Frailty

“Flight 704 from Chicago to Los Angeles will be cancelled unless there is a passenger who can provide the flight crew with a rubber band”

— Urban myth announcement at Chicago O’Hare

***

I had not thought too deeply about the term vigilance, but as it has emerged as one of the more popular words during the pandemic,  I started to reflect on my discomfort,  rooted in its use.  During the pandemic, the word has been frequently used to suggest the importance of keeping the course: stick with the guidelines and don’t let up. Yet, the more formal definition is less specific, talking to the more general: “the action or state of keeping careful, watch for possible danger or difficulties”, from the latin to stay awake.    This nuance shows the fluidity of definition. Will it last and thus will vigilance always be tied to the pandemic or will the meaning revert back?

I had not thought too deeply about our institutions, the systems we use in our daily life; they seem robust. We often see their sophistication, technical advancement, checks and balances, as indicators of strength and resilience; they will last forever,  so we don’t need to pay attention them.  

Yet we are witnessing the collapse of many of them.  Who would have thought, after the billions of dollars spent on healthcare systems, that without PPE (personal protective equipment) it could all fall apart.  In the absence of a vaccine, a $2 mask can do more to materially reduce virus spread, and protect the workers who deliver healthcare services, than all the sophisticated technology.  Who would have thought a “moron” [Rex Tillerson] could expose so many frailties in government systems by simply ignoring the norms and customs a society, and democracies around the world, depend on. Who would have thought that a self-aggrandizing tyrant could initiate a European war simply to pursue a personal agenda of self-glorification, thus threatening the world order that has been evolved over the last 70 years.

Who would have thought that the emergence of a technology intended to “democratize” the web, so every voice could be heard, would result in the efficient and global delivery of hate and mistrust.  The advertised aspirations of social media to create community, to develop connections, to bring people together, has been taken over by those who purposely segregate, and then promulgate targeted lies and disinformation in order to sew the seeds of and encourage social dysfunction; to separate communities into tribes of different belief systems and who are unable to maintain trust and thus are unable to co-operate.

The emergence of these things has exposed the frailties in ourselves, our society, institutions, governments, leadership. It has exposed the weakest links, those often mundane and trivial bands that enable a system to operate and that determine their survival and continuance.