American Exceptionalism

Under the headline, "How Can This Happen? A World Missing American Leadership," The New York Times [Friday, April 24, 2020] says that "people on the European side of the Atlantic are looking at the richest and most powerful nation in the world with disbelief."

[snip]

"...in the United States, [the pandemic] has exposed two great weaknesses that, in the eyes of many Europeans, have compounded one another: the erratic leadership of Mr. Trump, who has devalued expertise and often refused to follow the advice of his scientific advisers, and the absence of a robust public health care system and social safety net."

I would add to that the observation that the federation of simpletons that has been the Republican Party for the past 40 years (yes, since Reagan) have finally gotten their wish – a national government that useless. Nicely done, Federalist Society!

As a French political scientist is quoted as saying in the above article, "America has not done badly, it has done exceptionally badly."

It is hard to be optimistic about the future. But we must try.