As a kid I remember reading Edgar Alan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death.” In the story, a medieval country was suffering the plague. Prospero, the ruler of the land, invited a thousand lords and ladies to a masque (another name for a costume party) in his castle.
Prospero thought the elite of the land could stay locked in the castle and wait out the pestilence. An intruder dressed in black, the grim reaper, makes an appearance running through the halls while Prospero calls on his guests to stop him. No one does because of fear. Finally, Prospero grabs hold and immediately dies. The death that the lords and ladies tried to avoid was now in their midst and their fates were revealed in their eyes.
This allegory is based on the 14th century bubonic plague, better known as the Black Death, that killed half of Europe’s population. It shows the futility of hiding from the inevitable. It also illustrates that the elites are not immune just because they are elite. Then and now it proves that we must all pull together to be successful.
Stuart, I fear has been caught in Prospero’s predicament. The plague has entered City Hall and you can no longer lock it out. One by one, City senior staff are leaving. The Fire Chief was first. Then a Battalion Chief, the City Manager’s assistant and the Building Official. The Special Assistant to the City Manager was next, followed by the Director of Public Works. Who knows who will be next.
The City Commission can no longer pretend that City Hall is immune. It is now too late to lock the doors to keep the pestilence from infecting a once competent work force. They, like Prospero’s lords and ladies, invited the carrier into their midst and then did nothing. They danced and pretended that everything was fine…but look deeply in the commissioners’ eyes to see whether the reality has set in. Perhaps they hear a faint beating heart – that’s a Poe story for another day.