On a sad note, I had four friends lose parents last week alone. Three died of COVID-19. It’s unbelievable. I recently made the decision to allow the NAHREP staff to work from home for the remainder of the year. We are lucky because not everyone has a job that can be done from home and I understand why some of the people out of work are questioning the closure policies. The fact is nobody knows everything about this disease.
That said, I would rather allow my staff to work from home, and be wrong, than require them to come in and be wrong. I would rather everyone wear a mask, and be wrong, than not wear a mask and be wrong. I would rather be safe for everyone around me, and be wrong, than not be safe and be wrong. To err on the side of safety, in the face of a life-threatening infectious disease, is a no-brainer for me. Stay healthy, everything else can be replaced.
By definition, unintended consequences are the results of an action different from what was expected or planned. They are often referenced in relation to changes in policies. I have heard the term used for years, primarily related to government policies. Still, I didn’t realize until recently that much has been written on the subject, and most experts believe that there are three categories of unintended consequences:
I once read that sports are a universal language. Regardless of ethnicity or what language you speak, almost everyone speaks sports. No place has that been more evident than the Olympics, where every four years, we are moved by images of athletic rivals from around the world shaking hands and embracing each other in moving displays of sportsmanship.
Happy Easter! The blog will resume on April 7, 2024.