10 ms·

The half that is oddly combative over basic attempts to reduce risk of transmission of a disease that has now killed nearly 5 million people worldwide, 750,000

by pryce 5y ago

The half that is oddly combative over basic attempts to reduce risk of transmission of a disease that has now killed nearly 5 million people worldwide, 750,000 of whom lived in the USA, a nation that for many decades, until quite recently, people worldwide looked to for leadership in the fight against global infectious diseases.

BuyMyBitcoins 5y ago
I’m really starting to question just how much of the rest of the world actually looks towards the United States for leadership. I think most countries leadership just does whatever they think is best for their own countries and it’s always been like that. I think the whole “look towards America” thing is some comforting line Americans tell ourselves because we like to think we’re superior. And you can always invoke the actions of the administration you don’t like to claim we’ve lost that special status / respect. Edit: I’m talking about the whole “Leader of the free world” schtick. Not so much industry standards and funding.
- pryce 5y ago
  Having been a medical student in NZ attached to an infectious diseases team, the idea that NZ research (or even our ideas of best practice) are not heavily dependent on R&D and standards institutes from the USA isn't plausible. I find it likely that Australia is in a similar position. We are lucky in that NZ and Australia have sufficient political will to create and maintain socialized healthcare systems independent of the approach the US has taken. The shortfall in global leadership during this pandemic is, in part, from philosophical differences over whether -and, to what extent- it is a duty of "the state" to respond to phenomena like pandemics that tend to kill a large amount of people without a state-level response.
- mechanical_bear 5y ago
  I think you should travel abroad a bit more. There is a love/hate relationship in some countries, but we really do set the tone widely, and steer things. It’s a combination of official stick and carrot, and our enormous soft power apparatus.
brigandish 5y ago
> a nation that for many decades, until quite recently, people worldwide looked to for leadership in the fight against global infectious diseases. We hear similar stories in the UK about "our leadership role in the world" but actually travel the world a bit (or perhaps listen to the news in a foreign language for a while) and you'll soon realise that it isn't the case. It's just a story to make people feel good, or shame, whichever is necessary for those telling it.

by pryce 5y ago

BuyMyBitcoins 5y ago

I’m really starting to question just how much of the rest of the world actually looks towards the United States for leadership. I think most countries leadership just does whatever they think is best for their own countries and it’s always been like that. I think the whole “look towards America” thing is some comforting line Americans tell ourselves because we like to think we’re superior. And you can always invoke the actions of the administration you don’t like to claim we’ve lost that special status / respect. Edit: I’m talking about the whole “Leader of the free world” schtick. Not so much industry standards and funding.

pryce 5y ago
Having been a medical student in NZ attached to an infectious diseases team, the idea that NZ research (or even our ideas of best practice) are not heavily dependent on R&D and standards institutes from the USA isn't plausible. I find it likely that Australia is in a similar position. We are lucky in that NZ and Australia have sufficient political will to create and maintain socialized healthcare systems independent of the approach the US has taken. The shortfall in global leadership during this pandemic is, in part, from philosophical differences over whether -and, to what extent- it is a duty of "the state" to respond to phenomena like pandemics that tend to kill a large amount of people without a state-level response.
mechanical_bear 5y ago
I think you should travel abroad a bit more. There is a love/hate relationship in some countries, but we really do set the tone widely, and steer things. It’s a combination of official stick and carrot, and our enormous soft power apparatus.

brigandish 5y ago

> a nation that for many decades, until quite recently, people worldwide looked to for leadership in the fight against global infectious diseases. We hear similar stories in the UK about "our leadership role in the world" but actually travel the world a bit (or perhaps listen to the news in a foreign language for a while) and you'll soon realise that it isn't the case. It's just a story to make people feel good, or shame, whichever is necessary for those telling it.