By: Jack Buchanan
Well, it happened again. It is amazing how a single spark from a passing motorist can set thousands of acres on fire. Or a killer virus striking a single person can set off a chain reaction infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands. Or a very bad decision made by a police officer making a routine arrest can set off riots, looting and mass destruction in every major city in the country not seen since the riots of 1967.
While Sheila and I were driving north to Prescott from Phoenix for our weekly jaunt last Sunday morning on I-17, we suddenly came upon a parking lot of stopped traffic that we could see from our perch for two miles ahead before the line disappeared below the mountain ridge. An hour later when we came upon the cause, the little white car was still burning alongside the freeway and a grass fire of a few acres at the time was just getting started. Though there were a few emergency vehicles at the scene, it did not appear they were doing anything to control the fire.
A few hours later when returning to Phoenix south bound on I-17, we again ran into another parking lot of stopped traffic. Creeping along for another hour, we came upon a police blockade sending all cars back to Flagstaff or Prescott because the freeway was closed and all secondary roads in the area were also closed due to the fire. It spread to 3,500 acres destroying grasslands, forests and structures in its path. Fortunately, no one was killed.
When we finally got back to Phoenix via Skull Valley west of Prescott and Wittenberg late Sunday night after the 8:00 PM curfew, we were feeling frustrated, exhausted and hungry. We realized how these blindsided events can sometimes ruin your whole day.
It also brought to mind the value of good leadership in managing the effects of these sudden and unexpected occurrences.
If the fire fighters in the area had quickly jumped on the grass fire along the side of the freeway while it was still small, could they have saved those 3,500 acres?
If China had quickly jumped on Covid-19 when it first showed up early last December, could they have stopped it in its tracks?
If world leaders had taken seriously this threat when they learned about its extreme danger in late December or early January, would that have saved thousands of lives and minimized the effects of this virus on the world?
Would good leadership following the killing of George Floyd have prevented these devastating riots we just experienced? Would soothing words of condolences and sorrow from the top made a difference in preventing the violence of these demonstrations? Would it have helped? Did fanning the flames from the top make it worse?
Now, after seven weeks of these Blindsided articles about the virus, where are we headed? Yes, the trend of new cases and deaths in the United States is declining, but this is not true in all states. It appears that the virus is increasing in those locations where, for whatever reason, people are not observing the required six feet social distancing and are not wearing the surgical masks to protect themselves and others.
Why do some people refuse to do these things when it is an uncontroverted scientific fact that social distancing, surgical masks and good hygiene habits are the only remedies we have right now to manage this disease?
I guess that is the point of this week’s article. The greatest power we have as a society in dealing with these challenging blindsided occurrences that suddenly show up in our lives, is great leadership from the top. A leader who can persuade, who can unify and who can put the best interest of those who he or she leads as his or her first consideration. Without this, it is hard to say where we will be three or six months from now.