PERHAPS, IN THE PAST, America was truly exceptional in a positive way. Unfortunately, lately we have been moving more and more to “dark side” of exceptionalism.
Let’s examine the ways in which America is, at this time, exceptional. The following are verifiable facts, not my opinions, about American exceptionalism. I will let you be the judge how this uncomfortable information affects our country’s people and the world. I welcome your feedback.
1. Most expensive place to have a baby — The New York Times reports that on average, a hospital delivery in the U.S. costs $9,775, and $15,041 if a C-section is required. Unfortunately, 62 percent of private insurance plans do not offer maternity coverage. For those mothers with coverage, the average co-pay is $3,400. To add insult to injury, the medical-maternity care is no better than services received in other developed countries.
2. Obesity — The U.S. has the highest ranking for obesity in the world, though a recent report by the U.N. says that Mexico is pulling ahead of us. Obesity is considered a major contributor to our increasing national health crisis and contributes to an estimated 100,000 to 400,000 deaths in the U.S. per year. In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 35.7 percent of American adults could be classified as obese, as well as 17 percent of American children. More than two-thirds of American adults are either overweight or obese.
Obesity is considered a contributor to diabetes, heart disease, complications in pregnancy, strokes, liver disease, etc. The obesity epidemic is also responsible for increased health care use and expenditures. Researchers predict that the cost of obesity in the U.S. is likely to reach $344 billion by 2018.
3. Anxiety disorders — Americans have the highest rate of anxiety, with 19 percent of our population reporting some clinical anxiety disorder within a 12-month period. The National Institutes of Health reports that 18 percent of adults, or at least 40 million Americans, suffer from anxiety.
Researchers have found that anxiety disorders, which include several varieties (such as generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder), take a tremendous toll on the population. Often, anxiety disorders are associated with other ailments such as chronic pain, and they tend to limit the sufferer’s participation in daily activities. The disorders are more prevalent in women, and only a third of sufferers receive treatment specifically to address their anxiety.
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America finds that people suffering from anxiety disorders are up to five times more likely to go to the doctor in general and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders.
4. Small arms ownership — The Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva ranks the U.S. number one in both the total number of civilian firearms and per capita ownership of small firearms, beating out recent war zones like Yemen, Serbia and Iraq.
The rate of private gun ownership in our country was tabulated at 101.05 firearms per 100 individuals. According to a recent report on CNN, Americans own as many as a third of all the guns in the entire world. Research also shows that while the number of households with guns has declined, current gun owners are stockpiling more guns.
Our gun-related murder rate is the second highest in the developed world. Only Mexico, where the ongoing drug war increases the number, is higher.
5. Highest incarceration rate — Incarceration rates in the U.S. far surpass those in Russia, Cuba, Iran or China. According to the International Center for Prison Studies, the U.S. locks up 716 out of every 100,000 people. In contrast, Norway only jails 71 out of 100,000, Japan jails 54 and Iceland jails 47.
The studies show that the total prison population of the U.S., including pre-trial detainees and remand prisoners, is 2,239,751. These people are behind bars at 4,575 different facilities. The estimated capacity of our prisons is only 2,134,000. In 2010, there were an estimated 70,792 juveniles locked away.
High rates of imprisonment seem to derive from a number of factors, including long sentences, the incarceration of nonviolent offenders (20 percent of the prison population is made up of drug offenders) and the privatization trend, in which private corporations rely on “growth” models to increase their profits.
6. Energy use per person — The U.S. is the world leader in the amount of energy use per person. We have the highest electricity and oil consumption. We are second in coal consumption behind China. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that Americans account for nearly 19 percent of Earth’s total primary energy consumption, which comes from petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear and renewable energy. About a quarter of primary energy consumed in the U.S. in 2011 was supplied from natural gas, made cheap through fracking. Unfortunately we lag behind Europe in alternative energy sources largely because of the influence of our fossil fuel lobby.
7. Health expenditures — Our country spends more on health than any other: 17.6 percent of GDP in 2010, and the trend is moving upward. We spend more in every category of health care, especially in administrative costs, because of the existence of thousands of different insurance companies.
The Commonwealth Fund ranked the U.S. dead last in health care quality among similar countries, while noting that U.S. care is the most expensive. A coronary bypass in the U.S., for example, costs 50 percent more than it would cost in Canada, Australia and France, and twice as much as in Germany.
