Feb. 4

We’re in the 3rd day of a 3 day cruise from New Zealand to Sydney. There is an interesting clash between experiencing two great places to live and what is going on in the US. One might blame trump for the chaos in the US, but voters and Republican legislators also have some responsibility. I think that part of the problem is that many Americans think that “We’re Number one,” …the greatest country in the world.

There are international measurements and rankings of countries that come from the UN and other sources. I’m sure that the rankings are not absolutely accurate, but they are indicative. Let’s look at healthcare. In the US, I’ve read that we have the best healthcare system in the world. The international rankings find that Australia, The Netherlands, and the UK are at the top. The US is last among developed countries in terms of quality and affordability. Some other rankings include:

   – Freedom Index (Cato Institute).  Not in the top 15.

   -Education.  #36

    -Life expectancy.  #55

   -Gender equality.  #46

   -Social progress    #25

   -Human poverty index. #1.  

-Human rights.  #59 or 6th worst among developed countries

But, let’s look at where we’re near the top

   -Firearms ownership.  #1 by far

   -Per capita military spending. #2 after Israel which largely comes from the US.

   -Pollution.  #2  after China

   -Incidence of Cancer.  #4

   -Incarceration. #1.  grouped with Turkmenistan ,Rwanda, El Salvador and American Samoa

   Drug use  #1

Perhaps, if we could look more closely at ourselves and had more humility than arrogance we would be more successful in dealing with our own problems and dealing with other countries. The Post World War II world order seems to have served us pretty well. Glimpses of where were headed don’t make me optimistic. It’s too bad that New Zealand is so far away.