Lead with logos or meander wherever

The entirety of having a republic versus direct democracy was to station educated decision-makers in our stead, or so Thomas Paine mentions in “Common Sense.” Accordingly, those representatives are to make the difficult decisions, regardless of their eventual participation and regardless whether the dynamics are incentivized or not, “government is force” Washington said.

Yet, the undergirding stratagem is more unseemly, this manipulation that stalls constructive efforts, not by simple media characters, but by the resounding force of contemporary conveniences and certain forums citizens choose that bombard them into this perverse “normalcy.”

This pandemic, for instance, illuminates the ease in swindling the public via illogical “flu-like” comparisons and hospitalization/death ratios, leading to the delusion that this virus will simply “flutter away” like something from Disney. No, COVID-19 will remain, interminable illness and strengthening mutations will perpetuate unless we stop it by sacrificing some business activities (travel, gyms, venues, etc.), cover people’s expenses (mortgages/rents), and vaccinate everyone (globally). Similarly, the effects of climate change, a greater threat than COVID-19, requires similar antidotes: changing behavior, making sacrifices. Yes, electric ranges take longer to heat than gas stoves, and are costly replacements, but one’s house sliding off a cliff in a mudslide, our freeways under 2 to 3 feet of water, or simply no water for a shower, make a significant difference in analyzing those conveniences. “Hurricanes in Half Moon Bay,” how does that headline sound?

Kenneth Lustenberger

Burlingame