A friend of mine is a (retired) MD/MPH who was asked in February '20 to be on some task force or another. I congratulated him, but he said turned it down. I was kinda shocked and asked why.
"Imagine you're the captain of the Titanic, and one of your men tells you that you've just struck an iceberg. Naturally, you sound the alarm, call for help, and immediately get everyone into the lifeboats (which you have plenty of), right?"
Recognizing the rhetorical move, I smiled and waited for his continuation.
"Of course not! You tell them everything is fine, that your Best and Brightest are working the problem, announce that drinks are on the White Star Line tonight, and strike up the band. Then you pray like hell that you can fix the problem before the ship sinks and everyone dies. No, thanks. I'm too old for that."
"Imagine you're the captain of the Titanic, and one of your men tells you that you've just struck an iceberg. Naturally, you sound the alarm, call for help, and immediately get everyone into the lifeboats (which you have plenty of), right?"
Recognizing the rhetorical move, I smiled and waited for his continuation.
"Of course not! You tell them everything is fine, that your Best and Brightest are working the problem, announce that drinks are on the White Star Line tonight, and strike up the band. Then you pray like hell that you can fix the problem before the ship sinks and everyone dies. No, thanks. I'm too old for that."