"Independence Day" Americans reflect: Is this country hopelessly divided?

Source: Global Times

U.S. President Joe Biden plans to hold a thousand-person party at the White House on July 4, Independence Day, and announces that the United States has "come out of the new crown pneumonia epidemic." But the New York Times and other media have warned that the plan has encountered an unpleasant reality: Less than half of the people in the United States are currently fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and the highly contagious Delta variant is putting the outbreak at risk of new outbreaks, and public health experts are worried that the celebrations will send "wrong messages". Some experts have analyzed that this shows that Biden's handling of the epidemic is still "politicized and partisan", and his first consideration is to win next year's midterm elections for the Democratic Party. "July 4 is a time to think about the meaning of being an American," CNN said on the 3rd, but Americans are rarely as polarized as they are today, from the economy to racial equality, from policing to climate change, "Our TV screen is full of angry voices in the left and right poles of Congress." "We used to offer the world a model of democracy, but it's not anymore," the Washington Post said. Polls show that only 14 percent of Germans currently see U.S. democracy as the ideal model for other countries, compared with less than a quarter of Respondents in New Zealand.

President Party to "Deliver on Promises"

According to the Washington Post, July 4 is the United States Independence Day, and a year after the covid-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation of almost all parades, concerts and other large-scale events, a fireworks display will be held at about 9 p.m. local time in Washington, D.C. on the 4th. The government reminds visitors to the site to watch the fireworks display to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's advice that those who are not fully vaccinated must continue to wear masks indoors and in crowded outdoor spaces.

According to the report, about 1,000 "almost no masks" Americans will pour into the South Lawn of the White House on the 4th to participate in the Independence Day party, which is the largest gathering held since Biden became president. The Associated Press said on the 4th that the invitees are mainly military personnel, important workers and their families involved in the first aid of the new crown epidemic, and these 1,000 people will have a picnic on the South Lawn and watch fireworks. Reuters said that on the 3rd, a barbecue grill had been set up on the South Lawn of the White House to make ground beef pie for the next day's party. White House officials did not require guests attending the July 4 party to be vaccinated, but asked guests to provide proof of negative COVID-19 tests in the three days before the event and "advised" unvaccinated people to wear masks. The New York Times said the gathering was intended to show that the president "has delivered on his promise" that Americans will return to some ostensibly normal life from independence days.

Is the epidemic over? Is the United States back to normal? The Us "Miami Herald" said on the 3rd that Gallup's latest poll showed that the American people have differences on this issue. 29% of respondents said the outbreak in the United States is over, but 71% believe the epidemic is not over and that their lives will never return to their pre-pandemic normal state.

According to the statistics of Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of 1 a.m. Eastern Time on the 4th, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the United States has reached 33713912, and the number of deaths has 605493. Since Biden took office, the United States has indeed made significant progress in fighting the pandemic. According to The New York Times, the number of new cases is now stable at around 12,000 per day, the lowest level since extensive testing was conducted, compared with 200,000 on biden's inauguration on Jan. 20. The current average of about 224 cases of COVID-19 deaths per day in the United States is below 300 for the first time since the outbreak began in March 2020. Deaths and hospitalizations in the U.S. have fallen by 90 percent since January. However, outbreak control has been uneven, and cases are still on the rise in areas with low vaccination rates, such as rural Utah and Arkansas and Wyoming.

Statistics, on the other hand, show that vaccinations in the United States have slowed to less than 1 million doses per day, much lower than in mid-April. Biden has not completed his goal of achieving at least one dose of the vaccine for 70 percent of adults by July 4. White House officials have also expressed concern that some states have lower immunization levels and that new outbreaks may occur in the coming months, "however, this anxiety is not always reflected in the open tone of the administration."

The White House is risking "politics and death"

Dunn, a senior adviser to the president of the United States, told the media: "Americans should be happy about what we have achieved together as a nation over the past 6 months." This is a big step back to normal. The latest fox news poll shows that 64 percent of respondents support Biden's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, with about 30 percent of Trump voters also supporting it. To promote that Biden is bringing America back to the pre-pandemic order, the Democratic National Committee last week released an optimistic ad titled "America Returns" and sent a mobile bus called "America Returns" to travel around the country with a picture of Biden printed on it and distributing free ice cream. On the 3rd, Biden visited a cherry farm in Traverse City, Michigan, to promote the economic recovery marked by the June employment report as part of the "Return of America" campaign.

