In the interests of following up on the United States withdrawal from the World Health Organization is this:
Two weeks [after Trump’s announcement], no steps toward a formal withdrawal have been taken. A WHO spokesman told The Hill that the agency had received no formal notification that the United States would withdraw.
Senior WHO officials said they continue their relationships with American agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“We worked with U.S. colleagues at U.S. CDC, NIH and a number of academic institutions across the whole country in a variety of networks and different types of platforms since the beginning of the pandemic and that will continue,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, an American who oversees the WHO’s technical response to the coronavirus pandemic. [The Hill]
I recall discussing a former VP of Marketing with one of his employees, and the employee saying he’d never work for him again: He had no follow-through.
Which is to say, he doesn’t follow up with his plans. This is really a mark of incompetence, whether it’s business or government. Plans are built, announcements are made, and then you implement.
Sometimes, Trump doesn’t implement. He runs his mouth a bit because something inspires him while he’s in front of the microphone, but nothing comes of it.
Should we be relieved? Yes. Should we be happy? No. This is not leadership. This is self-indulgence, and it saps world confidence in our leadership, and in democracy itself, because we’re exhibiting just how badly the strongest democracy in the world can fail, how we can fall victim to gross incompetence in both the Executive and Legislative wings of government, with Judicial not far behind.
It makes the democratic model of government less attractive than it should be. Should we slip back to communism, or to Monarchies, or something even less savory than those two failed models? Or forward to something more exotic? I periodically get spam warning about microchips in our heads; all of a sudden, under the boot of incompetence, this seems more likely.
Beep beep beep raise your right hand and recite after your revered leader….
