My friend Ruben Navarrette referred me to an inspiring hashtag on Twitter, #WhenThisIsAllOver. People from all over are posting things they think or hope will happen when this pandemic is behind us. Some are funny, like “#WhenThisIsAllOver we will all have bidets”, and some are more heartfelt such as “#WhenThisIsAllOver I will visit my parents more”, but the ones I like the most express appreciation for our healthcare workers. It inspired me to post my own tribute to healthcare workers on Facebook and asked my friends to post pictures of family members who are healthcare workers. I got dozens of comments and photos sent to me, and they all touched me deeply. If you have a family member who is in the trenches right now treating patients and protecting us all from this horrible pandemic, please send me a note about them with a photo. I’m not sure what I am going to do yet, but I want to do something nice to recognize them. They are the heroes of the moment and I hope we never forget what they did for us during this crisis.
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.