Remember those late scenes in James Cameron’s retelling of the Titanic, where the wealthiest people on board are loaded into lifeboats and given safe evacuation as the folks in lower cabins tuck their children into bed knowing they would all drown? And, all the while, the band plays on to ease the panic-stricken passengers during their evacuation. Historically, all eight musicians aboard the Titanic remained at their posts and went down with the ship.

Those scenes come to mind now as the state of the world continues to unravel (a story for another columnist) and the…