We Ought Be Ashamed Of Ourselves!

We seem to be a great nation for others still want to emigrate here. But many of us feel that, while we've achieved a great deal in the past, we should now feel ASHAMED of ourselves:

* Many now fear and dislike America.

* We keep getting involved in unwinnable wars and civil conflicts. Others usually end up worse off than before.

* China and we are polluters #1 and #2 while we consume more of the world's resources than anyone else.

* Modern accounting methods reveal that we're now $59 trillion in debt. We've lost many farm and factory jobs.

* 1/4 of our children live in poverty. The U.S. is #20 in a child's quality of life. Britain is #21.

* Racism, ageism, sexism, and clergy abuse are widespread. Torture is not unknown.

* The World Health Org. ranks us #37 in the effectiveness of our health-care system while we're spending 40% more per capita than anyone else - with 46 million uninsured!

* We're the last "civilized" nation with the death penalty.

* We have many more in prison than does any Western nation, often for non-violent crimes.

* There are 240 million guns in private hands and we shoot 12X as many people as the 25 other leading nations combined. Ten kids are shot to death every day.

* After computers, our #2 growth industry is casinos. Prison building is #3

* We're spending $800 billion/yr on Academia - 2X as much per capita than anyone else. Fewer than 1/3 of college seniors can read and write well. Rage, anxiety, boredom, forgetting, and failure are widespread.

* 80% of high-school seniors state that they will never, ever, voluntarily read a book.

* 80% of 1st-graders have a high self-esteem; a mere 5% of seniors still like themselves.

* 90% firmly believe in a Being(s) who may or may not exist. Many deny the truth of evolution. Atheists are hated above all others.

* 90% cannot name their Congressman.

* Newspaper reading is dropping.

* The average kid now spends 6.5 hours/day hooked into an electronic gadget. 60%, age 9-20, now have chronic back problems due to sitting, lack of exercise, and backpacks. Kids watch 200,000 episodes of violence by age 18 while video games can produce brain damage. 40% of 3-month-olds are watching TV; 90% of 3-year-olds watch regularly. We now have a WAR on bad breath!

* We're near the bottom in the treatment of serious mental illness.

* Our govt. may be the least effective of any Western nation - and is largely controlled by corporate power and money. Most other nations have an independent, highly- respected, civil-servant-run think-tank INSIDE the govt.

* Political campaigns in other countries average 3 weeks. Our voters know little about any issues that do not impact them directly while often trying to impose their personal values on others.