LETTER: The United States, India and the coronavirus
The news stories these days are filled with the havoc that the second wave of COVID-19 is causing on India and its fragile public health and health care infrastructure. A lot of emergency aid to the tune of a few million dollars in the form of Band-Aid solutions — oxygen cylinders, masks, etc. — is being funneled to India.
Yet at the same time, our country is selling $282 billion worth of arms to India. One wonders about the priorities and the message we are sending. Would it not be wise to divert the same money to help India build its public health and health care infrastructure?
We have all seen with the pandemic that viruses and infectious diseases hold no boundaries and there is an ardent need to build global capacities to combat these disasters. I am reminded of the words of John Lennon: “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope some day you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.” The United States, the oldest democracy, and India, the largest democracy — in association with like-minded democracies — can start the effort to build one world order based on the U.S. model, the United States of the World. What a wonderful place it would be for all of us and our children.