Over the last month, after coronavirus has hit hard the USA, you can increasingly read in the Russian blogosphere and hear on the Russian talk show remarks about this: “the Coronavirus in the United States in the dust destroys the favorite myth of our naive, corrupt and slandering the Motherland of Russian liberals that the level of Russian medicine supposedly lags behind the level of the us and that American medicine is supposedly leading. Pandemic coronavirus in the USA just showed the world the total collapse and total degradation of the American health care system!”
Generally, comments of this type are Russian patriots with joy on the verge of gloating. Finally, as I expect they had the opportunity to show viewers that “America really rots!”
Their manuals quite simple: the more “rotten” America the better looks Russian.
However the only problem in this tactic – such a terrible picture about America is not true.
it is Impossible to draw conclusions about the American health care system on the basis of the crisis, an extreme situation during a coronavirus. Similarly, you can not judge all of America on the most acute and extreme example of new York, which was the epicentre of the pandemic in the United States.
the Fact that the lion’s share of the world’s countries – and not only US – was absolutely not prepared for this pandemic. It turns out that the so-called “Russian Avos” – is not a Russian phenomenon. (The main exceptions to this rule were Germany, South Korea and Taiwan, which are among the countries with a relatively large number of infected quite successfully controlled the outbreak COVID-19).
to Judge the entire American health care system and to make any global conclusion about her based on how she responded to the pandemic coronavirus is all the same what to judge the strength of a house after it was demolished by the impact of a powerful tornado.
Fair and objective to judge American health care in the normal and “peaceful” times when there is no pandemic. The Russian elite itself Willy-nilly gives a very positive assessment of health care in the United States, and in Europe, too, when she mostly prefers to be treated in this horrible, degraded on the verge of collapse, “decaying” West.
it is no secret that there is a certain category of wealthy Russians who pay for special “baby tours” to give birth in the United States – not only because of the good level of medical care in a “decaying America”, but also to ensure that future children automatically obtain a passport at this “decadent” country.
In fact, the American high-tech medicine is really advanced in many of��areas. (true, however, that approximately 9% of Americans do not have health insurance, because often they can not afford. As a result, the majority of these uninsured individuals are unable to fully benefit from these health services. But it’s a completely separate issue.)
similarly, the Russian patriots can’t hide his glee, when he said that the United States allegedly is in first place in the world in the number of infected and died from the coronavirus. But alas, the problem is that this, again, is not true.
Not, of course, to compare the absolute numbers in the US with the absolute figures, for example, in Italy, Britain, France or Spain for the simple reason that the US population is 5 times more than these countries!
it is Necessary to compare the data per capita. And if so, then the United States is not leading in the number of infected and deaths from coronavirus, and are on the 6th place on these indicators, according to recent figures Johns Hopkins University.
And this despite the fact that, when the U.S. government provide official statistics about COVID-19, they are rather of other countries is attributed to coronavirus related diseases and death from them. For example, when the coronavirus is only one of the factors that led to the death of one or another American patient, regardless of the most important, as a factor or not, this death is generally included in official statistics about deaths from COVID-19, even if the patient was seriously ill long before the onset of coronavirus.
(however, the comparison with China, whose population is 4 times larger than the us, is also incorrect. Should never believe the official figures of the Communist party of China, showing that less than 100,000 citizens of China have been infected with the virus. There are valid and objective reason to believe that the real figures in China several times, if not the order above stated.)
However, I understand the dreamers who can’t wait for the end of “American hegemony.” It is very they dream about the time when the dollar finally collapses, when the United States will break up into 6 pieces and when they finally “bent”!
But I have them all upset, Recalling events in American history, XX and XXI centuries: USA has not collapsed nor after the Spanish flu, when 675.000 Americans died from it; nor after the great depression (1929-33.); nor after the serious recession of 1973-75 years; or after the US defeat in the Vietnam war (followed by the emergence of the “Vietnam syndrome”); or after the recession of 1981-82; neither after the attacks of 911; and after the “great recession” of 2008-2009.
Every time that a serious crisis was upon US, the dreamers, rubbing his hands, predicted with great hope for the collapse and end of America. And each time after a severe crisis in the USA perfectly restored.
Similarly, I’m sure, in the situation of coronavirus.
however, Russian patriots are unlikely to upset this time because, as you know, “hope dies last”. It is natural that after some time there will be another crisis, and again they can have their song on “the impending collapse of America”.
it Seems that this propaganda technique will be applied in Russia indefinitely, despite the fact that it’s very old – he’s about 100 years since Lenin and his associates.
But nevertheless, until now, these two magic words – “collapse of America” – continues to caress the ears of Russians of ultra-Patriotic sense. Looking at them today, I see the angry face of the poet and hear his well-known mantra: “your last Day comes, bourgeois!” Always feed yourself and others this cheap food is not a problem. This food seems to never go bad.
And really, why patriots to stay if they really are so nice to talk about it and write? After all, how often do they say in Russia, no harm in dreaming…
