The favored non-pharmaceutical intervention of the COVID-forever crowd seems to be limiting in-person social interactions, which are some of the most meaningful parts of being a human. A world built to maximize social distance would immiserate humanity in profound ways. It’s hard for me to even understand their worldview.
Or the anti-woke crusaders, who often had a point in the very beginning but eventually go batshit crazy. I guess writers have strong incentives to become what their target readers want to see.
I wish I were as sanguine as you about "stolen base politics" being doomed.
> And if you try to impose it anyway, you’ll eventually have to stop, or (like Democrats in Virginia) you’ll be voted out and replaced by someone who will.
Plenty of positions where you can't get voted out. Only father time votes out supreme court justices.
Plenty of other positions where the people who *can* get voted out are so insulated that it never happens in practice, like for instance the small suburb I live in with off-off year city council elections every 4 years. Or school board elections that happen in special election times in March of major election years so that no one knows about them except the people who put extra effort into reading the elections calendar in particular.
One (mostly) positive thing that’s happened bc of Covid is people being more engaged with what their local officials are doing. At least that’s my anecdotal observation. I started attending our council’s virtual meetings and sending letters when it seemed like would never end their mask mandate.
For an additional data point, the entire automotive industry is still requiring (surgical) masks even in engineering offices and looks likely to hold onto that, as the official quarantine time is still 10 days despite relaxed CDC guidance. I expect that we'll be masked inside until at least the late summer but very possibly until the end of the year.
The favored non-pharmaceutical intervention of the COVID-forever crowd seems to be limiting in-person social interactions, which are some of the most meaningful parts of being a human. A world built to maximize social distance would immiserate humanity in profound ways. It’s hard for me to even understand their worldview.
Yong is really one of the best general science journalists out there and it is sad to see him get captured by MPH, Inc.
I Contain Multitudes is a very fantastic book.
I've been thinking the same thing. It reminds me of the AFG brainworms that completely took over many foreign affairs correspondents last summer.
Or the anti-woke crusaders, who often had a point in the very beginning but eventually go batshit crazy. I guess writers have strong incentives to become what their target readers want to see.
One of those incentives is that the less the pandemic dominates our lives, the less we will listen to public health writers.
When the masks go away, so will their platform to advocate for their preferred policies.
Or the woke crusaders as well, although their start position was batshit crazy.
I wish I were as sanguine as you about "stolen base politics" being doomed.
> And if you try to impose it anyway, you’ll eventually have to stop, or (like Democrats in Virginia) you’ll be voted out and replaced by someone who will.
Plenty of positions where you can't get voted out. Only father time votes out supreme court justices.
Plenty of other positions where the people who *can* get voted out are so insulated that it never happens in practice, like for instance the small suburb I live in with off-off year city council elections every 4 years. Or school board elections that happen in special election times in March of major election years so that no one knows about them except the people who put extra effort into reading the elections calendar in particular.
One (mostly) positive thing that’s happened bc of Covid is people being more engaged with what their local officials are doing. At least that’s my anecdotal observation. I started attending our council’s virtual meetings and sending letters when it seemed like would never end their mask mandate.
It’s like the problem progressives run into when they push Single Payer: something like 80% of Americans are satisfied with their current healthcare
For an additional data point, the entire automotive industry is still requiring (surgical) masks even in engineering offices and looks likely to hold onto that, as the official quarantine time is still 10 days despite relaxed CDC guidance. I expect that we'll be masked inside until at least the late summer but very possibly until the end of the year.
Cf https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/01/opinion/height-short.html
Great post as always!
Are you sure this is a center left column?
Seems too balanced to have either left or right attached to it.
Please continue to be the voice of The Moderate.
We see "useful" on both sides.