The world is really figuring BSE out, and that's positive.

The words of Mike Johanns — “The world is really figuring BSE out, and that’s positive.” — are born from a time of fear, when the shadow of mad cow disease spread across nations and threatened both the safety of food and the trust of people. They are words of relief, signaling that confusion was giving way to clarity, and that knowledge, once gained, could replace terror with security. For in every age, ignorance has been the greater plague, and understanding the stronger cure.

To speak of the world “figuring out” BSE is to declare that human ingenuity, when united, can overcome even the most confounding threats. What was once a mystery that sowed panic among farmers, consumers, and nations alike, was slowly being unraveled by science and cooperation. The positive note Johanns strikes is more than optimism; it is the recognition that humanity has always triumphed when it dared to seek truth rather than surrender to fear.

History is filled with similar moments. When the Black Death swept Europe, superstition reigned, and countless innocents were blamed for what was not understood. Only centuries later, with the rise of science, did mankind learn to face disease with knowledge instead of scapegoating. Likewise, when cholera stalked London in the 19th century, it was Dr. John Snow’s map — an act of clear-eyed reasoning — that revealed its source in tainted water, saving countless lives. Each triumph of knowledge echoes in Johanns’ words: that to understand is to conquer.

The phrase is also a reminder of the power of global unity. No single farmer, no single nation, could unravel the enigma of BSE. It required cooperation across borders, the sharing of research, and the recognition that what afflicts one people inevitably touches all. Thus, the world itself became the laboratory, and the solution a testament to what humanity can achieve when it chooses solidarity over isolation.

Let the generations remember: fear thrives in darkness, but hope is born when truth is pursued with courage. To see the world “figuring out” a crisis is to witness the eternal victory of reason over chaos. Mike Johanns’ words, though spoken of BSE, echo the larger story of humankind: that every plague, every calamity, every confusion can be met — not with despair — but with the fire of understanding. And in that, there is always something profoundly positive.