> In a study of 177 countries, people’s level of trust—in the government and especially in one another—predicted COVID infection rates and vaccine uptake. In Am

> In a study of 177 countries, people’s level of trust—in the government and especially in one another—predicted COVID infection rates and vaccine uptake. In America, trust is in short supply, and accordingly, the country has underperformed throughout the pandemic despite its considerable resources. Truth is a function of trust, and the American government - federal, state, and local but mostly federal - still hasn't figured out it does not rate high on the trust scale. America is sliding into defeat. The handling of the pandemic is simply another symptom of that slide. Trying to cure a symptom is a fool's errand.