[jessaustin]

I read the first paragraph, and the abuse of logic just stopped me from continuing. "Americans have suffered far more during the pandemic than any other country, yet 25% of Americans still believe that the pandemic was planned and executed by powerful people." Why would suffering preclude a particular belief in a particular cause of that suffering? Are "powerful people" disinclined to visit suffering upon Americans? Do you have a particular reason to suspect a particular cause? Do you have a particular reason to doubt other causes?

To be clear: I don't know "the cause". It seems likely that the appearance of the virus is a random natural event, but that likelihood hardly precludes other possibilities. The USA response to this hypothetically natural situation has differed sharply from those of other, seemingly more rational, nations. It seems likely that "powerful people" might have had a hand in that. For instance, their lobbyists ensured that the "CARES Act" provided trillions for rich people, but $1200 for normal citizens.

[kps]

> Americans have suffered far more during the pandemic than any other country

That in particular in the opening is enough — a perfect match for the stereotypically ignorant parochial American. The US is among the worst off by some reasonable criteria like deaths per capita, but is in a cluster with other nations and not above. So to claim as if self-evident that it “suffered far more … than any other country” is just nonsense.

[formalsystems]

This is a very good point. I will be rewriting this entire thing and I appreciate the specific feedback.

[formalsystems]

Thank you so much for providing this honest feedback. I am realizing now that I am trying to write these way too fast, and I'm not doing my research well enough or taking my personal opinions out of it.

I'm going to take a step back and ensure I am meeting the standards of HN before posting again. The truth of the matter is I am not a writer and am new to posting anything online. The questions you asked made me realize how little I critically analyzed my own writing. As I mentioned in a comment above, I'd like to make these neutral and lose the incendiary tone.