This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/opinion/trump-coronavirus-chernobyl.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Trump’s Chernobyl | Trump’s Chernobyl |
| (about 16 hours later) | |
| It seems terribly wrong that so fine a spring day should be carrying a deadly danger. The daffodils and cherry blossoms proclaim renewal and hope; the crisp, clear air seems incapable of anything so treacherous. | It seems terribly wrong that so fine a spring day should be carrying a deadly danger. The daffodils and cherry blossoms proclaim renewal and hope; the crisp, clear air seems incapable of anything so treacherous. |
| Yet we walk in fear. We want to scrub ourselves again and again against the invisible attacker; we wonder where to hide, how to escape. What can we give our children to protect them? Should we stock up on food and toilet paper? Can we trust the government, which seems bent on making soothing sounds and putting blame elsewhere? | Yet we walk in fear. We want to scrub ourselves again and again against the invisible attacker; we wonder where to hide, how to escape. What can we give our children to protect them? Should we stock up on food and toilet paper? Can we trust the government, which seems bent on making soothing sounds and putting blame elsewhere? |
| It’s the spring of 1986, and I’m in Moscow with my family as The Times’s bureau chief. Since April 26, when a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant erupted and spewed radioactivity far and wide, we have been wrestling anxiously with the unknown — as reporters, trying to distinguish fact from propaganda; personally, trying to cope with a threat that rides silently and invisibly with the wind. | It’s the spring of 1986, and I’m in Moscow with my family as The Times’s bureau chief. Since April 26, when a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant erupted and spewed radioactivity far and wide, we have been wrestling anxiously with the unknown — as reporters, trying to distinguish fact from propaganda; personally, trying to cope with a threat that rides silently and invisibly with the wind. |
| Today’s threat is different, of course. Radioactivity is not a pathogen. The coronavirus can spread from continent to continent as fast as a jetliner can fly and from person to person with an unguarded touch; the fallout from the burning Chernobyl plant traveled only as far as the winds would carry it, and social distancing was useless against its radiation. | Today’s threat is different, of course. Radioactivity is not a pathogen. The coronavirus can spread from continent to continent as fast as a jetliner can fly and from person to person with an unguarded touch; the fallout from the burning Chernobyl plant traveled only as far as the winds would carry it, and social distancing was useless against its radiation. |
| Still, these disasters have their common impact. There is that terrible feeling of vulnerability before an invisible enemy; that fear that it might already have invaded you; the realization that our science has been caught off guard and our political leaders may have priorities different from ours. | Still, these disasters have their common impact. There is that terrible feeling of vulnerability before an invisible enemy; that fear that it might already have invaded you; the realization that our science has been caught off guard and our political leaders may have priorities different from ours. |
| Chernobyl struck at a critical juncture in Soviet history, only a year after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power with the promise of reforming the stultifying police state through “glasnost” and “perestroika,” openness and reconstruction. Yet when a reactor in Ukraine exploded and started spewing lethal radiation, the Soviet system quickly reverted to old habits of self-serving lies, manipulation of information and secrecy. | |
| Hours passed before the Kremlin even acknowledged an accident, long after officials in parts of Scandinavia began reporting ominous increases in radiation. The first official bulletin remains a classic in totalitarian understatement: “An accident has occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant as one of the reactors was damaged. Measures are being taken to eliminate the consequences of the accident. Aid is being given to those affected. A government commission has been set up.” | Hours passed before the Kremlin even acknowledged an accident, long after officials in parts of Scandinavia began reporting ominous increases in radiation. The first official bulletin remains a classic in totalitarian understatement: “An accident has occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant as one of the reactors was damaged. Measures are being taken to eliminate the consequences of the accident. Aid is being given to those affected. A government commission has been set up.” |
