And usually that's the end of the conversation.
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Blind and unbridled patriotism is unproductive, dangerous and doesn't leave any room for improvement. What we really need to be focusing on right now is what's wrong with America and how to make this country great *again*.
Instead of, 'My country, right or wrong', what Gary Brumback called fascist and jingoistic (Devil's Marriage), we should look at what we can do to make this country better for everyone. Don't get me wrong, Americans are inquisitive, ambitious, tenacious, persistent and generous. Now, more that ever, we need to take back our country from those who will bring it down due to their selfish pursuit of their own, 'American Dream'. Time is running out to change the system. Time has run out for millions of Americans that are living in poverty or below poverty. Please read: On Americans (Not) Getting By (Again).
Gini Coefficient
The Gini Coefficient which measures the income disparity (inequality) of a country. The maps below uses 2009 data. The United States now has banana republic numbers. See: Our Banana Republic. Michael Moore said that, "Today, just 400 Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans combined." Polifact agrees: proof. American's are hurting. Unemployment is steady at 9% And no one is doing anything about it.
Democracy Index
The Democracy Index is a measure of the state of a country's democracy. The Unites States is 17th on the list. That's generous but hardly adequate for the so called "greatest democracy of the world".
Press Freedom Index
This is a measure of how free the press is to report on any story it wants. You can't have a democracy without a free press. The United States ranks 20th. Fair but not stellar. Our media companies are large corporations, usually owned by largeer corporations and have to cater to even larger corporations for their advertising revenue. We see sensationalism over news, local news over international news and often pro-corporate propaganda. The formula is simple: make it entertaining and then slip in the propaganda. Just google, 'American propaganda' and you'll see what I mean.
Corruption Perceptions Index
"the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians" Reference.It is only be a 'perceived' index but nevertheless indicates a serious problem worldwide. The United States was 22nd. The greatest country in the world shouldn't be perceived to be corrupt at all let alone 22nd. 'Where there's smoke, there's fire.', they say. What's worse, many (most?) of the most corrupt countries have been corrupted by the American Empire. See William Blum's Website for a list of countries that the United States has interfered with politically, militarily or covertly.
Health Care
The WHO (World Health Organization) ranks the United States 37th. It's also the most expensive and inefficient and it continues to spiral out of control. Obesity, health disease, cancer and diabetes are all diseases of affluence and shouldn't exist let alone in the proportions that they are in the United States. Read, 'The China Study'. Over 50 million Americans don't have health insurance. When times get tough, health insurance is the first to go. Health care is now well beyond the means of millions of working class American families. For a graphical interpretation of these statistics as well as the entire ranking see: WHO.
Education
Out of 34 countries tested, 15 year old American students were 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in mathematics. As in health care the United States outspends most other counties in education (We're second after Luxembourg).
In post secondary education we've fallen from first to ninth in the proportion of young people with college degrees. Worse, post secondary tuition is skyrocketing out of control either putting college out of reach or saddling students with thousands of dollars of debt.
Source: See Ed.gov.
The US education system continues to decline from being one of the best education systems in the world.
America is the Greatest Country in the World - Part II
More to come. Sadly, much more.
