I’ve noticed the phrase “due to an overabundance of caution” is getting a lot of airplay. I am fascinated with how quickly certain phrases and buzzwords get inserted into our everyday vocabularies. For example, I am already sick and tired of the use of “weaponized”. But, we’re America, so, hey!
But back to the overabundance of caution.
I think, for the most part, it is not being used correctly. The phrase is definitely being abused. It’s meant to convey someone, or some organization, is doing everything in their power to practice safety protocols during a time of a spreading disease. In fact, it suggests that they are applying more caution than would normally be necessary. An undue amount of caution.
I’m not sure I concur.
SARS Coronavirus - 2 is a shadowy enigma in many ways.
It’s a coronavirus which is all part of the common cold family but there is much we don’t know about it and - because we are in the dark - an overabundance of caution is required.
When I rock climbed in Joshua Tree many moons ago, my climbing partner practiced an overabundance of caution by establishing a redundancy of anchors for our protection as we were ascending a cliff. She said she did this because she had been taught “institutional” rock climbing when she was an instructor with Outward Bound.
I think she did it because she knew I was skeptical about harnesses and carabiners and ropes and knots, and because, more importantly, I was scared shitless.
I was very appreciative of her overabundance of caution. As far as I was concerned, the more anchors the better! I was content hanging out in a surreal yet beautiful setting while she diligently set about her work to help guarantee our safety.
The new norms - washing hands incessantly, practicing hygiene constantly, keeping your distance from most people, shunning crowded spaces entirely, wearing a mask while shopping - is not too much caution when what you are seeking to ward off is invisible, potentially deadly and, perhaps, highly contagious.
And, to top it off, it is thought you might be contagious even while you are walking around symptom-free, which we all recognize now as the definition of ‘asymptomatic’!
The majority of us do not see seatbelts as an overabundance of caution. Or child seats. Or the banning of smoking in public spaces. Or the elimination of pesticides like DDT.
I think the use of the phrase is subtly downplaying the seriousness of the times and the foe we are up against. I think it is meant as a reassurance but might be taken by some as an indication that our public officials are over-reacting, or being melodramatic.
Considering that even under the best of circumstances and under the worst of threats, you are never going to get everybody to voluntarily comply, I’d prefer an overabundance of caution to an underabundance of caution.
Now I’m just waiting for someone to “weaponize” it.
~~~
As a reminder, those of us with all this time on our hands, other than practicing the Cowboy Two-Step and trying to get your pet to perform on cue for your Instagram page, you could be using Resistbot to let your legislators know what’s on your mind. It’s simple and it’s free. And - think about this - everything you send to them goes into the Congressional Record! In perpetuity!
I know. I’m in the future too.
(My favorite Mike Birbiglia monologue - he’s a comedian - is “What I Should Have Said Was Nothing".”)
Also, if you want a daily rehash of the craziness happening politically from a historian’s perspective, I highly recommend Heather Cox Richardson. Her reports are packed full of coherent analysis while not being stale and dry. She deserves a medal for wading into it everyday.
There's and overabundance of caution, and then there's the President: Daily running with scissors pointed up at America's eyes.
Currently, the phrase "an overabundance of caution” is being abused as a hedge against the fear of taking decisive action based on available data and owning the outcome, either boon or bane.