House of Eratosthenes

Explaining 2020 in a single sentence…and a question that follows it. “It’s my ship, I control where it goes.” Who’s saying it? The Captain of the ship, or the owner of the ship?

This is how our red and our blue states have been governed during the pandemic, in the aftermath of our infection with the Chinese Virus. The Captain of a vessel, and the owner of the vessel, are both within their rights to declare that the ship should follow a course. But it makes a big difference who’s saying it, if you’re on the boat!

Red-state governors have governed like the Captain of the ship, who goes down with it if it sinks. They say: Let’s have this mask mandate…or not. Let’s open these schools…or not. These are predictions of what will or will not be okay. They are predictions made by someone whose goose is thoroughly cooked if the predictions are wrong. And they may very well have been wrong. But those are the vital ingredients of real leadership: You figure out what’s going to happen as best you can, you err to the side of caution within reason, and you accept the residual risk. If you bungle it, everyone gets onto a lifeboat before you do, so you do your best not to bungle it.

Blue-state governors have governed like the owner of the ship, which is very different. This is more in the spirit of “If I break it no one can complain because it’s my property,” like a child abusing his own toys. Hey, I won the election, what I say goes! This is not like the Captain of the ship at all. Not even close. “Guessin’ Gavin” Newsom, I call him, decides day to day…I’m going to use these colors on these counties, there’s no such thing as “green,” you can’t advance to the next-safe tier even if the numbers say you can, unless I’m pleased with the racial equity in your COVID statistics. Oh yeah and bar food isn’t food, because if you order beer without a proper sandwich and side of mashed potatoes, the VID is gonna getcha. I decided that! I’m Gavin and I won the election. Ships’ owners, more often than not, are on dry land. If the ship sinks, they’re safe even if all hands are lost…and they just lose their personal property.

We are a law and order society so it’s easy for us to forget this distinction. “Do it my way I have the authority” may be true, but it could mean: Do it my way, it’s my skin. Or it could mean: Do it my way, it’s my toy so who cares if I break it.

It bears repeating: When you’re on the boat, it makes a huge difference.

Okay, so a single sentence, a question, and then an explanation that’s a little longer. But anyway. That’s 2020 for you. We just learned painfully what leadership really is. And we’ve got a big problem with some 2 dozen states being governed the way a spoiled child governs his toys…that he’s about to wreck. Our blue states are sinking ships, with owners who don’t care because they have no reason to care, they’re just playing with their toys. But there are real lives in those toys, with hopes and dreams.

I merely note that the captain of the Costa Concordia did NOT go down with his ship…
- MarkMatis | 10/24/2020 @ 05:38
Yup. That was a major breach of etiquette, safety protocols, naval tradition, and likely a big long list of other serious stuff this land-lubber doesn’t even fully understand…bad performance there.
- mkfreeberg | 10/24/2020 @ 05:40
I’m stealing that idea – captain vs. owner.

The trouble is, many of the Elite act like Renters. Who can leave if things get bad. They’ll just take their toys and huff off to an EU country – preferably one that doesn’t allow icky guns – OR riff-raff.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they work towards having an International Elite passport setup, where they can ruin one country, then waltz away to another, without penalty, or lose of privilege.

There will come a reckoning. I know it will happen when they’re pushing up daisies. I just hope it’s a little sooner than that.
- LindaF | 11/07/2020 @ 15:05
Thank you. I think it’s up to us to assume the reckoning won’t happen anywhere else.

We have to ask the question, when it counts: “Are you taking responsibility for the outcome? Or are you just spouting?” Even with our elected leaders, we should be doing this constantly.
- mkfreeberg | 11/08/2020 @ 10:22
[…] We’ll Be Fine Insurmountable Bobulinski Election Year Bananas McConnell’s Speech The Captain of the Ship or the Owner of the Ship Old Economy Steve Greatness Is Scary I Couldn’t Possibly Care Less If “We’re All […]
- House of Eratosthenes | 11/11/2020 @ 07:35

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The Captain of the Ship or the Owner of the ShipSaturday, October 24th, 2020

The Captain of the Ship or the Owner of the Ship
Saturday, October 24th, 2020