One of the greatest failures of democracies (ahead of even appreciating sheer corruptibility at the highest levels), is the lack of judgment by the people of the competence of those whom they place in power. Examples of such failure abound throughout history – badly planned and executed wars being the most acute examples, along with egregious fumbling during economic crises, leaders who fail in the face of civil unrest, and – today – presidents and prime ministers who bungle, catastrophically, when confronted by natural disasters.
Covid 19 is an ongoing natural disaster, and the people of Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States are paying the severe costs of having elected as leaders, those whose demonstrated incompetence, given the magnitude of the disaster, will mark them historically as the greatest bunglers of all time. Representing less than 7.8% of the world population, these three nations, today, account for nearly half of the world’s Covid 19 infections and deaths; and the blundering responses to this disease by Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, Boris Johnson of the UK, and Donald Trump of the U.S. will headline the sections of history books devoted to the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020-2021, for decades – perhaps centuries – to come. In the short-term, a fast and furious political spin as well as deflection of public attention (We’re Going To Mars!), will soften the public’s current response to scrutiny into this abysmal lack of competence, but enough has been written already, and the facts painfully apparent, that historians will have an easy time fixing blame.
Covid 19 is an ongoing natural disaster, and the people of Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States are paying the severe costs of having elected as leaders, those whose demonstrated incompetence, given the magnitude of the disaster, will mark them historically as the greatest bunglers of all time. Representing less than 7.8% of the world population, these three nations, today, account for nearly half of the world’s Covid 19 infections and deaths; and the blundering responses to this disease by Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, Boris Johnson of the UK, and Donald Trump of the U.S. will headline the sections of history books devoted to the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020-2021, for decades – perhaps centuries – to come. In the short-term, a fast and furious political spin as well as deflection of public attention (We’re Going To Mars!), will soften the public’s current response to scrutiny into this abysmal lack of competence, but enough has been written already, and the facts painfully apparent, that historians will have an easy time fixing blame.
