This was a really good read, thanks for posting.

The following really rang true for me:

But that takes too long, and too many things cannot wait, so instead we do things the other way around. The latest vaccine scandal, for example, prompts anxious parents to think about how to get their children shots in Hong Kong or a foreign country, rather than how to put pressure on the central government. After every social tragedy, victims are subjected to disdain on social media, rather than sympathy: “this happened to you because you are a loser; because you don’t have the right connections; because you are not making enough money.” With time, that sort of thinking starts to take hold: If I’m rich enough, my children can get imported powdered milk instead of tainted Chinese formula; if I’m rich enough, my children will not be put in kindergartens where they’re subjected to abuse, forced to strip and stabbed with needles; if I’m rich enough, my children can be citizens in America, where the vaccines are safe. We feel guilty about the things that we shouldn’t feel guilty about.

I'm not sure why, but I do see this sort of thinking a lot. It's a double-edged sword. On the one hand, people strive hard to pursue stability and self-reliance. However, it lacks compassion and creativity.

Edit: Honestly, I do see why. You want to take care of your own first. If there's an obvious work-around, why not take it? Of course, as anyone in engineering, hardware or software, can tell you, work-arounds often become permanent.