I saw a list today of the 100 best high school football teams in the country. No doubt the students and parents and faculty of these schools are very proud and have a great deal of school spirit. The funny thing is that if you made a list of the worst 100 high school football teams in the country you would probably find that a great many of these schools have a lot of school spirit. The students are still proud of being a student at their school. The parents are proud of their kids. The faculty are proud to a part of the school as well.
The funny thing is that the same can be said of nations. Doesn't matter where you come from. You have a connection to the nation that gave you birth. People in Russia are just as apt to believe their nation is the best place on earth as are those in the U.S.A. People in Uruguay are just as likely to believe they hail from the best place on earth as are those in France. It's just the nature of the beast.
The thing is that with all the rah rah sentiment regarding one's country, quite often people forget that maybe it could be even better yet. People start believing that their country is the best and no other country could touch it and part and parcel of that belief is the conservative notion that it needs no changing.
I love the U.S.A. as much as the next guy. I was born here. I have spent most of my life in the U.S. I think it's a great place. Oh I spent a couple of years in Guam, but that's a U.S. territory. I've traveled to a great many places outside the U.S., Morocco, Iceland, Australia, Thailand, Belize, and the island of Yap to name a few. These trips were merely vacations, though. I'm an American to the core.
Yet I can't help thinking that a few things could be better. Part of this thinking is, in all probability, due to the fact that I have seen a lot of the world. I know it's not absolutely awful everywhere else in the world. Some are awful, but a lot of places are pretty nice places to live.
Yet there are scads of people who seem to have the notion that our current way of life in the U.S.A. is the very best in the world and everyone else's way of life is terrible. Take the healthcare debate. (Please) There are a lot of Americans who seem convinced that the way we do it now is the best possible alternative. Yet the U.S.A. ranks 50th in life expectancy. The U.S.A. ranks 33rd in infant mortality. How is this possible in a country with the best health care system in the world? (Hint: It has something to do with the millions of Americans who don't have access to adequate healthcare. Rich people get good health care. Poor people don't.)
Okay, the health care system may leave a little bit to be desired, but we have the best technology the world has to offer don't we? Do we? Do we really? Apparently, when it comes to average broadband internet speed, the U.S. ranks 17th in the world. Ouch! Then there are huge chunks of rural America and in poverty-stricken neighborhoods in urban America where internet access is limited or unavailable period.
This country still has the largest GDP of any nation in the world. This country is unquestionably the greatest military power on the face of the earth. This country offers unparalleled freedoms, unavailable anywhere else in the world. Could we just have a rational discussion for once, though? Can we logically discuss areas where we could use some improvement. If we fall behind in health care, in technology, we inevitably risk falling by the wayside as a second-rate nation. If there are people out there promoting change, it doesn't mean they're evil, or a communist, or a Nazi. It means they care about their nation, and its people. Rah rah! Go U.S.A.
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