[Goose]

Americans are willing to throw money at things they perceive as a problem. Many are not willing to inconvenience themselves for it. I'm not talking about staying home from work. I'm talking about wearing a mask, not holding social gatherings, not eating at indoor restaurants, not going to bars. On my two block street, everyone appears to be doing the right thing except for one family. They have had at least two massive parties over the past three months, with at least 100 people packed into their yard and walking into their home without masks and without social distancing. This is the narcissistic behavior that is keeping this thing going at a high level.

Basically agree with your evaluation. I would also guess that nobody has "had a word with them" either. In my larger community, we have some of this. We also have a lot more examples of people who are trying to follow the rules except when they don't. They mostly social distance from the neighbors but they let their children associate with whatever and however many children happen to show up. Sometimes its 20 or more kids. Many of those kids are not "local". Probably doesn't matter 99.95% of the time, except when it does. Americans aren't great at consistency. We work real hard at "doing it right" and then turn around and do something completely opposite.

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Our "don't tread on me" streak doesn't mean we don't all stop at red lights and wear seat belts.

Great examples! If you run a red light, you get a ticket. What happens if you don't wear a mask when you are supposed to do so? Generally nothing, because store clerks aren't policemen. We wear seat belts, except those (quite a few of us) who don't. If we get caught not wearing a seat belt, we get a ticket. There is (and needs to be) enforcement. Quite frankly, nobody in the USA has the balls to do the same with masks.
Seat belts are a good example in another way. Oregontim is old enough (I think) to remember the sequence of how we got where we are. The world had data that made a pretty good case that seat belts saved lives from racing accidents. They were made optional equipment on new cars. Few people bought them, but the few that did improved the safety numbers. As a result, seat belts were made mandatory on all new cars. Shortly thereafter, they were made mandatory on all automobiles. I well remember watching my father install the retrofit kit in out 1956 Mercury Monterey. So everybody had seat belts, but despite the fact everybody KNEW they saved lives, most people didn't wear them. So they finally made laws that you had to do so. That helped, but compliance was still well short of universal. Finally they started enforcement. This entire process took roughly 30 YEARS. There was no Trump. It was just Americans behaving as they often do. Unlike masks, there was the equivalent of placebo controlled studies. There was no question one was safer wearing a seat belt. But it still took time for education and enforcement of the law to finally get close to universal compliance.

[Goose]

Americans are willing to throw money at things they perceive as a problem. Many are not willing to inconvenience themselves for it. I'm not talking about staying home from work. I'm talking about wearing a mask, not holding social gatherings, not eating at indoor restaurants, not going to bars. On my two block street, everyone appears to be doing the right thing except for one family. They have had at least two massive parties over the past three months, with at least 100 people packed into their yard and walking into their home without masks and without social distancing. This is the narcissistic behavior that is keeping this thing going at a high level.

Basically agree with your evaluation. I would also guess that nobody has "had a word with them" either. In my larger community, we have some of this. We also have a lot more examples of people who are trying to follow the rules except when they don't. They mostly social distance from the neighbors but they let their children associate with whatever and however many children happen to show up. Sometimes its 20 or more kids. Many of those kids are not "local". Probably doesn't matter 99.95% of the time, except when it does. Americans aren't great at consistency. We work real hard at "doing it right" and then turn around and do something completely opposite.

---

Our "don't tread on me" streak doesn't mean we don't all stop at red lights and wear seat belts.

Great examples! If you run a red light, you get a ticket. What happens if you don't wear a mask when you are supposed to do so? Generally nothing, because store clerks aren't policemen. We wear seat belts, except those (quite a few of us) who don't. If we get caught not wearing a seat belt, we get a ticket. There is (and needs to be) enforcement. Quite frankly, nobody in the USA has the balls to do the same with masks.
Seat belts are a good example in another way. Oregontim is old enough (I think) to remember the sequence of how we got where we are. The world had data that made a pretty good case that seat belts saved lives from racing accidents. They were made optional equipment on new cars. Few people bought them, but the few that did improved the safety numbers. As a result, seat belts were made mandatory on all new cars. Shortly thereafter, they were made mandatory on all automobiles. I well remember watching my father install the retrofit kit in out 1956 Mercury Monterey. So everybody had seat belts, but despite the fact everybody KNEW they saved lives, most people didn't wear them. So they finally made laws that you had to do so. That helped, but compliance was still well short of universal. Finally they started enforcement. This entire process took roughly 30 YEARS. There was no Trump. It was just Americans behaving as they often do. Unlike masks, there was the equivalent of placebo controlled studies. There was no question one was safer wearing a seat belt. But it still took time for education and enforcement of the law to finally get close to universal compliance.