Based on a recent PBS report, despite all the money being expended the U.S. has fewer physicians per person than most other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, fewer hospital beds and a lower life expectancy at birth. The same report stated that the U.S. spent $8,233 on health per person in 2010. The next highest spenders are Norway, the Netherlands and Switzerland, each of which spend at least $3,000 less per person.
8. Imperialism and a bloated military — When it comes to armaments, America outspends the second largest nation, China, by a factor of 10. We have more than 800 military bases worldwide and we have conducted more than 10,000 covert imperialistic campaigns. The majority of these incursions are not to bring “freedom and democracy” to other countries but to give global corporations a hegemonic foothold in the resource extraction market, or to insure that the CIA and cooperating money launderers have access to a plentiful supply of illegal drug money dollars. These underhanded imperialistic actions involve the frequent overthrow of democratically elected leaders whose policies to protect workers’ rights threaten the high profits of our major corporations.
9. High suicide rates — Over the past decade, our nation’s suicide rate has been steadily climbing, rising a staggering 23 percent. According to the CDC, in 2010 alone there were 700,000 emergency room visits for self-inflicted injuries.
In a study released in May, Professors David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu of Oxford University in England found that suicide rates in both the U.S. and U.K. increase when working class wages and wealth decline. According to the study a major cause of the increase in suicide rates is a disparity in economic conditions caused by conservative economic agendas.
I believe the first step in correcting the above problems is putting aside our macho nationalistic egos and admitting that we must show a greater degree of humility in accepting the fact that as Americans we are not superior by birth or domicile. America has led the world in materialism, waste and excess, minimizing communal human needs in favor of excessive personal economic gain. But even as our proclivities put a strain on our society, sometimes these unfortunate bad behaviors can create a new beacon to shed light for self-improvement opportunities.
Harvey Rifkin is a Benicia businessman. Visit his blog at harveysrantsraves.blogspot.com/.
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Wow, things sound just awful in Harvey’s world. Just a terrible, miserable place to live with anxiety-ridden, obese, suicidal, gun-toting, energy-hogging people.
In contrast, I see a lot of fun-loving, happy people, kids playing and laughing, people growing wonderful gardens, many beautiful places to visit, gorgeous sunsets, great hiking trails, you name it!
Yeah. And just how fun-loving and happy are the kids of your kids going to be when they find themselves living under a perpetual cloud of smog, the coasts all having washed away with the rising sea level, heat, famine, and disease all over the world, sparing no-one including those now living fat, dumb, and happy in their fancy gated communities? Its coming, whether you like it or not; whether you believe it or not; its coming.
I prefer to focus on the here and now. And it was a beautiful day today with a great sunset. Nice crescent moon in the sky,
The thing is, I too used to worry about the dark dystopian future facing us. But that is all in the future. Maybe it will happen, maybe not, maybe we just don’t know. But whatever happens, or doesn’t happen, or might happen, you can still be deeply appreciative for your life and experience the wonder and beauty of it.
In the near future, humans may be facing the disasters you mention. But that does not mean I can’t enjoy this very moment.
It is like this story in the link: http://www.storyarts.org/library/nutshell/stories/strawberry.html
When you eat strawberries, do you really taste and enjoy them in this way? Be sure to enjoy the strawberry.
Wow, things sound just awful
Indeed. As horrible as the USA must be, one has to wonder why so many people are clamoring to come here; legally or not, at a rate about three times that of the number two destination.
#2 is true beyond a shadow of a doubt. There certainly are quite a few fat bastards in the states. Freedom Fries!
You are correct Thomas and they are all Liberals. I know, now prove it. Just look atround you Thomas and you will see it everyday of your life. I have no problem with obesity, it is their right. So be it.
“I know. Now prove it.” I believe the burden of proof is on you.
This is fun
yay
He says as he waddles to the bar.
After 8 hours of contemplation, that is your best shot? yay for you
8 hours of contemplation? You give the waddling man way to much credit. Now go finish your Twinkie.
Given the dark revelations of Jerome and Harvey, I find myself willing to navigate the labyrinth of purchasing a firearm in California so as to shoot myself in the head. Goodbye cruel world…and GOP.
It is far from a labyrinth. Just a couple of forms and a ten day waiting period. Good luck!
America is obviously not the worst place to live, but with all of our financial resources, some unfortunately very mis directed we should be doing a lot better for the 99%, our environment, and our health. Freedom in America, means primarily “Freedom to make money”, which is not a bad thing unless it is done by sacrificing the environment, human rights, fair remuneration, and just treatment of the worlds humanity.
