America on the Anniversary of Our Independence

Here we are again, July 4th.  A day that we mark on our calendars as a day to celebrate everything this country stands for, everything it has achieved, and the values that hold it up.

Recently I have found myself wondering, even more than usual, what America really means.  The land of the free, the home of the brave, and everything in between.  With the Presidential election fast approaching and the values, morals, and attitudes of this country coming under intense scrutiny, I can't help but wonder if we, as a collective, truly embody all the ideals we claim to uphold.

I recently happened upon a new HBO series titled "The Newsroom," a fictional telling of the behind-the-scenes life of a news program, and the opening dialogue is what caught my attention.  In the following scene, partially transcribed below, three newscasters are part of a panel discussion at a university.  When asked what makes America the "greatest country in the world," the protagonist delivers an answer that embodies the hard truth we all need to swallow about what America has become:

 

College Girl: Can you say in one sentence or less, uhm, you know what I mean... can you say why America is the greatest country in the world?

Answer 1: Diversity and opportunity.

Answer 2: Freedom and freedom, so let's keep it that way.

Answer 3: The New York Jets.  Diversity and oppotunity.  Freedom and freedom.

Well, our Constitution is a masterpiece, James Madison was a genius.  The Declaration of Independence is, for me, the single greatest piece of American writing.

You don't look satisfied.

It's NOT the greatest country in the world, Professor, that's my answer.

And with a straight face you're going to tell students that America is so star-spangled awesome that we're the only ones in the world that have freedom?  Canada has freedom, Japan has freedom, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Australia, Belgium has freedom.  207 sovereign states in the world, like 180 of them have freedom.

Just in case you accidentally wander into a voting booth one day there's some things you should know, and one of them is there is absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we're the greatest country in the world.

We're 7th in literacy,

27th in math,

22nd in science,

49th in life expectancy,

178th in infant mortality,

3rd in median household income,

number 4 in labor force,

and number 4 in exports.

We lead the world in only three categories:

number of incarcerated citizens per capita,

number of adults who believe angels are real,

and defense spending, where we spend more than the next 26 countries combined... 25 of whom are allies.

Now none of this is the fault of a 20-year-old college student, but you nonetheless and without a doubt are a member of the worst period generation period ever period.  So when you ask what makes us the greatest country in the world, I don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

It sure used to be.

We stood up for what was right.  We fought for moral reasons.  We passed laws, struck down laws for moral reasons.

We waged wars on poverty, not poor people.

We sacrificed.  We cared about our neighbors.  We put our money where our mouths were and we never beat our chest.

We built great big things.  Made ungodly technological advances.  Explored the universe.  Cured diseases.  And we cultivated the world's greatest artists and the world's greatest economy.

We reached for the stars.  Acted like men.  We aspired to intelligence, we didn't belittle it... it didn't make us feel inferior.  We didn't identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election and we didn't, ahh, we didn't scare so easy.

We were able to do all these things and be all these things because we were informed by great men, men who were revered.

The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one.  America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.

Enough?

This is certainly a notion that is both difficult to hear and difficult to argue against.  The world has changed.  The American people have changed.  Our ideals, our values, our morals, all the things we symbolically celebrate on the 4th of July... have changed.

So as we celebrate this July 4th, as we revel in the company of family and friends, we should indeed be thankful for everything America is and has been.  This country has afforded many of us grand opportunities, but our collective ego has clouded our vision.  We could be so much more... if only we remembered everything we used to stand for: equality, opportunity, and liberty.  Along this bumpy road of progress and change, we have somehow lost our way, fighting for power instead of the powerless and coveting money and influence rather than our strength of character.  Although we may have lost our way, stumbling through mine fields of war and politics, one thing we have never lost is our truly great potential.

America is not the greatest nation in the world.

But it can be.

Happy 4th of July.