What should our country do in response to the coronavirus? Opinions roughly fall into three categories.
Exceptionalism: We have overreacted and can escape the fate of Italy because we’re Americans and things like that don’t happen here. It’s just like a bad flu season.
Stoicism: Tragedy is unavoidable and we might as well go back to work because people are going to die one way or another – if not from COVID-19 then in a car crash.
Realism: We can’t have a functioning economy with overflowing hospitals and death all around us. We can minimize deaths while figuring out a way to defeat the virus.
You can poke holes in all of these arguments. The first ignores the facts. The second is fatalistic. The third is vague and uncertain.
Like others, I believe the third way offers the best way forward and is most consistent with our national values.
As we have seen in our history, a positive outcome depends on bold leadership, dedicated citizenship and trust in God. This is the great test of our times.
Will America rise to the occasion as we have done in the past?
Douglas McCarthyDurango
