Tyler Cowen, Columnist

America Is Unified Only in Its Outrage

Police brutality? Looting? The coronavirus? The president? Americans can’t agree on what’s most upsetting.

Note the exclamation points.

Photographer: David McNew/Getty Images North America
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If I have learned one thing over the last few weeks, it is that the psychology of the American public is weirder — and perhaps more flexible — than I ever would have thought.

Consider, as just one example among many, the issue of nursing homes. According to some estimates, about 40% of the deaths associated with Covid-19 have occurred in nursing homes, with more almost certain to come.