incredibly busy. Getting on their schedules is not an easy task but, if we could, we could tap into a wealth of knowledge and expertise that could likely help us solve the pandemic problems.
• Third Thought – There is one person who holds enough sway that with a simple call to these experts, they could be mobilized to work together. Something like this could occur: “Hey, Bill. This is XXX. I know it’s already Tuesday but I need you to be at a meeting on Friday with a group of folks I’m pulling together to discuss how we best manage the pandemic. I’m sure you’ll know a number of these folks. I’m looking for advice. In fact, I’ve also hired someone to facilitate our conversation so we get the most out of it. I hope you can be there. Thanks”. There’s only one person in the entire world that could make such a call and, that’s the President of the United States. Have we done this? It doesn’t seem so. Could it still be done? You bet.
• Final Thought – Besides Bill Gates and Anthony Fauci, MD – who should be invited? How about this list as a starter kit:
  • Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD) – Chair, National Governors Association
  • Tim Storey, Executive Director – National Conference of State Legislatures
  • Delos Gosgrove, MD – Former President/CEO, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
  • Ron Williams, Former Chairman/CEO, Aetna
  • Mary Wakefield, RN, Ph.D. – Past Deputy Secretary, US-DHHS
  • Senator Bill Frist, MD (R-TN) – Physician and Former Senator, the State of Tennessee
  • Richard Besser, MD – President/CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
  • Karen Daley, RN, Ph.D. – Past President, American Nurses Association
  • Derrick Johnson, President, NAACP
  • Catalina Experanza Garcia, MD – Physician and Founder, Dallas Women’s Foundation
  • Leanna Wen, MD – Health Commissioner, City of Baltimore
  • Maura Healy (R-MA) – Attorney General, State of Massachusetts
  • BUT, THESE ARE JUST SOME INITIAL THOUGHTS. I’m absolutely positive there are others that should be added to the list AND, I’m confident that these leaders would be responsive to a call for “help”. After all – it would be the President of the United States calling :-)  . Who would not want to receive such a call – from any President…regardless of your political perspective! It’s our duty as American citizens.
  • And, finally – don’t be offended if you’re not on the above list. More later…as always!