It’s also amusing to note that the person who used the term “American exceptionalism,” de Toqueville in his 19th observations of the new American nation, were referring to something less than deirable: ”
The position of the Americans is therefore quite exceptional, and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in a similar one. Their strictly Puritanical origin, their exclusively commercial habits, even the country they inhabit, which seems to divert their minds from the pursuit of science, literature, and the arts, the proximity of Europe, which allows them to neglect these pursuits without relapsing into barbarism, a thousand special causes, of which I have only been able to point out the most important, have singularly concurred to fix the mind of the American upon purely practical objects. His passions, his wants, his education, and everything about him seem to unite in drawing the native of the United States earthward; his religion alone bids him turn, from time to time, a transient and distracted glance to heaven. Let us cease, then, to view all democratic nations under the example of the American people.
Not really a compliment, that! I don’t think Mr. Rifkin was asking us to stop enjoying the sunset, puppies or butterflies. I think he was merely pointing out that we have had, historically, the habit of thinking we are, collectively, “the top – the Colesium – the top – we’re the Louvre Museum, etc. etc.” that we have not really looked at how we are failing. Yes, people want to come here, but as someone who has worked with many, many immigrants I can safely say that many of those who yearn to come here become dillusioned quite quickly when faced with some of the realities mentioned in this article. We need to be able to look honestly at ourselves and be willing to admit when we screw up and try to use our “exceptional” abilities to make things better. For all of us, not just a small percentage of us.
Well said Harvey. When measured against our potential, we fail miserably. The US has, more than probably any place on Earth, the potential to be exceptional. As you point out, it is but not for the right reasons. So success has to be defined in new terms: The profit-at-any-cost mentality that has gotten us here is truly unsustainable. Unfortunately, our political and financial systems are so deeply entrenched in their status quos, I am not optimistic about significant changes coming from the system itself. Building awareness and catalyzing the collective desire for greatness that exists are definitely steps in the right direction.
Harvey seeks only to balance the semantic web of information and disinformation we all live in, not to destroy poor, religious conservatives’ patriotic faith but to save them from completely idiotic insanity. A tall task. So far, impossible.
Eight months ago, I submitted a column to the Benicia Herald in response to one of Mr. Rifkin’s ridiculous screeds complaining about “The Pedge of Allegiance.” The title of my column was “Love us or leave us.”
The editor of the Benicia Herald asked me to withdraw my column because he said the paper does not allow columnists to directly address the content of articles by other columnists. Not wishing to violate the Benicia Herald’s editorial policy, I politely complied.
It’s pretty clear, however, there is a double-standard in play here. Thus, I feel under no obligation to comply with what is a patently biased and unfair editorial policy. Since Mr. Rifkin has seen fit to again make a frontal public assault on the sensibilities of every patriotic American citizen in his latest column, I am including below my response to Mr. Rifkin’s January column.
LOVE US OR LEAVE US
In his January 18 Forum column, local sage Harvey Rifkin calls the Pledge of Allegiance “mind control nonsense” and “state-imposed nationalistic propaganda.” Rifkin claims this 31-word pledge “has been responsible for the deaths of more than 6 million innocent people and the countless torture of millions more.” Where did he get such shocking numbers—from Wikipedia? I certainly hope not, for Wikipedia is a public domain document. As such it can be altered any time by anybody with an Internet connection.
There’s something even more troubling here. Rifkin seems to blame the President of the United States for such awful crimes against humanity: “Even as you read this article,” he writes, “many innocents are being heinously murdered by Pentagon and CIA drone attacks.” Hold on! Aren’t those drone attacks being ordered by Obama?
It’s not likely Rifkin meant to criticize our president. Judging by the many other columns he has written for the Benicia Herald, he seems very much a loyal Democrat. But it’s also obvious Rifkin is very angry about the Pledge of Allegiance, especially because of the phrase one nation under God. “As a member of the fastest growing group in America, non-believers,” Rifkin writes, “I resent having to pledge my allegiance to a group of people who worship what I see as a silly myth.”
Two ideas jump out at the reader from this declaration. First, that Rifkin is worried about his social status; second, that he thinks people who believe in God are “silly.” If you Google the question “What’s the fastest growing group in America?”—the correct answer is not unbelievers but Asians. As for Rifkin’s claim that people who believe in God are “silly,” that’s only his bigoted opinion. It demeans a lot of people, including Rifkin himself.
