Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Time of Opportunity

"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."  Thomas Payne

In these times of social distancing and impending impacts of the time, society is bound to change.  We can move one of two ways:  we can become fearful and selfish or we can rise to a higher level of responsibility.  We need to help people.  The traditional means of service come through groups gathered together in mutual support.  That won't work this time.  This time we need to innovate and create novel ways of moving our society forward.  I don't know what those means are, but we need to find them.

I've spent most of my career supporting the Department of Defense.  We always said the bureaucracy would be put away if we ever got into a real war.  Well, it wasn't a war.  It's a virus.  I have envied the 'Great Generation' for having a purpose and chance to make an impact.  Now we have that opportunity.  Let's not waste it.