A baffled world is watching as the US is overrun by COVID-19 infections and deaths — with no end in sight
Category: Health, Science & Technology
Via: buzz-of-the-orient • 4 years ago • 10 commentsBy: salarshani@businessinsider.com (Sarah Al-Arshani)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A baffled world is watching as the US is overrun by COVID-19 infections and deaths — with no end in sight
© Drew Angerer/Getty Images President Donald Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci, back in April when Fauci still appeared at briefings. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
- Political leaders in countries across the world are baffled as the US, once seen as a superpower, struggles to get the coronavirus outbreak under control.
- Across 13 countries including Canada, Australia, and Spain, the US has been viewed in the most negative light over the past year, and they are especially critical of the US's handling of the pandemic.
- The disapproval goes beyond the pandemic and extends to the actions taken by President Donald Trump.
- Some officials told The New York Times that Trump's rhetoric and actions are eroding democracy globally.
Officials in countries across the world are puzzled about how the United States has been so badly afflicted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The US has recorded over 7 million COVID-19 cases with over 203,000 deaths, the highest of any country — and with no end to the pandemic in sight.
"I feel sorry for Americans," U Myint Oo, a member of parliament in Myanmar told The New York Times . "But we can't help the US because we are a very small country."
The Pew Research Center's Summer 2020 Global attitudes survey, which looked into how favorable 13 countries viewed the US on a variety of topics, reported that the US's image has "plummeted" internationally since President Donald Trump took office, but the country's image is especially low due to the handling of the pandemic.
Across 13 countries, including Canada, Australia, and Spain, the US has been viewed in the most negative light over the past year, compared to years past. They are especially critical of the US's handling of the pandemic according to Pew.
"Across the 13 nations surveyed, a median of just 15% say the US has done a good job of dealing with the outbreak," the Pew report said.
The highest rating was Spain at just 20% of respondents saying the US is doing a good job dealing with the outbreak, according to the Pew survey.
Some officials told The Times they were concerned about how a global superpower could crumble due to a virus.
Earlier this summer, the European Union was so concerned about the spread of COVID-19 from Americans that they banned US travelers .
"The USA is a first-world country but it is acting like a third-world country," U Aung Thu Nyein, a political analyst in Myanmar, told The Times.
Additionally, while other residents have said that their own nations have done well to handle the outbreak, only in the US and the United Kingdom did respondents give their respective countries poor marks.
In July, The Washington Post reported that as Americans lost faith in their own country's handling of the pandemic, as well as social unrest, the world also began to "question the United States' appetite or capacity for a collaborative leadership role at a time when the health and economic crises call out for committed global cooperation."
Mike Bradley, the mayor of Sarnia, an industrial city on the border with Michigan told The Times that seeing what's happening in the US is "like watching the decline of the Roman Empire."
The Times reported that the negative views go beyond just the pandemic, and apply to Trump and his administration, who several foreign politicians and analysts said appear to have left democratic values behind. Many are concerned about the ongoing protests for racial justice and comments made by Trump to not accept the election results.
"We used to look to the US for democratic governance inspiration," Eduardo Bohórquez, the director of Transparency International Mexico told The Times. "Sadly, this is not the case anymore."
Yenny Wahid, an Indonesian politician, and activist told The Times she's concerned over Trump's rhetoric that undermines democratic values could embolden dictators elsewhere.
"The world sees the dismantling of social cohesion within American society and the mess in managing COVID," Wahid said. "There is a vacuum of leadership that needs to be filled, but America is not fulfilling that leadership role."
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Trump has been doing his best to separate America from the rest of the world, and it looks like he's succeeding.
There are poor countries that haven't the means to battle the pandemic.
But the US is the richest country in the history of the world. Why be so passive?
The conservative attitude, as you well know, is to hell with the rest of the world, America first.
Leadership or rather the lack of leadership.
Yes, the pandemic has clearly revealed the risks associated with being a democratic open society. What has been surprising is how many in the United States have been demanding a totalitarian approach. The expectations of other countries that the United States adopt totalitarian imposition of restrictions isn't surprising.
People are accusing Trump of being a dictator and then chiding Trump for not using dictatorial power. Other countries are watching the magic money tree wither and die. And Trump has not used totalitarian means and methods to protect the magic money tree. The world's biggest complaint with Trump is that he hasn't been sufficiently generous, Trump hasn't thrown money at every problem around the world. The world isn't upset with Trump and the world isn't concerned about the United States. The world is worried about not getting the next handout. Too bad, so sad. The world has drained the sap from the magic money tree.
The world wants the United States to be led by a kinder, gentler dictator. A President that will impose themselves on other countries. A President that will use the military to confront all enemies. And a President that will throw money at every problem. The United States can no longer support its own population, let alone the rest of the world. And the pandemic won't thin the US population enough to make more money available, although many countries will make that argument. Even a President that believes in benevolent totalitarianism cannot revive a dead magic money tree.
Not to worry. China will become the world's benefactor. China will become the magic money tree. China will throw money at environmental problems, preservation of cultural heritages, and provide a marketplace for third world trinkets. China will deploy its military around the world, will fight terrorism, and will defend Europe from Russian aggression. China will protect the world from the United States. And China is quite comfortable using the totalitarian means and methods that other countries expect. China will protect democratic open societies around the world.
There can be times in history when a country may need to adjust its chosen governmental style to properly address a dangerous threat that its normal behaviour cannot handle. I had not been aware that the USA was quite so inflexible, which has cost the USA and its citizens dearly.
An analogy in reply to what your comment says to me about your attitude would be this cartoon:
And this one:
Let's see where it all ends up.
Well, that's not too hard to predict. It all ends up in China's lap.
To the victor goes the burden. China is the biggest and the best. Let China carry the burden, the United States is done. You've said so yourself.
What do you mean "no end in sight?" Of course there is an end in sight. There are four vaccines in the final stages of testing. There is every indication we might actually be sticking needles into people's arms around the first of the year. I hate this chicken little "sky is falling" shit.
I hope, for your sake, that it will be an effective and final end to the problem.