(Civilizations
die from suicide, not by murder. -ARNOLD TOYNBEE, British historian)
?
We
Americans are a patriotic tribe, and we tend to wax lyrical about our land of
plenty and opportunity. "We have never been a nation of haves and
have-nots," Senator Marco Rubio once declared. "We are a nation of
haves and soon-to-haves, of people who have made it and people who will make
it." We proudly assert, "We're number 1!" and in terms of
overall economic and military strength, we are. But in other respects our
self-confidence is delusional.
?
Here's
the blunt, harsh truth.
?
America
ranks number 40 in child mortality, according to the Social Progress Index,
which is based on research by three Nobel Prizewinning economists and covers
146 countries for which there is reliable data. We rank number 32 in internet
access, number 39 in access to clean drinking water, number 50 in personal
safety and number 61 in high-school enrollment. Somehow, "We're number
61!" doesn't seem so proud a boast. Overall, the Social Progress Index
ranks the United States number 25 in well-being of citizens, behind all the
other members of the G7 as well as significantly poorer countries like Portugal
?
Nicholas Kristoff "Tightrope:
Americans Reaching for Hope" (2020)
