The New York Times explains how China opened its schools safely. As an authoritarian state, dissent is not permitted. No one is allowed to disobey the rules. The rules are strictly enforced.
As a free society, we rely on people to exercise civic responsibility and good judgement to protect themselves and others.
When the president of the nation ridicules people who wears masks and doesn’t wear one himself, it’s difficult to promote civic responsibility.
Civic responsibility has been TRUMPED by selfishness and nobody can tell me what to do.
China has never been an alleged “free society”.
I repeated, never … yet, today, most (emphasis on “most”) of China’s people are healthier, live longer, and have a better quality lifestyle than at any time in China’s long history as a civilization.
If they can afford it, the Chinese people are free to travel to almost any country in the world as a tourist, and those tourists return home after their vacations. If China was such a horrible place to live, why would those Chinese tourists return home?
“According to statistics from the China National Tourism Administration, Chinese tourists traveled overseas on 131 million occasions in 2017, an increase of 7.0% from the previous year.”
How many Chinese can afford to travel? China now has a middle class equal to the U.S. middle class that is larger than the population of the United States and still growing. The goal of the CCP is to have a middle class in China with more than 600 million people. The Chinese Communist Party is also improving their K-12 school systems and building new colleges so there are more seats for graduating high school students.
Even Hong Kong only tasted that alleged freedom for a brief period of time before the British Empire turned Hong Kong back over to China. While the British Empire ruled Hong Kong, all decisions were made by appointed colonial governors. The first elections in Hong took place during that transition period between the British Empire and the CCP’s China.
I keep using the word “alleged,” because the United States has the largest prison population in the world. How can that be if the U.S. is a free society?
The US prison population is 2,193,798 people or 737 per 100,000 citizens.
China has a prison population of 1,548,498 or 118 per 100,000 citizens.
Many in the Asian community around here would like to move back to their places of origin. They felt this way pre- pandemic, but the selfishness of Americans during the pandemic has pretty much put it front and center for them. America is not a place of easy living for anyone anymore.
America has never been a place of easy living for immigrants — and certainly not for Natives!
One does not change America for the better by moving back to one’s country of origin.
If one does move back, one demonstrates that one does not understand what America is about. It’s not a country of men, but a country of ideals.
Men with racist policies come and go, but the ideals remain.
And the only way that the ideals can become reality is if people also remain and work to make that happen.
We don’t need “authoritarian” rule to establish clear, evidence based, firm guidelines. Leaders rely on experts, educate the masses, establish allies (ex. Governors), and present a consistent message.
We have a dangerous man who cares less who lives and dies – and worse – yes, worse – a Senate and House (and State Houses) who will live a life of guilt once they are asked, “What did you do then?”
“When you stop taking responsibility, you lose all authority”
(Hill Street Blues)
(seriously)
Wait,What? (I have always loved your handle, BTW): I would only hope that “a Senate & House (& State Houses) who will live a life of guilt…” I would hope so. But…I doubt it. If they can’t do what’s right now, later will be too late (& it already is for too many Americans who have lost loved ones to covid, who are ill themselves, perhaps dying, who are losing homes & businesses in the wildfires–as well as their lives &, really, I don’t care what history thinks of them, or even what they think of themselves. It is they who are aiding & abetting this murdering nitWHit. They do not care that 200,000 & rising–Americans are dying? They do not care that the U.S. & the world are burning up, melting & being beaten down–over & over again–by hurricanes & storms the likes of which the world has never seen before?
& it45 sits w/scientists today & laughs. LAUGHS.
I have to take a breath here & mention a courageous (&, proud to say, mine) Congresswoman, Rep, Jan Schakowsky, who held a meeting w/her constitutents–yes, she meets with & listens to her constituents— in a very large auditorium the week after the inauseaguration (or inausregurgitation), calling for its impeachment–immediately. The hall was packed–people were standing outside in a very cold Chicago area January–so her aides took their names (not that they should stand out in the cold, like it45 did to people in Burlington, VT, throwing his opponents out w/o their coats)–& she held another meeting w/those who couldn’t get in.
Where was the rest of Congress? (Some of the Progressives–Sanders, Warren, The Tribe–are the exception; also some of the Reps. {Romney, McCain–coming back from his terminal illness to stop the end of the ACA w/his thumb down} who turned.)
We no longer have 3 branches of government, but one rotting tree.
Cut the tree down. NOW.
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education.