A man takes photos in front of the sculpture of Prometheus adorned with a face mask at Rockefeller Center in New York on June 22, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

The US has been repeatedly shocking the world with its COVID-19 data - It registered over 2.88 million infections and nearly 130,000 deaths as of press time. Many people are wondering what is wrong with the US. The self-proclaimed defender of human rights has attached no importance to human life; instead, it has been using the sort of "low human rights advantage" to pay the price for Washington's ineptitude in fighting the COVID-19.

Because of this "advantage," in the face of disasters such as the coronavirus epidemic, the poor, the old, the ethnic minority, and other vulnerable groups in the US are not treated equally, but are seen as numbers on the dashboard. Although the US has been leading the world in COVID-19 infections and deaths, the increasing severity cannot pressure the US government enough, which is still shamelessly passing the buck to others. 

The right to life is of prime concern to human rights. But the US keeps preaching about human rights without really caring about it, with its top leader downplaying the 100,000-plus deaths, as he believes it could have been up to 2 million if not for his leadership. Regrettably, the democracy that many Americans are so proud of has failed to do them justice. Ordinary Americans cannot effectively whip their government. Although the US media has been busy criticizing the US government, their opinions have no effect on changing the status quo. The US political system cannot hold politicians accountable for the deplorable situation, and those politicians are abusing the system's loopholes. People from other countries now see the US as a helpless underdeveloped country.

Money is needed to guarantee human rights. This is why lieutenant governor of Texas Dan Patrick immorally suggested that fellow seniors should sacrifice their health for the sake of the country's economy. But China - a country frequently blamed by the US for "infringing human rights" - has left no one in its COVID-19 fight, safeguarding the life of every Chinese at tremendous economic cost. The US would never consider a similar option, so it is sitting back idly to get rid of economic burdens. Could there be any country more immoral than the US?

The US has not only failed to reflect on its poor performance in defending the right to life but also continued to make use of its low human rights advantage, while simultaneously using human rights as a stick to beat others. The raging epidemic in the US will continuously hurt the world and stop the world from taking a turn for the better. Performance in the US has severely dragged the progress of epidemic control worldwide. 

The ragged veneer of human rights no longer covers the violations of human rights in the US. But many immoral American politicians continue to mislead the world by calling white black. Other countries have to think about the consequences they face from a Western country that uses low human rights as an advantage.