After reading the post I would say, "Look at the current leader and then answer the question. Is The "shining city on a hill" rapidly losing its lustre by every relevant metric along the humanity spectrum” ?
After reading the post I would say, "Look at the current leader and then answer the question. Is The "shining city on a hill" rapidly losing its lustre by every relevant metric along the humanity spectrum” ?
Robbing it's population and killing all over the world.
My country is the land under our feet. Screw the criminals in power. The unethical leaders are all warmongers. Look at Gaza, Lebanon. They mostly all support their nasty little murdering proxy - Israel. The USA is not great.
BTW:
China far surpasses the US as an economy. Thank the criminal misleaders for our demise.
Mitch, well said. I’ve been so fortunate to have lived in Europe in my teens as well as travel to many countries because my father was a world class scientist. This has been my mantra for a while but has gained steam in the last 15 years:
It depends what you mean by greatest country. Overall. there are many countries who offer so much more to living a full life than the U.S.
We suck at public transportation and healthcare for our citizens. Two very important needs that “greatest country” status must have.
We have inordinately large populations of people who are racists living here. “Greatest countries” have very small, managed, or in the case of Brazil, laws against racism. Today it seems to be encouraged.
“Greatest countries” also have free and fair elections that are extremely resistant to outside interference from foreign governments, or internal political parties monkeying with results. We used to. Not any longer. Needs fixing.
“Greatest countries” also have a Supreme Court system that is not in the pockets of oligarchs and politicians, or Presidents. We have highly rewarded judges that do the bidding of oligarchs and political influencers without fail. This topic alone kills it for us.
So, even though we have a majority of wonderful citizens and permanent residents of all the colors of the rainbow, from across the globe that are so beautiful, vibrant, hardworking, talented speaking languages from around planet we can’t seem to understand that what makes a country great is how we treat our citizens and residents. And for that very reason, no, we are simply not the greatest country in the world. We’re still a decent country with lots of promise, but we are a citizenry that is so easily manipulated and gullible to be the greatest country in the world.
We have a lot of work to do if we want to join the exclusive status of being considered a “greatest country.” It’s time to get to work.
I love the US, but I don't think we have ever been "the greatest country in the world" - not when racism has been built into the fabric of our country since day one. So even when everything was rolling along nicely after WWII for the expanding middle class white Americans, those opportunities were denied to the descendants of the former slaves who helped build this country, as well as the Chinese and other immigrants who helped build the railroads, and the indigenous peoples who we stole this land from. By denying how systemic racism is and has been, and how that means not everyone has had the same opportunities, we deny the possibility of being the greatest country. We have so much potential to accomplish great things here in the US, and we are squandering our opportunities by not giving everyone equal rights and equal opportunities.
Very true. I admit that I tend to just group all non-WASP/Catholics minorities, and that's not really fair because there are so many forms of bigotry here in the US. I almost went into the way the US failed to help Jewish people leading up to the Holocaust (and preferred to let them all move to Palestine rather than allowing more into the US after WWII). Certainly the discrimination against religious minorities continued after WWII along side racism.
No you’re not. Not sure you’ve ever been - humility goes with great. If there’s on thing the US has not ever been its humble. Perhaps when humility burrows into the psyche of the nature, you might have a chance.
I really enjoyed this piece because it forced me to stop and think instead of just reacting.
I love this country. I genuinely do. But no country in the history of the world has ever stood around chanting, “We’re number two!” Every country wants to believe they’re the greatest. That’s human nature. The question is whether we’re willing to honestly measure ourselves against everyone else instead of simply repeating the slogan.
To me, patriotism isn’t pretending we’re perfect. Patriotism is loving your country enough to admit where we’re falling short because that’s the only way you ever get better.
What discourages me the most isn’t even where we rank on various lists. It’s the way we’ve chosen to treat each other.
People love to point at communism as the great evil, but capitalism has its own blind spots too. Every economic system eventually seems to favor the few over the many if left unchecked.
Take Walmart as an example. For years there were reports of companies taking life insurance policies out on employees while simultaneously keeping many of those same employees below full-time status so they wouldn’t qualify for health insurance or benefits. If someone got sick, the burden shifted to taxpayers, hospitals, and families. If they died, in some cases the company benefited financially through insurance policies while the family was left with crushing medical debt.
Whether every detail of every case is identical isn’t really my point. The point is this. Somewhere along the way we built systems that often reward corporations more than the people doing the work. That should bother all of us.
Then I look at Norway.
