Or have we become arrogant and complacent?
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Earlier
this year Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York, stated in a speech that
America “was never that great” . This comment drew the ire and the
condemnation of many American “patriots”, but was he actually right in a
way? We have always been taught, growing up that “America is the greatest country in the world”. We never questioned that assertion and we never had a reason to question it. But how was that determination made and by whom? It’s
like believing in God, as all religious people do. We are told He
exists, but we have no proof. It’s just a matter of faith.
“ America. Love it or leave it”
The
same thinking applies to the belief that America is the greatest
country in the world. If we don’t believe that America is the greatest
country in the world, we’re labeled as unpatriotic, ungrateful, or even
treasonous. We often are told “ America. Love it or leave it”. Just this
week the President of the United States basically said those very words
to 4 freshmen Democratic members of Congress, who were all women of
color and harsh critics of him and his policies. If we don’t actually
believe that America is the greatest, does that mean we don’t love
America? I’m sure the citizens of most countries of the world view their country as the greatest, and love it as much as we love ours.
…always strive to do our best or to do better.
As
we were always told that America was the greatest country in the world,
we were also being taught about life. In athletics we were told to
always strive to do our best or to do better. In school we were always
taught that we can do better. We learned the importance of corrective
criticism . We were encouraged, and are still
being encouraged, that we must not be complacent about anything in our
lives. If that is true for the citizens of this country, shouldn’t it be
true of our country? Shouldn’t we all strive to correct the shortcomings of America and strive to make her better for all of her people?
…do they just don’t care?
I
have traveled quite a great deal and lived in Malaysia for seven years
and was always astounded by the ignorance of many Americans I spoke with
concerning my foreign travel experiences. Some people actually thought
that most of China had no electricity and Malaysia had no air
conditioning! They were surprised to hear that Thailand and Malaysia had
thriving health tourism industries and that their healthcare systems
are not only top rated, but also extremely inexpensive! I have even had
people ask me if children in Asia go to school like American children!
Many Americans still believe that China and India are economically very
far behind that of the United States. I really do not understand how, in
this interconnected world, with the Internet and 24/7 cable news and
social media, so many Americans can be so ignorant! Is it because they
don’t want to be educated about another country of the world or do they
just don’t care? I believe that the majority of these people believe
that America is the greatest, regardless of what anyone says.
…in the United States, students graduate saddled by staggering amounts of student loan debt.
So why is America so great? Let’s look at education. According to US News and World Report “Despite being home to some of the best universities in the world,
the US is not considered to have one of the most educated populations.
The U.S. ranks №18 in perceptions of an educated population, just above
South Korea and behind Italy.” Every country in Europe and most in Asia
offer completely free college tuition or substantially reduced tuition
for their citizens, whereas in the United States, students graduate
saddled by staggering amounts of student loan debt. Also in the US the
quality of public education is dependent upon the wealth of a particular
school district, with those from predominantly white, more affluent
school districts faring much better than poorer non-white school
districts. Children of more wealthy parents also have the luxury of
sending their children to elite private schools.
This doesn’t make us so great.
Now we turn to healthcare.And we all know where we stand on this! According to Business Insider the United States does not even rank among the top 16 countries with the best healthcare. The Patient Factor
has published a chart by The World Health Organization that ranks the
United States number 37 out of 190 countries! Of the developed
countries, the United States is the only country that does not offer its
citizens free healthcare. According to Snopes
, 643,000 Americans become bankrupt due to medical costs every year. In
developing countries this is zero! Americans also pay much more money
for prescription drugs than most other countries in the world. Because
of this fact many Americans are “illegally importing drugs from other
countries of the world” according to Drug Watch. This doesn’t make us so great.
We
cannot be proud of the declining attitudes in this country towards
minorities and the treatment of minorities in our judicial system.
Some
of the saddest statistics which I see to be inexcusable are those
statistics on infant mortality rate. Amazingly the United States scores
much higher than comparable countries of the developing world. The Peter Kaiser Health System Tracker
breaks down the ranking of the US as compared to other countries, as
well as other demographics including minorities. Viewing some of these
statistics is very depressing , but they also show that the US is
improving slowly in some areas. We all know that the US has a high rate
of drug abuse and we also have the highest prison population rates of
any country in the world, without referring to statistics. It’s a
national embarrassment to lead the world in these two categories! We
also have no reason to be proud of the number of school shootings, which
have become almost common in this country. We cannot be proud of the
declining attitudes in this country towards minorities and the treatment
of minorities in our judicial system. We cannot even be proud of our
President and Congress!
