Who Knew COVID Would Happen? Hans Rosling — That’s a FACT!

The first thing you are wondering is ‘who is this Hans Rosling fellow? Well, I have good news for you — and sad news, as well. First, the good news. If you are a TED Talker or if you have had the pleasure of being invited to one of the many conferences on global health in which he has been the keynote speaker, then you already know whom this imminent Swedish scientist is.

Others know him because of his book Factfulness, in which he (along with his collaborators Ola and Anna Rosling) exclaimed this subtitle: 10 Reasons Why We’re Wrong About the World — and Why Things Are Better Than We Think.If you have not read the 2017 work of Hans and Co., don’t feel too bad. I hadn’t heard of it either, that is until one of my close scientist pals Hal Dorr brought it to my attention.

Here’s the Big “Five Global Risks We Should Be Worried About… global pandemic, financial collapse, world war, climate change, and extreme poverty.”

Now to answer the question of who knew THIS would happen, we turn to page 237 in Hans’ book in which he tells his readers (after explaining that the world is in much better shape than we think) the five things he is really worried about because the DATA has driven his decision (it drives almost all of his conclusions).

Here’s the Big “Five Global Risks We Should Be Worried About… global pandemic, financial collapse, world war, climate change, and extreme poverty.” Why? “Because they are the most likely to happen. The first three have already happened and the other two are happening now.” Hans explains that each has the potential to cause human suffering either directly or indirectly by pausing human progress for may years or decades.”

So Hans knew it was just a matter of time for COVID 19 to hit and hit hard. Why didn’t “we” listen? Well, many enlightened and informed leaders did listen and guess what? In countries with leaders who read and believe in science, the COVID issue is diminishing. However, in the United States of America led by the most ignorant person to ever inhabit the Oval Office, the nation’s citizens were encouraged to ignore the pandemic, treat it as a “sniffle” because it “would just disappear.”

What does the data say? The only thing disappearing are 140,000 lives (and that number climbs daily). So what can we take from all this? I posit these conclusions:

First: Americans are learning in the most tragic details just how important it is to have a government lead by the best and the brightest. Never in her history have so many been duped by so few. Trump has sold the idea that ‘trusting your gut’ is what matters most in decision making. Simple slogans rule his day. Everything he doesn’t like is “a hoax” and anyone questioning him is “not loyal” and leads “a witch hunt.” This is not the kind of person to be trusted. The data was clear BEFORE he won office. Numerous bankruptcies and fraudulent “deals” compounded with no experience in public office or in foreign affairs (except a Miss Universe contest).

Second: Government really matters. When the inevitable disaster occurs, it is government that needs to step in with the resources, the clear vision and the unvarnished message about what to do. That message is formed by facts, it has nothing to do with someone’s gut. For example, how could people possibly vote for an administration that believes that global warming “is a hoax’ perpetrated by “the Chinese”? One of the few questions that Hans Rosling finds 81% of USA citizens surveyed got right was “Is the earth warming.” (I know — how could 19% miss that one.) During the pandemic, the government on the federal level has done most everything wrong. It is almost as if they were trying to do things badly so people would say, “See, government sucks!” The truth lies in the data. New York did everything right, and still their death toll was awful. It could have been lessened had the federal government acted sooner and with force instead of saying “It’s a state issue.”

Finally, there is time to turn the tide because we have learned from the mistakes of the last three and a half years. November 3rd looms large. Mr. Biden needs to lead a ‘team of rivals’ who use facts and the power of the government to steady a ship that is in dangerous waters. I am encouraged by so many Republicans (with the exception of Senator Mitt Romney) who are outside of government for realizing that the enemy is ignorance and blatant dishonesty running the party they once held in high regard. It is smart to be fiscally prudent. It is smart to be focused in government. It is smart to acknowledge that the enemies of democracy are motivated to shake America down because it is in their autocratic interest. It is smart to begin the sharp turn away from the fuels that erode the Polar Ice Caps. It is smart to realize (as Hans Rosling explains) that the world is in better shape because of science and the facts that drive decisions.

So, you ask, what was the sad news? Hans Rosling died shortly after his work was published. He did not have to face the pandemic and the unemployment and homelessness that it will cause. But he knew it was coming. One last thing — he said there was a sixth thing he worried about “the unknown risk.” We know what that is now. Donald Trump and his enablers.

Now that’s a disaster we can do something about.