When Norway discovered oil, they made a decision. They invested that wealth back into their people. They built a sovereign wealth fund that benefits future generations. They made sure people don’t spend their lives wondering how they’ll afford college, whether breaking an ankle will bankrupt them, how they’ll survive retirement, or whether having a baby will leave them buried in debt.
Do Norwegians all drive Ferraris? No.
Do they all live in mansions? No.
But they have something that, to me, seems far more valuable. They have peace of mind. They have security. They have dignity.
Meanwhile, we’ve spent decades convincing ourselves that if we simply give more and more power to corporations, eventually everyone else will benefit. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes it doesn’t. Looking around today, I think it’s fair to ask whether the balance has tipped too far.
I also think America sometimes forgets just how young we are.
There are families in Europe living in homes older than our country. There are little girls having tea parties in buildings that have stood longer than the United States has existed.
We’re still a very young nation trying to figure ourselves out.
Our history wasn’t clean. It wasn’t noble from beginning to end. It includes slavery, the destruction and displacement of Indigenous peoples, disease, injustice, and countless mistakes.
Loving America doesn’t require pretending those things didn’t happen.
It requires acknowledging them, learning from them, and choosing to do better.
Sometimes I think America is like an incredibly talented teenager.
Confident.
Brilliant.
Capable of amazing things.
Also stubborn.
Convinced nobody can tell us anything.
Rolling our eyes whenever another country points out something we’re doing poorly.
There’s an old saying that ignorance is bliss. I think arrogance and ignorance often travel together. We don’t know what we don’t know.
Every generation believes they’re living through the worst political moment in history. I don’t know that we’re unique. History tends to move in cycles. The pendulum swings too far one direction, then too far the other, and every once in a while it briefly passes through something resembling normal.
The difference today is speed.
A hundred years ago misinformation moved as fast as a horse or a newspaper.
Now it circles the globe in seconds.
People form opinions from headlines they never read beyond. Algorithms reward outrage over understanding. Division spreads faster than facts because anger gets clicks.
So what do we do?
Honestly, I think we stop obsessing over everyone else’s backyard and start cleaning up our own.
Turn off the television.
Put down the phone.
Step away from social media.
Sit quietly with your own thoughts for a little while.
Ask yourself difficult questions.
If you’re a Christian, are the politics you support actually reflecting the Jesus you say you follow?
If you’re angry, why?
If you’re wrong, can you admit it?
Can you forgive yourself for making mistakes without doubling down simply because your pride won’t let you change?
That’s the muscle I think we’ve lost.
Introspection.
Every night when I lay my head on the pillow, I don’t want to ask whether I defeated someone online or won another political argument.
I want to ask one question.
Did I make decisions today that aligned with the person I want to be?
If the answer is no, tomorrow is another opportunity.
Forgive yourself.
Own your mistakes.
Adjust.
Grow.
Imagine what this country could become if millions of us did that instead of spending every waking hour blaming everyone else.
I don’t think we’re going to heal ourselves through more outrage, more finger pointing, or more performative anger online.
Whatever we’re doing right now clearly isn’t working.
Maybe the answer isn’t louder voices.
Maybe it’s quieter moments.
Fix your own backyard.
Learn to forgive yourself.
Be kind to yourself.
Because people who extend grace to themselves usually find it much easier to extend grace to other people.
I’m inspired by your intuitive, well written comments.
As we look in the mirror, are we really the person we see or does our vanity and pride create an imaginary image that goes beyond the thin and shallow image the silver creates from the back of the glass?
Your inspired post should hopefully encourage us all to look much deeper than just our superficial images.
As humans, supposedly the most intelligent living creatures on earth, we are easily swayed. We will trade our integrity, our self esteem, self respect, empathy for others, our dignity, our loved ones, and even the image we see in the mirror for “30 pieces of silver”, so to speak.
I will save your inspired comments and hopefully employ them in my life, becoming a more joyful, less self absorbed, better, deeper, more “human” version of myself and an inspiration to others. A better citizen!
Right on the money, Mitch. We can do this and have in many, many areas over time. The number of Nobel Laureates is a wonderful long-term reminder. But to me, it is three things that really trouble me: (1) it is the achievement and schooling we offer to our kids. It is NOT good enough. And by this, I also include parents and how they support and challenge their children in meaningful ways to achieve, work hard, learn, and contribute. (2) I am quite troubled by the number of people we put into prison....as a percentage of the population. A Commission with a clear timeline, objective, public, bipartisan, needs to present a path for us to implement. We can do this if we wish. (3) I am most troubled with the number of guns in this country...more than our population. No country comes close to us. Again a Commission with a short time line, clear objective, and a path to lower the number of guns and the deaths and injuries. Other countries have done it...and done extraordinarily well at this mission.