Like many liberal progressives, however, Rifkin thinks he’s an expert on just about everything. That’s why, to prove his point, he feels comfortable quoting one of our most venerated founding fathers, James Madison: “What has been Christianity’s fruits? Superstition, bigotry and persecution.” Madison did in fact say something like this in his Memorial and Remonstrance presentation to the Virginia General Assembly in 1785.
Again, Rifkin has a problem with his facts because he has quoted Madison out of context and thus gotten it all wrong. Madison’s words were spoken in opposition to a bill for the “Establishment of Religion by Law.” He was not condemning Christianity and/or all religions (as Rifkin implies). He was simply opposing the threat of a tax to support any particular religion. In other words, Madison was preparing the groundwork for the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Rifkin claims to be a “Benicia business man” and invites readers to visit his blog called “harveysrantraves.blogspot.com.” If you have already read Mr. Rifkin’s ‘I pledge allegiance…’ in the Benicia Herald, though, you know how unhappy this man is with his own country and its government.
If you visit Rifkin’s business website (http://iarglobal.com), you’ll find out he is the founder of an industrial re-cycling business. He claims he’s been in this business for 10 years, so it would seem his company is making money. If Rifkin is so unhappy with our liberty-based free-enterprise system, though, perhaps he should move his reclaimed refuse to some other country. Maybe Venezuela could find use for his old junk!
Well done Bruce!
I have privately corrected Mr. Rifkin on several points that he has made where his facts are at odds with verifiable sources. This has resulted in his backing off of a few of the claims he has made.
Kudos to you for calling him out on this one.
Aside from being long winded, off topic, and petty.
Bruce,
There is no double standard. Everyone plays by the same rules. If, however, you are unhappy with The Herald as an outlet for expressing your views, perhaps you should seek another. Ed.
Sayonara, baby!
I look forward to reading your work, wherever it may be published. Ed.
America is responsible for millions of civilian deathd sice WWII. We are not such “Good Guys”. Let go of your silly self serving stories that we are the “Good Guys”, just becasue you need to feel good and assuage your hyper misplaced patriotic egos. Why do the patriotic zealots have to make this personal. The flag is nothing more than a symbolic rag, to mold minds and cause fools to go to war and die in vain, get over yourself., its just propaganda for the child like romantics. Review this site for backup to the above. . http://www.countercurrents.org/lucas240407.htm
Harvey I resent you calling the American Flag a rag. You and many others like you have benefited by the opportunity, diversity and the sacrifice of others. This country was built on sacrifice and guess what Harvey we have all benefited from it and we will continue to build and benefit. America cannot help it if part of the world is living in the dark ages. America helps considerable more than others and in most cases not to the benefit of America. Harvey Americans care. God {yes I said God} Bless America. Try it harvey you might like it.
“……strips of cloth that millions of people would fight for, and many thousands die for.”
You and I have benefited from the call to duty. Willing Americans sacrifice for your benefit Thomas and I do hope you appreciated it. Never under estimate the will of the American people. America has made the world a better place. God Bless America and the American Flag. I do hope you say the Pledge of Allegiance Thomas to show your loyalty to America. It does mean something to all Americans.
I say the pledge of allegiance the way it was before 1952. Probably the way you learned it. It is as follows:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Do you put god before country? That would be un-American.
I hope you realize that the freedom to be a non-conformist is one that I hold dear. There is really not much anyone can do about that.
Sacrifice gave you those freedoms. I love the word God in the allegiance and say it with that word in it. That is the pledege. Believe me Thomas I am not un-American . Say what you want. Your freedoms were kept in place by willing people to grant you those freedoms. Use them wisely.
Sacrifice gave you those freedoms. I love the word God in the Allegiance and say it with that word in it. That is the pledge
Willing Americans dropped bombs on the cities where my parents once lived. I love my mother and father. I really wish they did not have to witness the horrors of war during their youth. It shaped their entire lives, and not all for the best. So, I hope you’ll understand that I do appreciate the sacrifices of willing Americans, just not 100%l. That is allowable, like it or not.
i>Willing Americans dropped bombs on the cities where my parents once lived
If I recall correctly, your parents are Germans, thus the bombs dropped (over Germany) were not just dropped by Americans, but by Brits, Canadians, French, Dutch as well as by others.
When one decries the horrors of war, which all reasonable people do, we do have to ask; what if we did not react to stop those who aggressed against others.
