No concept lies more firmly embedded in our national character than the notion that the USA is 'No. 1,''the greatest.' Our broadcast media are, in essence, continuous advertisements for the brand name 'America Is No. 1.' Any office seeker saying otherwise would be committing political suicide. In fact, anyone saying otherwise will be labeled 'un-American.' We're an 'empire,' ain't we? Sure we are. An empire without a manufacturing base. An empire that must borrow $2 billion a day from its competitors in order to function. Yet the delusion is ineradicable. We're No. 1. Well ... this is the country you really live in:
- The United States is 49th in the world in literacy (The New York Times, Dec. 12, 2004).
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- Twenty percent of Americans think the sun orbits the Earth. Seventeen percent believe the Earth revolves around the sun once a day (The Week, Jan. 7, 2005).
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- 'Europe surpassed the United States in the mid-1990s as the largest producer of scientific literature' (The European Dream, p.70).
- Nevertheless, Congress cut funds to the National Science Foundation. The agency will issue 1,000 fewer research grants this year (NYT, Dec. 21, 2004).
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- 'The U.S. and South Africa are the only two developed countries in the world that do not provide health care for all their citizens' (The European Dream, p.80). Excuse me, but since when is South Africa a 'developed' country? Anyway, that's the company we're keeping.
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- The United States is 41st in the world in infant mortality. Cuba scores higher (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005).
- Women are 70% more likely to die in childbirth in America than in Europe (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005).
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- 'Sixty-one of the 140 biggest companies on the Global Fortune 500 rankings are European, while only 50 are U.S. companies' (The European Dream, p.66). 'In a recent survey of the world's 50 best companies, conducted by Global Finance, all but one was European' (The European Dream, p.69).
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- Forty-three percent of Americans think torture is sometimes justified, according to a PEW Poll (Associated Press, Aug. 19, 2004).
- 'Nearly 900,000 children were abused or neglected in 2002, the last year for which such data are available' (USA Today, Dec. 21, 2004).
- 'The International Association of Chiefs of Police said that cuts by the [Bush] administration in federal aid to local police agencies have left the nation more vulnerable than ever' (USA Today, Nov. 17, 2004).
No. 1? In most important categories we're not even in the Top 10 anymore. Not even close.
The USA is 'No. 1' in nothing but weaponry, consumer spending, debt, and delusion. [This is just a sampling, there is, sadly, muchmore.]
