[joe_the_user]

The impact of one individual doesn't fix the whole problem, but the impact of every individual doing their piece is how it gets done. Ordinary people wash their hands.

This is how ridiculous the conversation has gotten. It's tautological that humans acting together involve individual actions. The collective is; thinking about the group and coordinating.

What's happened in the US today is that minority of people have decided that taking an action for group benefit, notably wearing a mask but also other anti-infection measures, infringes on their "individual right". This is the "cult of the individual" that the gp mentioned.

Moreover, almost human collective individuals leadership. Not even enforcement but trusted people setting the tone. America's leaders have failed, abjectly, visibly, to set a coherent tone, to send a message. This failure is an important part of the chaotic US response and the deranged ideological claims of a minority.