My apologies to Warren Harding.

For many years, I’ve blamed the aforementioned Mr. Harding for what I still consider one of the greatest sins against grammar ever to affront the human ear – the so-called word “normalcy.” The correct word is “normality,” and for decades (as a self-appointed grammar cop) I’ve railed against that made up word, “normalcy.” I remain ever surprised by how few people enjoy having their grammar corrected (Ed: really? REALLY?)

In the presidential election of 1920, Harding was a long shot candidate, with only a few years as one of Ohio’s senators under his belt. But in a brokered convention that couldn’t pick a candidate, Harding emerged on the 10^th ballot as a compromise candidate for the Republicans. One of his main selling points, some historians allege, is that the misogynistic cigar smokers in the back rooms of the convention saw Harding as not especially qualified but as a good looking fellow in the first election in which women would be able to vote. Harding is largely considered a failed president who may or may not have been poisoned by his own wife as corruption allegations swept his administration. 

In his 1920 campaign, Harding adopted the campaign motto, “Return to Normalcy.” And as a result, for the better part of my 62 years, I’ve blamed Harding for inventing a fake word that continues to be misused – especially by TV news people – to this day. 

But I was wrong.

It turns out that vile faux word was actually a term used in mathematics in the 1850s. Harding, it appears, merely appropriated it for his campaign, making his sin against grammar less original and more a botched theft of a term better suited for arithmetic. 

Which, of course, brings me to Colorado’s COVID-19 response, and where we go from here.

Can we ever really get back to “normal?” I confess, I’m doubtful. There will, eventually, be a new normal in a post-pandemic Colorado. Gov. Polis has done a very good job overall during the crisis, but I fear the early months of COVID will be recorded by historians as the “easy” part, when common sense and an understanding of science led to massive closures of our society and the new norm of social distancing and essential personnel. The challenge of how and when to reopen the many, many diverse and complex levels of our society will prove far more difficult.

A more challenging decision that is close to my own heart relates to high school sports, as explained in a terrific article in the Colorado Springs Gazette. Combining the efforts of reporters from three different states (Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Alabama), the story explores the very problematic goals of opening up sports while keeping people safe. As I was scheduled to begin my sixth year as a high school football official this Fall, these decisions directly impact me, as well as many others, in addition to the kids involved. Here in the Centennial State, the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) oversees all such activity. After correctly and promptly shutting down all school activities when the pandemic started, CHSAA is this week opening the door a tiny crack, by allowing some minimal (less than 10 people) meetings of coaches and such, as well as some types of working out.

And while football and the other sports are insignificant compared to far more important societal issues associated with reopening, these types of activities do illustrate the challenges faced by the decision makers. An informal discussion with some of my fellow sports officials suggests that there is real doubt as to how sports could possibly be done safely. Even if, say, you remove the crowds and play to an empty stadium, you still have 22 kids banging into each other in every football game. You have officials needing to drive to far-off games, but the car pooling of previous years may seem risky to some. Heck, picking up a dropped football that a kid with a cough just fumbled is worrisome.

Back in the days of our nation’s Founders, the handshake was reserved for only those most intimate to an individual. The normal of 1787 was to bow to one another. Perhaps a version that “normal” will be our shared future. Our return to normality will be a long and complicated journey. I suspect the trip will take years, not months, and will be fraught with disagreements, assertions about various concepts of liberty, and illness. As always, I hope for the best, but we must always plan for the worst. 

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.