| People knew enough to read between the lines: “commission,” “measures still being taken” and the terseness all spelled catastrophe. People understood that their lives were in danger, and that fear surpassed the fears by which the state exercised its control. The propaganda machine lost control of the narrative and found itself compelled to dribble out facts and warnings, though the old habit of blaming the West remained in place — as it does to this day — with claims that Americans and Western Europeans were exploiting Chernobyl to undermine Soviet credibility and foment a “campaign of hatred.” It was weeks before Mr. Gorbachev publicly acknowledged the disaster. | People knew enough to read between the lines: “commission,” “measures still being taken” and the terseness all spelled catastrophe. People understood that their lives were in danger, and that fear surpassed the fears by which the state exercised its control. The propaganda machine lost control of the narrative and found itself compelled to dribble out facts and warnings, though the old habit of blaming the West remained in place — as it does to this day — with claims that Americans and Western Europeans were exploiting Chernobyl to undermine Soviet credibility and foment a “campaign of hatred.” It was weeks before Mr. Gorbachev publicly acknowledged the disaster. |
| Not surprisingly, China’s authoritarian government had many of the same reactions as the Kremlin to the initial spread of the coronavirus in Wuhan. But Beijing’s ability to control information was far smaller than the Soviet Union’s in the predigital era. The public adulation for Dr. Li Wenliang, a doctor whose early warning about the outbreak of the disease was met with official accusations of “severely disturbing the social order” and who died of the disease, demonstrated the futility of trying to control bad news — but also the danger, since heeding Dr. Li’s warning more quickly might have led to earlier and better efforts to contain the virus. | Not surprisingly, China’s authoritarian government had many of the same reactions as the Kremlin to the initial spread of the coronavirus in Wuhan. But Beijing’s ability to control information was far smaller than the Soviet Union’s in the predigital era. The public adulation for Dr. Li Wenliang, a doctor whose early warning about the outbreak of the disease was met with official accusations of “severely disturbing the social order” and who died of the disease, demonstrated the futility of trying to control bad news — but also the danger, since heeding Dr. Li’s warning more quickly might have led to earlier and better efforts to contain the virus. |
| President Trump’s efforts to spin the pandemic away so it wouldn’t hurt his re-election chances are far more futile than China’s, since a robust news media, a strong medical establishment, local governments and independent legislators are not cowed by his accusations that the disease “is their new hoax.” Americans threatened by the outbreak, like the Soviet people in 1986 or the Chinese in 2020, will not be fooled for long when their lives are threatened. | President Trump’s efforts to spin the pandemic away so it wouldn’t hurt his re-election chances are far more futile than China’s, since a robust news media, a strong medical establishment, local governments and independent legislators are not cowed by his accusations that the disease “is their new hoax.” Americans threatened by the outbreak, like the Soviet people in 1986 or the Chinese in 2020, will not be fooled for long when their lives are threatened. |
| Still, it’s discouraging that the president began to acknowledge the gravity of the coronavirus only after his efforts at denial went nowhere, and that even so important a speech included misinformation such as his claim that antiviral therapies would soon be available. And, of course, there was that familiar attempt to depict the virus as something foreigners were inflicting on Americans. | Still, it’s discouraging that the president began to acknowledge the gravity of the coronavirus only after his efforts at denial went nowhere, and that even so important a speech included misinformation such as his claim that antiviral therapies would soon be available. And, of course, there was that familiar attempt to depict the virus as something foreigners were inflicting on Americans. |
| In the Soviet Union, Chernobyl proved to be a seminal moment for a system already on life support, hastening its demise. The handling of the coronavirus will have its time of reckoning, too, and the pandemic is certain to leave a deep imprint on afflicted regions of the world, including our country. | In the Soviet Union, Chernobyl proved to be a seminal moment for a system already on life support, hastening its demise. The handling of the coronavirus will have its time of reckoning, too, and the pandemic is certain to leave a deep imprint on afflicted regions of the world, including our country. |
| Back in 1986 all such analyses began later, after the danger subsided. In the immediate aftermath, the questions were far more immediate, as they are in these early days of spring. Dare I ride the subway? How will we get food if we’re quarantined at home? Is my will up to date? Are we being told the truth? | Back in 1986 all such analyses began later, after the danger subsided. In the immediate aftermath, the questions were far more immediate, as they are in these early days of spring. Dare I ride the subway? How will we get food if we’re quarantined at home? Is my will up to date? Are we being told the truth? |
| The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com. | The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com. |
| Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. | Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. |