The American Mantra

Aleksandr Genis on the virus and centralism.

Today, the United States of America is not so united, which is only natural in the absence of a general strategy to combat COVID-19. Confusing guidelines from Washington, questionable statistics, 20 false statements in one press conference, the repeated struggle between the government and science and the hope that something will happen — all of this led to the fact that teach state was left to its own devices, and took advantage of this by pursuing local politics, more or less independent of the larger one that divided the country into two irreconcilable camps. It would seem, say commentators, that the virus, which is already responsible for taking 140,000 American lives, should unite a nation, like war, and postpone political conflicts until victory. But today, literally every aspect of the fight against COVID-19 causes a heated discussion to the point of exasperation.

Even neutral issues, such as wearing a mask, become a hot topic for debate, crossing all boundaries. For some, a mask is a hygienic necessity that protects them and others from infection. For others, it’s a sign of state tyranny, which forces the individual to obey and prevents everyone from protecting themselves from the virus by their own efforts, according to their understanding. However, now that the president of the United States finally wore a mask and gently recommended that others do the same, perhaps everyone will stop fighting, at least about this issue.

Despite the ideological disagreements that have torn the country apart for over three years, they are slowly and improperly reaching an agreement. Facing a new escalation of the virus (the death toll has again reached 1,000 per day), party disagreements are slowly and begrudgingly receding, as is party loyalty. Many Republican governors, who at first supported a militant approach to the virus, have now quietly taken a more pragmatic stance. Today “red,” or Republican, states are doing worse than “blue,” or Democratic, states, who had many cases before and are now recovering. In a sign of new solidarity, liberal New York Governor Andrew Cuomo set out for the conservative state of Georgia to share his experience and medical equipment with the governor there. And so it is everywhere.

During the pandemic, coalitions between states emerged and got stronger, enough to develop collaborative tactics that often bypass Washington. The neighboring states of New Jersey, Connecticut and New York formed a temporary alliance to establish a two-week quarantine for visitors from hot spots like Arizona and Florida. This means that the federal structure of America works in the midst of such a crisis. In fact, this is just what the founding fathers intended.

The most famous and unquestionably momentous debate in U.S. history, recorded in the Federalist Papers, is about the distribution of rights and responsibilities. Considering that any concentration of power is too dangerous, since it is fraught with choosing a wrong policy, the Constitution established an unwieldy balance. On one hand, it slows the movement of the state ship; on the other hand, it prevents it from changing its course too abruptly. The result of endless compromises was a bold experiment that Americans have called their republic for three centuries. Different states did not become different countries, like what happened in Latin America, but they did not merge completely into one state, like what happened in the Old World.

Having avoided the suffocating centralism, as in Khabarovsk, Americans have learned to live with two capitals: their own and the state, and general and national. The borders between states are often perceived as geographical conventions, but they actually allow freedom of movement, and therefore are carefully protected. For example, federal powers now are restoring order in cities filled with protests without the consent of mayors and governors. “All politics is local,” repeats the American mantra in response, “because they know what to do and how to do it better than Washington.”