Ten-Word Answers...They're The Tip of the Sword
How The West Wing is helping me think about a healthy future
One of the most memorable episodes of The West Wing is titled Game On (season 4 episode 6). The episode centers around a Presidential Debate where President Bartlet is debating the Governor of Florida.
The highlight of the debate is when the Governor provides a short 10-word/cliche' answer to one of the wicked problems facing both candidates. President Bartlet responds by saying —
“That's the ten-word answer my staff's been looking for for two weeks. There it is. Ten-word answers can kill you in political campaigns. They're the tip of the sword.
Here's my question: What are the next ten words of your answer? … Give me the next ten words. Give me ten after that (the cliche' 10 word clip), I'll drop out of the race right now.
Every once in a while... every once in a while, there's a day with an absolute right and an absolute wrong, but those days almost always include body counts. Other than that, there aren't very many unnuanced moments in leading a country that's way too big for ten words.”
This quote has been playing over and over in my mind for about a week now…
Ten-word answers (or headlines or news clips) —
Omicron will end and then we can return to normal.
After Omicron, we will have herd immunity and normalcy again.
Omicron does not cause severe disease; no need for masks.
Ten-word answers can kill you in a pandemic. They are the tip of the sword.
What we all need to be thinking about is — WHAT ARE THE NEXT TEN WORDS?
Omicron is tearing through our communities. According to the New York Times COVID Tracker, the number of new/incident cases of COVID is averaging 656,478 per day (an increase of 226%), the number of hospitalizations is 127,225 per day (an increase of 78%), and deaths have increased to 1524 per day (up 12%). The number of COVID cases among children has increased by 64%. But it is not just COVID cases and hospitalizations that we should be worrying us. According to the US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy —
“… the challenges today’s generation of young people face are unprecedented and uniquely hard to navigate. And the effect these challenges have had on their mental health is devastating.” ~ Protecting Youth Mental Health report
The effects of COVID will be long-term, but there are also serious short-term effects that need to be addressed.
So this begs the question — what are the next 10 words?
We know the Omicron surge will come to an end. Ten-words.
What are the next ten words?
How will we build back healthier and prevent the next surge?
In the short term — we need to get through the Omicron surge/wave. Our goal through this needs to be to slow the spread of disease. (I know I sound like a broken record, but…) vaccines matter. Wearing your mask is of the utmost importance. Avoiding large crowds and staying home when you are sick is important. And they all must be prioritized during this surge in cases.
“Everything we can do to protect the vulnerable from getting sick and dying, and keep health systems from collapsing, and keep ourselves from the risk of long-term symptoms and disability, we must do. And even if the virus becomes endemic, that doesn’t mean we can’t control it.” (source)
In the long term (post-Omicron surge) — while I will continue to advocate for prevention and vaccines, I recognize that not everyone is going to get vaccinated. But vaccinated or not, we need to work together to create a healthy future (that includes COVID). Negotiating how to keep schools open, protecting teachers, ensuring our hospitals are not overrun, and protecting the most vulnerable in our communities is not simple. It is time to start imagining our post-surge future. And coming together as a community to create a new normal. I believe we can create a future where a combination of vaccinations, testing, treatment, and clear education and communication are the cornerstones of controlling COVID spread and decreasing severe disease and hospitalization. I cannot imagine a “zero-COVID” future but can imagine a world where we can decrease disease spread, keep hospitalization manageable, and prevent deaths from COVID.
Every once in a while, there's a day with an absolute right and an absolute wrong, but those days almost always include body counts. Other than that, there aren't very many unnuanced moments during a pandemic. Our understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 will continue to increase, and we may need to change the ways in which we manage and control the disease. It is nuanced, complicated, and ever-changing.
The words that President Bartlet spoke in that fictional debate ring ever true today as we weather this current surge and look to the future. We all need to think about the next ten words —
How are we going to create a healthy community in the midst of the current COVID surge and beyond?
At the end of the Game On episode, the Press Secretary (CJ Cregg) reminds all of us —
“… that complexity isn’t a vice.”
We need to embrace that our COVID future will be complicated and complex. Some of us will follow the advice of public health and get vaccinated. Others will risk the complications of COVID and choose not to get vaccinated. Either way — we all want to avoid hospitalization and death. So testing needs to be accessible and free, along with treatment options.
We need to keep schools open — in-person learning is so important. But we need teachers and staff to be healthy; we also need bus drivers and coaches and band instructors to be healthy, too. We also want our kids to be healthy. So we need goals that involve keeping our kids in class while at the same time preventing the spread of disease. We need to navigate the messy — and at this moment in time, this means we all must recognize that masking, vaccinations, testing, treatment, and sick leave need to be used in combination to keep schools healthy.
Complexity is our reality. Ever-changing is our truth.
Our work to create a healthy future has just begun. And it seems fitting to begin the work that lies ahead with another quote from President Bartlet of The West Wing —
“What will be the next thing that challenges us, … ?
That makes us go farther and work harder?
You know that when smallpox was eradicated, it was considered the single greatest humanitarian achievement of this century? Surely we can do it again…”
And we can do it again, but it will require that we —
Answer the question of how will we do it? what are the next ten words? And for any pandemic deniers, this means you cannot avoid it. You also need the next ten words, maybe to acknowledge the 830,000 American deaths from COVID?
Recognize that there is no absolute right and absolute wrong
Brace ourselves for complexity as we seek to create a healthier future.
As The West Wing came to a close in season 7, President Barlet left the White House after eight years in office. We see him on Air Force One with his sweet wife, who asks him what he is thinking about as he looks out of the window over the clouds. And the show ends with one simple word —
“Tomorrow.”
Let’s all look to a healthier tomorrow today…