The USA’s Unsatisfactory Response to Coronavirus: Op-ed

Olivia Witulski, Features Editor

The coronavirus has been spreading like wildfire, and the US is not excluded. So why haven’t we been implementing the same responses that other countries have? Why hasn’t the US implemented a proper stay-at-home order? Why are we reopening our country despite increasing cases of the virus, and despite having the most cases in the world?

cases of Coronavirus by state

One word: freedom. And not actual freedom. Americans have such a warped sense of freedom that the idea of not letting people go to restaurants to curb a deadly virus sparks more outrage than people not being able to go for a jog due to the feat of police brutality. Americans want a revolution, they want something to fight for, but they are not fighting for the right things.

“Privileged people want to be oppressed so badly”, says Micah Mixon ’20 “so the government trying to stop a virus is the same as being oppressed in their minds”.

Americans are one of the only countries without proper healthcare as well. And yet these people are willing to risk it all just to go out for an iced coffee. Americans are blinded by what they read in their textbooks and what they see in the media, therefore their idea of freedom is absolute freedom, and freedom only for themselves, not for marginalized groups.

So, what can we do? We can spread awareness about real issues going on in our country. If the people want a fight, give them a fight. But give them a fight for something worth fighting for.