“Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work.”
– Darren J. Beattie on X, Oct. 4, 2024 (archived) Some of my best friends are competent white men. Many of them, in fact. And if the competent white men among my friends were in charge, things would work very well. I doubt the acting undersecretary of public diplomacy at the State Department questions the meaning of white or men. That leaves the muddier question of competence. It includes character, skills, judgment, willingness to learn, ability to inspire others, and so much more. The competent white men among my friends avoid groupthink. They know the difference between silencing dissent and seeking common ground. They listen to voices from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, knowing the best decisions follow from seeking out multiple perspectives. They recognize competence and potential wherever they find it, whether in women or people of color or other white men. If competent white men were in charge, we would soon see competent people of every stripe at every level of leadership in our institutions. That is, if we want things to work. Image: Anonymous man. Photo by Bruce Mars on Unsplash.
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Fewer and fewer Americans are old enough to remember the deep fear of polio, the closed swimming pools, the schoolchildren lined up for the new vaccine. The disease left one of my schoolmates in braces for life. Globally, polio killed or paralyzed about half a million children a year. Today endemic polio occurs only in Pakistan and parts of Afghanistan, with fewer than a hundred cases last year.
One thing I’ve learned through polio work is that viruses don’t respect boundaries. Business travelers and vacationers can bring them back unawares. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) collaborate to contain deadly infections like Ebola before they reach American shores. Their scientists took the lead to eradicate smallpox and nearly stop polio.* CDC can’t do it alone. Protecting Americans requires neutral access to WHO data, laboratory samples, and outbreak alerts from many countries, not just our friends. Vaccines to protect American seniors from flu are re-formulated for each year’s strains. They would be less targeted if our scientists couldn’t learn what strains are circulating abroad. Setting aside issues of WHO efficiency and funding, U.S. global leadership, or other nations’ health, I know that I am personally safer when CDC and WHO work together. * Major funding for polio eradication comes from Rotary International, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and foreign aid from many nations. UNICEF coordinates vaccine procurement and community education. |
AuthorI'm a historian who writes novels and literary nonfiction. My home base is Madison, Wisconsin.
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