If Oscar Wilde had lived long enough to witness the COVID era, he might have concluded that every bureaucracy eventually produces its own court, complete with flatterers, celebrities, courtiers and, eventually, a prince or princess. The newly released Fauci diaries, as discussed in The American Conservative, sometimes read less like the private reflections of a scientist carrying the burden of a global pandemic and more like the social calendar of someone unexpectedly discovering that he had become America's newest celebrity.
One cannot help smiling at some of the entries. Fauci marvels that he has become "the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable persons in the world." He carefully records television appearances, front-page profiles, compliments from celebrities and politicians, and even notes that the Washington Nationals face mask he wore to a Senate hearing was destined for baseball's Hall of Fame. There are references to Julia Roberts, Anna Wintour, Steph Curry, Trevor Noah, Sean Penn and many others who now orbit his expanding universe.
Perhaps the funniest image is not of Fauci looking into a literal mirror but metaphorically admiring the reflection staring back at him. One almost imagines diary entries beginning, "Dear Diary, today I was recognised yet again. The burden of greatness grows heavier." There is something wonderfully human about vanity. Most people, if suddenly elevated into global celebrity status, would probably enjoy it far more than they admit. Fauci appears no different.
To be fair, the diaries also show some awareness that the attention had become excessive. At one point he complained that the "swag" surrounding him had become "really ridiculous," listing Fauci T-shirts, mugs, sweatshirts, candles and pillows while insisting he did not like the cult that had developed around him. That sits awkwardly beside pages devoted to recording the very celebrity encounters and glowing press coverage that helped sustain precisely that image.
The satire almost writes itself. One can picture a fictional continuation of the diary.
"Another exhausting day. Three interviews. Two standing ovations. One actress sent flowers. A baseball mask enters Cooperstown. Such are the sacrifices demanded by science."
The humour lies not in accusing Fauci of inventing these events, but in observing what he chose to preserve for posterity. Scientists usually keep laboratory notebooks. Fauci sometimes appeared to keep a scrapbook.
That does not mean every criticism now levelled against him is justified. Some commentators argue the diaries prove deliberate deception over COVID's origins or lockdown policies. Others respond that the entries are broadly consistent with what Fauci was saying publicly at the time, including his acknowledgement that scientists debated the possibility of a laboratory accident while he continued to regard natural spillover as the more likely explanation. The diaries have therefore become another battlefield in the continuing political struggle over the pandemic rather than a simple confession.
Still, there remains an undeniable comic element. Bureaucrats are not usually remembered for glamour. They are remembered for filing cabinets. Yet here was a career public servant who suddenly found himself embraced by Hollywood, interviewed by celebrities, praised in glossy magazines and transformed into merchandise. If there is a moral, it is that fame can be as infectious as any virus. The danger is not simply believing others admire you. It is gradually coming to admire the public image yourself.
Perhaps that is why The Princess Diaries is such an apt metaphor. Fairy tales often begin with an ordinary person unexpectedly discovering royal status. The difference is that fairy tales usually end with the prince or princess returning to ordinary life. Modern politics is less accommodating. Once celebrity and public office become intertwined, the temptation to preserve the image can become almost as powerful as the original public service.
Mirror, mirror on the wall: which public health official was the fairest of them all?
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-princess-diaries-of-anthony-fauci/