As the coronavirus spread across the world
and began its reach into the United States, an
assortment of Americans from the president on
down summoned one notion as they framed the
emerging cataclysm.
“The Chinese virus,” they called it — or, in a few
particularly racist cases, the “kung flu.” No matter
the terminology of choice, the message was
clear: Whatever the ravages of COVID-19 are
causing, it’s somewhere else’s fault.
Not someone. Somewhere.
A thick thread of the American experience has
always been to hold the rest of the world at
arm’s length, whether in economics, technology
or cultural exchange. The truth is, this nation