[Vision2020] This Isn't Hate Speech, Either

[Tony Simpson]

Chas,

Regarding the specifics you site pertaining to American's educational status 
as opposed to other countries:  I share your discomfort at our relatively 
poor academic showing.   However, I believe those who refer to America as 
the "Greatest country in the world" are relying on different criteria.  It 
is the premise of our founders, that humans have certain unalienable rights, 
granted by their creator, that cannot legitimately be infringed upon by man, 
which uniquely sets America apart.

>From this standpoint, our country is indeed a glorious experiment in 
freedom, and a shining example to the rest of the world.  Unfortunately, as 
is typical of human nature, those so blessed tend to take their good fortune 
for granted and fail to avail themselves of the opportunities available to 
them.  Thus the poor academic standing which you appropriately disdain.

Best,  --Tony
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chasuk" <chasuk at gmail.com>
To: "Vision2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 09, 2006 12:20 PM
Subject: [Vision2020] This Isn't Hate Speech, Either


> Below is a slightly expurgated, admittedly controversial (yet still
> interesting) excerpt from Craigslist:
>
> ********************************************************************************
>
> MYTH. The US doesn't need improvement compared to other countries; it
> is the greatest country in the world.
>
> TRUTH:
> Wrong again. I'll only cite the statistics here.
>
> USA Ranking on Adult Literacy Scale: #9
> (#1 Sweden and #2 Norway)- OECD
>
> USA Ranking on Healthcare Quality Index: #37
> (#1 France and #2 Italy)- World Health Organization 2003
>
> USA Ranking of Student Reading Ability: #12
> (#1 Finland and #2 South Korea)- OECD PISA 2003
>
> USA Ranking of Student Problem Solving Ability: #26
> (#1 South Korea and #2 Finland)- OECD PISA 2003
>
> USA Ranking on Student Mathematics Ability: # 24
> (#1 Hong Kong and #2 Finland)- OECD PISA 2003
>
> USA Ranking of Student Science Ability: #19
> (#1 Finland and #2 Japan)- OECD PISA 2003
>
> USA Ranking on Women's Rights Scale: #17
> (#1 Sweden and #2 Norway)- World Economic Forum Report
>
> USA Position on Timeline of Gay Rights Progress: # 6 (1997)
> (#1 Sweden 1987 and #2 Norway 1993)- Vexen
>
> USA Ranking on Life Expectancy: #29
> (#1 Japan and #2 Hong Kong)- UN Human Development Report 2005
>
> USA Ranking on Journalistic Press Freedom Index: #32
> (#1 Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands tied)- Reporters
> Without Borders 2005
>
> USA Ranking on Political Corruption Index: #17
> (#1 Iceland and #2 Finland)- Transparency International 2005
>
> USA Ranking on Quality of Life Survey: #13
> (#1 Ireland and #2 Switzerland)- The Economist Magazine ...Wikipedia
> "Celtic Tiger" if you still have your doubts.
>
> USA Ranking on Environmental Sustainability Index: #45
> (#1 Finland and #2 Norway)- Yale University ESI 2005
>
> USA Ranking on Overall Currency Strength: #3 (US Dollar)
> (#1 UK pound sterling and #2 European Union euro)- FTSE 2006....the
> dollar is now a liability, so many banks worldwide have planned to
> switch to euro
>
> USA Ranking on Infant Mortality Rate: #32
> (#1 Sweden and #2 Finland)- Save the Children Report 2006
>
> USA Ranking on Human Development Index (GDP, education, etc.): #10
> (#1 Norway and #2 Iceland)- UN Human Development Report 2005
>
>
> So much for those "socialist" Europeans and those "backward" Asians, hm?
> We can do better than this.
>
> Miscellany:
> *Only 18% of Americans own passports and bother to travel outside of the 
> US.
> * 85% of US soldiers in Iraq believe that they are there to get
> revenge for 9/11.
> * New international student enrollment in US grad schools has
> decreased by 6%, because of xenophobic post-9/11 US visa restrictions,
> jacked-up tuition fees and better educational opportunities in the EU
> and Asia. So no, not everyone wants to come here anymore, because it's
> become a land of incredibly limited opportunity, and we've lowered our
> educational standards.
>
>
> MYTH: The US government loves to help other countries.
>
> TRUTH:
> This is a myth. The US government tends to be motivated by interests,
> not humanitarian principles.
>
> Denmark gives the most amount of its GDP (1.01%) to developing
> countries; Norway gives 0.91%; the Netherlands give 0.79% and so on
> until the end of list, where the USA sits. Yes, America ranks DEAD
> LAST in foreign aid at a pathetic 0.1% of its GDP, compared to the
> other 21 nations listed as developed nations. The idea that the US
> government is a heroic bunch that runs around the world helping the
> poor and the disempowered is not backed up by the evidence. We have
> one of the stingiest governments on earth.
>
> Most Americans believe the US spends 24% of its budget on aid to poor
> countries; the actual amount is well under a quarter of 1%. Our
> country also ranks #5 on asylum-seeker acceptance rates (#1 is Denmark
> and #2 is Canada).
>
> ********************************************************************************
>
> -- 
> http://emmagoldman.wordpress.com/
>
> "Aren't people absurd! They never use the freedoms they do have, but
> demand those they don't have; they have freedom of thought, they
> demand freedom of speech." -- Søren Kierkegaard
>
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