[Goose]

Right - The USA could fight this like New Zealand, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, Canada or even like USA 1945-2016.

I feel I must strongly point out (yet again) that the USA was in no position to contain this kind of a virus as early as 2008, if not before.

That was a nod to the idea of American exceptionalism solving big problems and trying not to imply the USA, as a country, couldn't meet the standard of other countries with a slightly different set of priorities.



A country that could fight (and win) a multi-front war spanning the globe in 1945 should have been able to do at least as much as Thailand did this year.

A country that took people to the moon should be able to do at least as much as a New Zealand or Taiwan.

And a country that helped the world out of a financial crisis it admittedly created should be able to at least mimic the strategies they are using across the border in Canada.



That is not to say the USA would have been best in class in this pandemic, but at a minimum the USA could have been a global leader in tackling this new challenge much like the USA had done for decades. 

Amazingly, we might be converging to something like agreement!  I do believe in "American exceptionalism". We have in the past and should today lead the way in "fixing" this epidemic problem. Your examples are right on the mark, but examine them closely. WW II started with the total decimation of Pac Fleet. Our army was tiny. We were using wooden models as training tanks. In fact we couldn't do what the UK, Germany, Japan and Italy were doing at that moment. We got started, got in the war, and then there was Kasserine Pass. But at the end of the day, we got it done. Race to the moon, same situation. We were way behind Russia and had to go like mad to catch up and pass them.

The current situation with this health emergency is similar in that we were totally woefully unprepared. In the above two examples the fact we were way behind was made particularly obvious by the opponent. It is critical IMHO that we realize that we were not anywhere near up to the mark public health wise. We need a remedial effort, not so much on the scientific front but on the organizational and manning front. We simply couldn't do what Thailand or Taiwan did because we didn't have the people in place to do it. We still don't, as near as I can see. Just like we couldn't attack Japan in 1942. We didn't have the people in place. It was a holding action that didn't go well. See Wake, Bataan, etc.

Our reaction to the epidemic is different than the previous examples. In WW II and the space race, we got going. It wasn't an immediate solution. It took time. However, we as a nation said "never again". I don't see that happening with this epidemic. I see lots of disbelief, the idea that we can't be that messed up, it must be "treachery". While some of that existed in the response to Pearl Harbor, mostly it was determination to fix the problem. We need that type of effort now. The USA has a long history of not anticipating problems real well, but recovering.

Churchill said about the USA "At the end of the day, you can rely on America to do the right thing. That is, after they have tried everything else". He intended it pejoratively. I think it is complimentary. France would have just given up. The UK would have found something really sub-optimal, quit looking, and muddled through. America keeps at it until we get it right (or at least in the past we have).

[Goose]

Right - The USA could fight this like New Zealand, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, Canada or even like USA 1945-2016.

I feel I must strongly point out (yet again) that the USA was in no position to contain this kind of a virus as early as 2008, if not before.

That was a nod to the idea of American exceptionalism solving big problems and trying not to imply the USA, as a country, couldn't meet the standard of other countries with a slightly different set of priorities.



A country that could fight (and win) a multi-front war spanning the globe in 1945 should have been able to do at least as much as Thailand did this year.

A country that took people to the moon should be able to do at least as much as a New Zealand or Taiwan.

And a country that helped the world out of a financial crisis it admittedly created should be able to at least mimic the strategies they are using across the border in Canada.



That is not to say the USA would have been best in class in this pandemic, but at a minimum the USA could have been a global leader in tackling this new challenge much like the USA had done for decades. 

Amazingly, we might be converging to something like agreement!  I do believe in "American exceptionalism". We have in the past and should today lead the way in "fixing" this epidemic problem. Your examples are right on the mark, but examine them closely. WW II started with the total decimation of Pac Fleet. Our army was tiny. We were using wooden models as training tanks. In fact we couldn't do what the UK, Germany, Japan and Italy were doing at that moment. We got started, got in the war, and then there was Kasserine Pass. But at the end of the day, we got it done. Race to the moon, same situation. We were way behind Russia and had to go like mad to catch up and pass them.

The current situation with this health emergency is similar in that we were totally woefully unprepared. In the above two examples the fact we were way behind was made particularly obvious by the opponent. It is critical IMHO that we realize that we were not anywhere near up to the mark public health wise. We need a remedial effort, not so much on the scientific front but on the organizational and manning front. We simply couldn't do what Thailand or Taiwan did because we didn't have the people in place to do it. We still don't, as near as I can see. Just like we couldn't attack Japan in 1942. We didn't have the people in place. It was a holding action that didn't go well. See Wake, Bataan, etc.

Our reaction to the epidemic is different than the previous examples. In WW II and the space race, we got going. It wasn't an immediate solution. It took time. However, we as a nation said "never again". I don't see that happening with this epidemic. I see lots of disbelief, the idea that we can't be that messed up, it must be "treachery". While some of that existed in the response to Pearl Harbor, mostly it was determination to fix the problem. We need that type of effort now. The USA has a long history of not anticipating problems real well, but recovering.

Churchill said about the USA "At the end of the day, you can rely on America to do the right thing. That is, after they have tried everything else". He intended it pejoratively. I think it is complimentary. France would have just given up. The UK would have found something really sub-optimal, quit looking, and muddled through. America keeps at it until we get it right (or at least in the past we have).