In retrospect, would any reasonable person make the argument that the allied forces should not have done so?
Just for edification, I come from the POV that the primary cause of WWII was the Versailles Treaty and the retribution sought which devastated Germany. I also would take exception to the above in regards Dresden.
There are certain aspects of history you won’t find in books.
Try Flag Day 1954. If you say you say it as it was in 1952 that would be correct. But in 1954 it changed and I do believe all loyal Americans except the change. How about you Thomas? I did except the change as a loyal American. Thomas you cannot have it both ways. Make up your mind.
You don’t seem like one that accepts change so easily. I am surprised. There is no such thing as god, so to me “‘under god” may as well be “under the Flying Spaghetti Monster”. The pledge will soon change again and it will be restored to the way Francis Julius Bellamy (an American socialist, minister, and author) intended it to be.
Gunter I do except change very easily. Remember when we saluted the flag the way your hero Bellamy did. Yes I did change and will not salute the flag the way he did. Gunter I hope you do not either as a God Fearing loyal American or maybe you are not. Your choice. Yes I do believe in God. You Gunter or no one else has to believe in God. I do believe Gunter when in a dire situation the first word out of your mouth will be ” I pray to God”. Yes it will Gunter be your first words. Gunter just what do you believe in?
Your bloviating has done absolutely nothing to challenge the facts of Harvey’s article. In many ways you have confirmed everything he wrote.
Well said Dennis.
Wars are great profit centers for the weathly and deathly dungeons for the working class who foolishly volunteer to give up life and limb for elite profit opportunities.
Apparently Harvey you take the profit and let others sacrifice for your benefit.
America is exceptional again! Worst imcome inequality in the developed world. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/15/income-inequality-wall-street_n_3762422.html. Other than self serving mythical platitudes to asuage the misplaced egos of some old white men who are living in “Yester year”, unfortunately America is on the decline with its exaggertaed military spending, corporate welfare, unjust incaracceration rates, unfair tax codes that build wealth for the 1%, but not the 99%, and extreme hubris and violent culture. Factoring in employment tax, sales tax, city and state income taxes, and all other fees the working class pay a much greater proprtion of their incomes in taxes then the 1%.
“some old white men who are living in “Yester year”” – Brilliant!
Then the blame must fall on the far left leaning Democrats. They are the ones adding extra tolls to bridges and anything they can tack an extra tax to. Phone bills and anything the middleclass and lower income folks do on a daily bases. There is your problem Harvey it is not the 1% folks. It is the left leaning Liberals that have created this so called difference in income and taxes not the 1% folks. Harvey they have you right where they want you. Under their control and you and the rest of the left leaning Liberals have fallen head over heals for it. Now all you want to do it blame America when it is your own actions that have created this very good issue that you now cannot stand. America is not on a decline Harvey. Your propaganda is fading fast along with all your conspiracy theories.
There are glass half empty pessimists as well as half full optimists, an engineer see the situation as a glass oversized for the required capacity.
Then there are others who see a glass made from the strip mining of the soil of an otherwise previously pristine environment, which was both protected and at harmony with our native American friends, who were then brutally slaughtered by the tens of millions by an imperialistic horde unseen since Jenjis Khan (giving it the John Kerry pronunciation). These people also see the water as being filtered or purified using energy created in an unhealthy manner adding to our carbon foot print thus hastening our inevitable doom.
The mining company, as well as the filtration company, are seen as exploiting their workers, paying them peanuts while they make an obscene profit.
These people then want to pick up the glass and hurl it across the room shattering it to pieces as a way of protesting the horrors of what is to others, simply some water in a glass.
Wow … pretty depressing … Ay Mr. Rifkin?
America is the greatest country in the world because we celebrate freedom and liberty. In our celebration of liberty and individual rights, we embrace capitalism as the economic model that produces capital to feed our wonderful life-styles. Our Constitution is the hallmark of our great society because it uniquely limits government and empowers the individual.
We celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit of our citizens. We embrace private ownership of property and the freedom this right presents. And yes, we embrace the right of the individual to protect one’s own property … through private ownership of fire arms.
We have the best health care system in the world ..and it does cost. But the best is often the most expensive.
We are fat. But we are trying for better health! And our First Lady is leading the way.
All in all … I want to be in the USA. This country is great. And we even allow local bloggers to post random thoughts that are anti-American in context. A wonderful country!
Yes, our country has issues. We certainly are not perfect. But strive for perfection. That is what makes us great!