Where the USA is truly exceptional

But that's not what I mean here-I mean something quite different. Let's take one particularly obvious, real-world example. Imagine how well the scientific community would have been able to respond to the current coronavirus pandemic had we somehow removed the contribution made by all American-based research.

I don't mean just in terms of the specifics of vaccine development (although that too, of course), but much more broadly-all the ideas, concepts, theories, testing, technology, development. All the papers written by US-based scientists, all the fruitful collaborations, discussions, and consequent insights-suddenly gone.

It is, quite simply, inconceivable. And it had better be.

Because whatever the next crisis is going to be-another pandemic, an environmental catastrophe, or something we can't even presently imagine-we're all going to need a robust and thriving global research culture to help us get past it.

And for that we're going to need the United States.

Like it or not.