4 ms·

America Was Ripe for Humiliation

32 points by 80mph 6y ago

seibelj 6y ago
There are no countries that are perfect models for COVID. The ones that have totally “contained” it are either tiny and isolationist or lying / not testing. Previous countries that seemed like models of good now have outbreaks. This virus is simply too difficult to contain, it seems to spread extremely easily. America has decentralized governance. Every state, and even every county, can determine their own rules to a large extent. Money is handed from the federal government to the states with very few strings attached. It is constitutionally impossible to have a “one size fits all” approach, and also people are so independent-minded that any iron fist is immediately given the middle finger. Articles like these that harp on about how bad America is seem to be unable to explain why so many people want to come here, and why we have to pass laws to prevent them from coming. For all America’s warts it’s still the best place to live.
- sorokod 6y ago
  "...unable to explain why so many people want to come here" This is very easy to explain - there are plenty of places where life is more difficult then it is the US. It's a communicating vessels thing - means nothing in absolute terms
- glial 6y ago
  > For all America’s warts it’s still the best place to live. Serious question: have you lived in another country?
  - cecja 6y ago
    He hasn't if you give him a world map he can't even figure out most of the countries and he isn't even able to name all your states. Ignorance is bliss.
- spacedcowboy 6y ago
  > For all America’s warts it’s still the best place to live This is hubris of the highest order. America doesn’t even make the top ten, typically. Example: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/best-countries-to-live-in https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/best-coun... I look at the racism, the cronyism, the corruption, the “fuck your, I got mine” attitude, the militarization of the domestic police, the lack of a decent social safety net, the lack of mental health care, the proliferation of guns and the concomitant violence within society, the healthcare shambles, the education debacle, ... for $deity’s sake man, I can go on and on. Here’s a hint: all countries have things that aren’t ideal. Not many countries have a list as long as the USA. If you want to claim you’re “the best place to live”, you need to compare yourself against the best that other countries have to offer, not the places people are desperate to escape from.
- ta17711771 6y ago
  > Money is handed from the federal government to the states with very few strings attached. On some things. In other cases, your funding relies on arbitrary shit, e.g. alcohol age limits and speed limits being attached to fed highway funding.
chub500 6y ago
Yes the US was shamefully arrogant about Covid (bipartisinly so) but saying the Trump electorate is racist basically destroys the article's credibility. The US has historically been in the top tier of nations because of 1. their universities, 2. their acceptance of immigrants 3. their culture (Hollywood etc) 4. public works (GPS, internet, etc). Perhaps the US is on the decline. The apex of the Byzantine empire after all was Justinian's plague. I wouldn't say the US decline is due to a failure to enact socialist policies though. Europe is hardly the world center of creativity and innovation.

32 points by 80mph 6y ago

There are no countries that are perfect models for COVID. The ones that have totally “contained” it are either tiny and isolationist or lying / not testing. Previous countries that seemed like models of good now have outbreaks. This virus is simply too difficult to contain, it seems to spread extremely easily. America has decentralized governance. Every state, and even every county, can determine their own rules to a large extent. Money is handed from the federal government to the states with very few strings attached. It is constitutionally impossible to have a “one size fits all” approach, and also people are so independent-minded that any iron fist is immediately given the middle finger. Articles like these that harp on about how bad America is seem to be unable to explain why so many people want to come here, and why we have to pass laws to prevent them from coming. For all America’s warts it’s still the best place to live.

sorokod 6y ago
"...unable to explain why so many people want to come here" This is very easy to explain - there are plenty of places where life is more difficult then it is the US. It's a communicating vessels thing - means nothing in absolute terms
glial 6y ago
> For all America’s warts it’s still the best place to live. Serious question: have you lived in another country?
- cecja 6y ago
  He hasn't if you give him a world map he can't even figure out most of the countries and he isn't even able to name all your states. Ignorance is bliss.
spacedcowboy 6y ago
> For all America’s warts it’s still the best place to live This is hubris of the highest order. America doesn’t even make the top ten, typically. Example: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/best-countries-to-live-in https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/best-coun... I look at the racism, the cronyism, the corruption, the “fuck your, I got mine” attitude, the militarization of the domestic police, the lack of a decent social safety net, the lack of mental health care, the proliferation of guns and the concomitant violence within society, the healthcare shambles, the education debacle, ... for $deity’s sake man, I can go on and on. Here’s a hint: all countries have things that aren’t ideal. Not many countries have a list as long as the USA. If you want to claim you’re “the best place to live”, you need to compare yourself against the best that other countries have to offer, not the places people are desperate to escape from.
ta17711771 6y ago
> Money is handed from the federal government to the states with very few strings attached. On some things. In other cases, your funding relies on arbitrary shit, e.g. alcohol age limits and speed limits being attached to fed highway funding.

chub500 6y ago

Yes the US was shamefully arrogant about Covid (bipartisinly so) but saying the Trump electorate is racist basically destroys the article's credibility. The US has historically been in the top tier of nations because of 1. their universities, 2. their acceptance of immigrants 3. their culture (Hollywood etc) 4. public works (GPS, internet, etc). Perhaps the US is on the decline. The apex of the Byzantine empire after all was Justinian's plague. I wouldn't say the US decline is due to a failure to enact socialist policies though. Europe is hardly the world center of creativity and innovation.