…the rise of “religious liberty” laws that are nothing but blatant attempts to legalize discrimination…
During
the last three years we have seen the progress made in this country in
regards to civil rights, women’s rights, gay rights and other minority
rights slowly being diminished. People of color have learned to fear for
their lives in dealing with the police in situations as benign as a
traffic stop. We see incidents where a suspect of color was shot and
killed reaching for a cell phone, while a violent white criminal was
apprehended alive, without a shot being fired. We have seen some police
forces being infiltrated by the KKK or other white supremacist groups.
We have seen transgendered people being demonized along with the rise of
“religious liberty” laws that are nothing but blatant attempts to
legalize discrimination against the LGBTQ community.
Does this make America great?
Perhaps
the saddest and most disgusting trend in this country since Trump took
office is the treatment of immigrants, both legal and illegal. Children
are being ripped from the arms of their parents and put in cages in
detention centers, where they are denied basic medical care, as well as
the fundamentals of daily proper hygiene. What’s even worse is that
these conditions are not only accepted by GOP politicians, but are
encouraged by them at the heed of the President and his administration.
While the majority of us condemn these situations, loyal Trump
supporters and even some in the ranks of the Homeland Security mock and
defile the children and their families. Does this make America great?
…America , for the time being, is the richest country in the world…
So
why might we say that America is the greatest country of the world?
America has the strongest and best equipped military in the world.
America , for the time being, is the richest country in the world with
the world’s largest economy. China is very close behind. America has
some of the best universities in the world, including MIT, Harvard, Yale
and Stanford, and many others. Students from all over the world come
here to attend these and numerous other fine institutions of higher
learning. The same can be said for our world class hospitals, such as
Massachusetts General Hospital, The Mayo Clinic, MD Anderson and many
more fine healthcare facilities, which count among their patients people
from the world over, including numerous world leaders.
The United States possesses an abundance of invaluable natural resources second to none.
The
United States leads the world in the number of entrepreneurs such as
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, who have positively impacted world
technology and society in general. Silicon Valley is the envy of the
technology world, but is only one area of our country leading the world
in technological innovation. The United States possesses an abundance of
invaluable natural resources second to none in the world as well as
having some of the world’s most scenic wonders, such as the Grand
Canyon, Niagara Falls and Yellowstone National Park. Unbeknownst to most
Americans the United States leads the world in production of oil, even
though we also are the world’s biggest oil importer.
America is more than a country . It is a feeling.
How
America is great cannot be easily described with statistics or with
words. America is great for what she stands for. America is great
because she offers opportunities and hope for those who don’t have
either. In America you can become who you want to be, regardless of
economic status, religion or race and even disability. America is so
diverse that no matter how different you may be you can find your niche
here. America is one part of the world where you can experience the food
and culture of every country in the world without leaving the country.
You can hear every language of the world and have the opportunity to
learn that language and culture from the sons and daughters of
immigrants from those countries. You can live a lifestyle in America for
which you would be jailed or even executed in some countries of the
world. I believe it’s called freedom. Our Constitution makes America
great because of all of the rights and freedoms it grants to all people
in this country. America is more than a country . It is a feeling.
A feeling of pride and a desire to help others, who are less fortunate,
regardless of who or what they are. America is a willingness to give
someone a chance that they thought they would never have. America is the
Statue of Liberty and all she stands for. America is what we her
citizens want her to be.
We should never lose sight of the future.
All of those shortcomings discussed above can be fixed, if we try. But first we have to admit they exist. We
should never be complacent in feeling or saying that America is the
greatest country in the world. We all must not accept mediocrity for
ourselves and our country. We must not accept the failings of our
country as normal or irreparable. We can’t just say “America, right or
wrong”. We have to help America be right and just. We must strive every
day to make ourselves, our town, our country better. We must resist
those in this country who wish to denigrate our system of government,
our Constitution and our citizens. We must denounce extreme nationalism
and white supremacy, while embracing diversity. To paraphrase the US
Army, “America should be all she can be”. We should never lose sight of the future.
Originally published in Medium.com
