Yes, we know.  All those European countries have lower Covid-19  positivity rates than we do, here  in the USA.  But guess what?  Europeans are the ones who stayed home over the past four centuries. They put up with dictators and monarchies.  Our ancestors who emigrated to  America in hope of independence and  a better life were risk takers, and they still are. Risk taking is in America’s DNA

Consider these facts:

More than 38,000 people die every year in crashes on U.S. roadways. The U.S. traffic fatality rate is 12.4 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. An additional 4.4 million are injured seriously enough to require medical attention. Does that stop people from driving? Most of us own at least one motor vehicle, and don’t worry when taking trips and running errands in our cars.

Because motorcycles lack the protection of cars, accidents tend to be more severe for motorcyclists when a collision does occur. In fact, bikers are 27 times more likely to experience a fatal accident than car drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Some states require motorcyclists wear helmets.  But many don’t.  And yet,  57% of motorcyclists killed in 2017 weren’t wearing helmets, according to  NHTSA,.

 All grocery stores, pharmacies and dollar stores sell cigarettes. Smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure.  On average, smokers die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers.  

 Ever count the number of liquor stores in your city?  They were considered an essential business during the pandemic.   Few people stop to consider  that  1 million people died from alcohol-related causes between 1999 and 2017. The number of death certificates mentioning alcohol more than doubled from 35,914 in 1999 to 72,558 in 2017. That year,  alcohol played a role in 2.6% of all deaths in the United States.

Snack foods take up an entire aisle in most grocery stores, pharmacies, and dollar stores. Most of these chips and snacks are alarmingly high in salt.  But they’re big sellers.  Unfortunately, according to the American Heart Association a high salt diet may  may lead to high blood pressure, heart failure, and strokes. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.

On Labor Day, I walked past a house full of people having an indoor-outdoor barbeque .  It looked like a family get together, and I didn’t see any masks.

Politicians and the CDC are  desperately trying to regulate the behavior of Americans  during this Covid-19 pandemic.  Nevertheless,  people  continue to congregate, travel,  and go without masks.  Is it any wonder? If you consider the above statistics, it’s clear that risk taking is in America’s DNA.