Column
Let’s Not Mistake Selfishness for Freedom
The Covid deniers and Black Lives Matter protesters show two sides of the independence coin
As July 4th rolls round, I’m finding it difficult to muster up much enthusiasm for the country I call home. With close to 130,000 people dead and over 2.6 million infected with Covid-19, it’s become clear that American exceptionalism is deadly.
The United States leads the world in coronavirus cases and deaths, and America remains the only country whose citizens are treating the use of masks as a political debate rather than a death necessity with life-and-death implications. Working parents are desperate as politicians make few moves to sort out schooling come September; as Deb Perelman put it in The New York Times, right now “you can have a kid or a job — you can’t have both.” I’m also pretty sure we’re the only place where young citizens are holding “Covid parties” — gatherings where the first person to contract the virus gets a payout.
As I’ve written before, the health and safety of Americans now depends on the dumbest among us.
What has made me feel proud, however, are the continuing protests across the country against racist police violence. Watching a diverse group of neighbors, family, friends, and…
