In fighting pandemic, pure individualism is a handicap

"Each person, withdrawn into himself, behaves as though he is a stranger to the destiny of all the others. His children and his good friends constitute for him the whole of the human species ... there no longer remains a sense of society."

- Alexis de Tocqueville

There comes every few years a phrase that perfectly captures a cultural moment. "Irrational exuberance" was Alan Greenspan's way of telling investors to tread lightly. The CIA liked "plausible deniability" in the 1960s.

The one I have seen recently, and really has struck a chord, is "pathological individualism."

It is without question that the conditions in early America, particularly during westward expansion, called for a type of person who was self-reliant, determined and able to shape his environment by sheer force of will. This became a uniquely American archetype in movies, portrayed by the likes of John Wayne or Gary Cooper, the man who stands alone, ready to duke it out with the evildoers.

It's a useful model, and survives because there are still times when one man fights the system. As films go, "Dark Waters" is a recent example.

But as "pathological individualism" implies, this mindset can be corrupted. There reaches a point at which individuals, even with the highest ideals in mind, misapply the concepts of individualism until it is indistinguishable from selfishness.

We're seeing that now, with responses to the coronavirus.

You see it all over social media, the open hostility to governmental decisions, based on the counsel of medical professionals, to behave in a way that gives us the best chance to defeat this thing.

"The government can't tell us what to do" - a normally healthy position in good times - translates to "I won't act for the public good because those people in [Washington, Springfield, Chicago] can't dictate how I live my life."

This is not liberty. This is abject stupidity.

There are certainly elements of a few other characteristically American flaws, here - namely, the conviction that the media is not to be trusted, and worse, that experts are only to be trusted when what they say "feels like it's the truth," but never any other time.

The fact is, the opposite of individualism is not "collectivism," and all the baggage that term carries. It's collaboration. It's cooperation. And history shows that when Americans move in one direction, we can defeat any foe, invisible or not.

During World War II - a time many Americans look back on with fondness for its galvanizing spirit - civilians were called to action to watch for enemy aircraft, to plant victory gardens or to save grease and clothing scraps.

As the internet meme goes, now you're being asked to sit on your couch.

So why is there such resistance?

Recently the village of Palatine was forced to bolt 2x4s to basketball hoops because, evidently, residents couldn't abide by a simple rule, and not engage in close contact.

When I shared the Daily Herald's photo on a community page, it was met with bizarre protestations of us living in "Mother Russia."

The indifference to the well-being of others, as I see it, is the inevitable result of this brand of toxic individualism, the thoughts that "My interests won't be impinged by the government or the media" or "There is no set of circumstances in which I need to curb my behavior, because ... America."

These "individuals" have so misinterpreted and poisoned the values of self-determination that they've turned them into justification for endangering others.

This is not a plea to hold fireworks further from houses because it scares my dog. I'm not asking you to turn your music down at 9 p.m. on a Saturday night. This is life-or-death stuff, and we need to abide by restrictions set forth by the state and federal government. You might disagree with the various players, Trump or CNN, Pritzker or Fox News, but they are taking their cues from medical experts. Stay home. Clean everything. Find a way to enjoy yourself, but do so within the bounds set by people who understand the circumstances.

I write this not as a healthcare worker, which I am, but as a fellow citizen. Please don't confuse being asked to be part of a team with some imagined infringements on your life. Now is the time. Sacrifice. Stay home and save lives.

• Patrick Dickson, of Lindenhurst, an X-ray technician with NorthShore Medical Group.