As the coronavirus shuts down their daily routines, some Americans have expressed the hope that the crisis would at last “bring us together” – or at least restore some sense of a shared national fate.
That is profoundly to be hoped. Public trust is essential in a public health crisis. Beyond that, there would be much to be gained by restoring a sense of national purpose. As President Trump himself said Monday: “If everyone makes this change or these critical changes and sacrifices now, we will rally together as one nation and we will defeat the virus and we’re going to have a big celebration altogether.”
But in this moment, in this crisis, the portents are not good for such unity. So far, the sudden emergence of a killer disease rampaging coast to coast has served less to unite us than to emphasize what divides us. CONT.
Ron Elving, NPR News