[2006alum]

Germany is also a Republic, indeed, its official name is "Federal Republic of Germany." And it is 83 million strong. Unlike us, it is also far more density and reliance on public transportation, so it should have been geographically/infrastructurally worse off. And also unlike us, it was sandwiched between Italy and France, both of which were among the earliest to have horrific outbreaks, so that should have made things worse still.

And yet...

I agree that Trump does not bear all the blame. But we are a rudderless, demoralized ship, led by a morally diminished reality show host who is palpably uninterested in anything but appearances. Hard to quantify the share of blame for the policies on the ground, but it seems unquestionable to me that he bears the brunt of the responsibility for our scarred national psyche.

[2006alum]

Germany is also a Republic, indeed, its official name is "Federal Republic of Germany." And it is 83 million strong. Unlike us, it is also far more density and reliance on public transportation, so it should have been geographically/infrastructurally worse off. And also unlike us, it was sandwiched between Italy and France, both of which were among the earliest to have horrific outbreaks, so that should have made things worse still.

And yet...

I agree that Trump does not bear all the blame. But we are a rudderless, demoralized ship, led by a morally diminished reality show host who is palpably uninterested in anything but appearances. Hard to quantify the share of blame for the policies on the ground, but it seems unquestionable to me that he bears the brunt of the responsibility for our scarred national psyche.