Commentary
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” — Charles Dickens, “A Tale of Two Cities.”We all recognize the dichotomies Dickens ascribes to the period of the French Revolution in the way people and governments are responding to our present pandemic.
Most of us recognize the wisdom in washing our hands frequently and not touching our faces. And we see the foolishness of hoarding large quantities of toilet paper. Beyond that, though we see the same pairs of opposites, we disagree about what actions belong in which category.
