The US is falling apart rapidly (on the scale of years), as evident in US politics departing from sanity and honor, sharp polarization, violent civil unrest, hopeless pandemic responses, ensuing economic catastrophe, one in a thousand Americans dying by infectious disease in 2020, and the abiding popularity of Trump in spite of it all.
(I note that you’re just outlining potential worldviews, not necessarily defending them)
I don’t think this is all that unique to the US. I think at least 5 out of 7 of these things could also be applied to the UK and France; the UK has a higher COVID-19 death rate than the US and there has been ongoing civil unrest in France for over two years now. In fact, the US is outside the top 10 in terms of COVID-19 deaths per capita.
This doesn’t mean I’m pessimistic about all of those countries too—it just makes me think that this is how the world looks when we experience a pandemic (and… use Twitter?).
(I note that you’re just outlining potential worldviews, not necessarily defending them)
I don’t think this is all that unique to the US. I think at least 5 out of 7 of these things could also be applied to the UK and France; the UK has a higher COVID-19 death rate than the US and there has been ongoing civil unrest in France for over two years now. In fact, the US is outside the top 10 in terms of COVID-19 deaths per capita.
This doesn’t mean I’m pessimistic about all of those countries too—it just makes me think that this is how the world looks when we experience a pandemic (and… use Twitter?).