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Comment by AlexandrB | Hacker News Reader

This is exactly right and it's pretty disgusting for Musk to put his self-interest ahead of the public good. It's also disgusting that people are cheering him on.

I don't think the US, as a nation, has the capacity for self-sacrifice that's required to contain a pandemic. At least not anymore. This is in strong contrast to previous global crises, like WWII.

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Better to ask whether the US, as a nation, has the capacity to carefully consider the long-term ramifications of our various choices, and to choose the best option regardless of politics and mob sentiment.

The cries of "if even one person dies, it's too many" ring hollow. We know large numbers will die. The question is how to minimize that number. There is no safety.

It doesn't bode well for our response to global climate change, either.

yeah we really are doomed unless drastic change comes to how these kinds of decisions are made and how they are enforced. The American middle-class didn't even want to stay at home for a few weeks to prevent an epidemic that could directly kill them. I highly doubt they will give up their suburban houses with air conditioning and their two luxury cars to move into an apartment in a big city and take public transport for the sake of the climate.

Just my opinion, but the United States' aversion to any sort of collective nationhood or individual sacrifice is going to be its undoing. The problems we are facing are getting more complex and require greater co-operation, not less.

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