Scandinavia and the World
Scandinavia and the World

Comments #9842615:


Baby Steps 12 9, 9:49pm

I ask one thing of my fellow Americans. It's a huge ask, but it's really the only ask that matters.

Push come to shove, are you willing to risk your life to protect your fellow American?

We in the US have a lot of rivalries. New Yorkers and Massholes mock each other incessantly, Alabama is known as a bunch of rednecks, "Thank God for Mississippi" is a US joke about how that state only exists to make the other states look better, everyone hates New Yorkers, Florida is where all the crazy happens, Nebraska is home to the sentient corn monsters, California is full of weirdos and nutjobs, and so on and so forth.

But ultimately, I ask that if there's a crisis in Colorado, that people from North Carolina or Vermont be willing to send aid and help the Coloradans. That if Canada invades Montana with a stated intention of invading only Montana, people from Oklahoma and Nevada be willing to fight to protect Montanans.

If you aren't willing to help Americans in another state, ask yourself if you really deserve to call yourself an American, with the rights and liberties that only exist because those other Americans are willing to risk their lives to protect you.

It's a big ask, but right now, there is time to give a meaningful answer. Are you willing to be "slightly inconvenienced" for your fellow American in the form of wearing a mask? Are you willing to wash your hands frequently to protect Oregonians? Are you willing to socially distance and avoid crowded parties to save the lives of Ohioans? Because many of those people are willing to be slightly inconvenienced to protect you, and if you aren't willing to do the same for them, ask yourself if you deserve their protection.