“We are Americans” doesn't beat COVID-19

I get it. American Exceptionalism has its place of driving optimism, overcoming challenges and managing to come out first on the other side. But not on this one.

There was a time and still is when Americanism and the ideals that built America captivated everyone around the world. If you didn't immigrate through the open door that America offered, you would likely be indoctrinating everyone else to adopt American values. Not this time round.

America has turned on its freedom, and overruled itself. Freedom has overridden objectivity. I didn't know that freedom kills. But it does when a free-roaming virus meets an unmasked freedom-loving face. The free world indeed.

How will history look at this moment? Many American historians are asking this question already. How are freedom-hating dictators looking at this moment now? They are parting themselves on the back. Saying. America overplayed its free hand against an invincible virus. We are here to tell you that freedom is not always that good.

Who barks their moral arguments to the world and can't take the same pill. That would be America. Who speaks for human rights but can’t defend its weakest and poorest. That would be America. Who says ‘we are Americans, we can beat this’. The same one who says ‘we can't control this virus’.

I still believe in America as a light to the world that loves democracy. But there is a problem when a nation stops learning from its mistakes, or those of others. You become delusional. While I still believe COVID-19 may well become like the flu, we may well live up to this moment and apply science sense. Let's not delude ourselves or wish for luck that takes every problem away.

It is not hard to see why Americans would think this way. The good graces have been on your side. Because you worked hard to get where you are. You were seriously ambitious about the dream. Others were barely surviving. Neither luck nor good grace was on their side. They’ve learned to live with adversity. And when the big one came, they fully adjusted to a new normal.

I hope Americans learn from this adversity. And not have to do over.