But there are also many people who are unhappy with this optimistic message. Several family members of covid-19 patients said in interviews that while they were still immersed in grief, it was difficult to understand Biden's statement that the country was "returning to normal." According to the New York Times reported on the 3rd, Emanuel, a professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, believes that the White House thousand-person party is "too early" and "I think it is very important to be cautious on this issue, and it is also very important to focus on more things we must do." Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, said: "We are still in the middle of this anti-epidemic marathon. In contrast to the optimism of the White House, many local officials have taken a cautious approach, with some cities scaling back or canceling large Independence Day celebration parades and fireworks extravaganzas.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than a quarter of infections in the U.S. are currently caused by the more contagious Delta strain, which mainly attacks people who have not yet been fully vaccinated. The Washington Post warned that as the celebrations expanded, the coronavirus was also evolving, and that the Biden administration "could face tensions in the coming months" and "could pose a potential death and political risk." Some of Biden's allies have also warned that the United States must be careful not to declare victory prematurely.

The New York Times said Biden's rush to announce that the United States is "out of the epidemic" may be seeking a delicate balance between caution and a comprehensive reopening of the economy and putting national morale back on track. Although the US employment report released on the 2nd is optimistic, the economic recovery is far from complete. The American Political News Network said on the 3rd that the United States still has about 7 million fewer jobs than in February 2020. There are signs that the recovery in the United States remains slow and uneven, with a significant increase in employment opportunities in the leisure and hospitality industries, education, business and retail, but few improvements in industries including construction and health care. The Bloomberg article notes that the fast-spreading Delta strain could cast a shadow over the U.S. economic recovery this summer.

Reflections on American Independence Day

According to the New York Times reported on the 4th, a year ago, Americans mainly stayed at home to celebrate Independence Day. This year, Americans are eager to return to the Independence Day ceremony. About 48 million Americans are expected to travel between July 1 and 5, up 40 percent from last year. United said more than 2 million flights booked between July 1 and 6, five times the number of flights in the same period last year, which would constitute the toughest test of the country's travel infrastructure since the outbreak began.

On this Independence Day, Americans seem to be thinking more than ever about "what it means to be An American." Marcos, an American working in Hong Kong, posted on CNN on the 4th, telling about experiencing the status of Americans in the world in life abroad. In Hong Kong, she said, she could sense that other immigrants in the city were "clearly less privileged than I am." As an American, she declared, it's easy to put yourself "at the center of the universe." But Marcos admits that as an American, she also feels a lot of shame: "Watching the U.S. military bulldoze other countries and the problem of racial violence in their own country not yet been solved, all this from a distance is not acceptable to me." 」 And whenever the United States defends its claims with money, resources, and power, I roll my eyes, as I did when I hear some celebrities say she's discriminated against for being so beautiful. ”

CNN said on the 3rd that the "American Dream" shines with a lofty vision, which can be traced back to the Declaration of Independence, and equality is regarded as "self-evident". So, where is this equality in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak? The pandemic has brought devastating deaths and diseases, causing economic and social chaos. Where does freedom sit on the question of "black lives are also lives"? Who can believe that American democracy itself is not threatened? And partisan divisions are intensifying like never before, is the country hopelessly divided?

The New York Times said on the 3rd that on Independence Day, the American flag, which symbolizes unity, may become a symbol of division. Now in a small town on Long Island, New York, Mr. Terreber, a local farmer, surprised him by the fact that a customer thought he was a "conservative" because his truck selling potatoes was painted with a flag painted on it.

The Washington Post said the world was amazed at the disorder of American democracy. America is no longer a "city on top of a mountain." Pew's data shows that the chaos, dysfunction and insanity of the past few years have taken a foreseeable toll. The survey figures are depressing, with only 14 percent of Germans currently seeing American democracy as an ideal model. Public opinion in France, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan and Australia is similarly subdued. Australia's "Sydney Morning Herald" said on the 3rd that the US regime is increasingly wavering between the democratic and republican parties, making the United States an increasingly unpredictable and "fragmented country"; and China, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, gives full play to the advantages of policy coherence and plans the future through initiatives such as the "Belt and Road", without worrying that the future government will tear it up. The United States is not now gaining the upper hand in all areas, it is no longer the "world policeman," and it no longer even possesses the economic and cultural forces that undoubtedly dominated the world as it did in the Nixon era.