There I feel better, but sadly knowing how much more we have to do. But like running a company, an organization, we need to pick a few, just a few items like these three (NO MORE THAN THREE I believe), and MAKE SOMETHING MEASUREABLE HAPPEN.
(P.S. NO company or org, for profit or not, that is worth its salt, runs and operates without a focus on the key metrics it wants to improve. We need to stop the talking, and start the "doing". Fewer words, more action, more results.
WOWerful, Mitch. I believe the American Century ended a generation ago (at least). We are well into the Chinese Century. That does not mean our greatness went with it, yet we conflated exceptionalism with fire-power.🫣
The most visible element of American exceptionalism, rooted in a republic or laws not an empire of men, was never supposed to last; and, happily, it has not lasted as many countries have migrated toward democracy. 🗽
The soft-power that also constituted exceptionalism (i.e., promoting human dignity in programs like the Great Society or P.E.P.F.A.R.) required not only republican virtue (i.e., good citizenship), but also engaged vigilance. ⚖️
That speaks to the tragedy of the United States today: our citizenry has become so de-moralized that an epidemic of resignation to corrupted, callous, and authoritarian leadership has emerged and, thus far, appear to be intractable. Hopefully, in this case, appearances deceive. 💔
For more than 10 years American political life has been dominated by trump. A CONVICTED FELON on 34 counts, liable for sexual abuse in court, twice impeached, years of buisness fraud. Four years of investigation, indictments, judicial proceedings and in the end he was reelected.
Trump is a tool of the corporate financial oligarchy that has come to rule the United States.
The Oligarchy has become authoritarian, trump's first term was to establish the elements of a fascist movement. He cultivated paramilitary groups, a hatred for immigrants, authoritarian rule within the executive.
He tried to overthrow the 2020 election with a coup d' etat on Jan.6th.
Now in trump's 2nd term, he is surrounded by loyalists and media propaganda, he deployed his ICE GOONS,into American cities to intimidate and terrorize American citizens exercising their constitutional rights.
An illegal invasion of Venezuela, and war with Iran.
Ukraine, Gaza, Venezuela, Iran are the opening fronts of WW3.
America is in rapid decline and at this point its probably too late to stop it
Uncle Martin, will there BE Midterms in 2026? If yes, will voters be intimidated by ICE, militia, police, maga crowds, and/or other means? If yes, will votes be counted and registered honestly and fairly? If yes, will the sitting Congress accept and acknowledge the results should Democrats prevail? If NO, and Midterms NOT transpire- or vote counts be suspect- or the current Republicans in Congress refuse to step aside- then, what will Americans DO?
After reading the post I would say, "Look at the current leader and then answer the question. Is The "shining city on a hill" rapidly losing its lustre by every relevant metric along the humanity spectrum” ?
After reading the post I would say, "Look at the current leader and then answer the question. Is The "shining city on a hill" rapidly losing its lustre by every relevant metric along the humanity spectrum” ?
If you've not seen it, this excerpt from an episode of "The Newsroom" with Jeff Daniels is well worth watching:
https://youtu.be/l3UleEDG9CI?is=qRZKZtVqUsJlAcAt
So good.
💯
The US is the greatest - for an investor. Not so much for a worker.
So many ups and downs, right? I covered a few in the article.
The US is definitely great at one thing:
Robbing it's population and killing all over the world.
My country is the land under our feet. Screw the criminals in power. The unethical leaders are all warmongers. Look at Gaza, Lebanon. They mostly all support their nasty little murdering proxy - Israel. The USA is not great.
BTW:
China far surpasses the US as an economy. Thank the criminal misleaders for our demise.
Not any more, if we ever were.
Mitch, well said. I’ve been so fortunate to have lived in Europe in my teens as well as travel to many countries because my father was a world class scientist. This has been my mantra for a while but has gained steam in the last 15 years:
It depends what you mean by greatest country. Overall. there are many countries who offer so much more to living a full life than the U.S.
We suck at public transportation and healthcare for our citizens. Two very important needs that “greatest country” status must have.
We have inordinately large populations of people who are racists living here. “Greatest countries” have very small, managed, or in the case of Brazil, laws against racism. Today it seems to be encouraged.
“Greatest countries” also have free and fair elections that are extremely resistant to outside interference from foreign governments, or internal political parties monkeying with results. We used to. Not any longer. Needs fixing.
“Greatest countries” also have a Supreme Court system that is not in the pockets of oligarchs and politicians, or Presidents. We have highly rewarded judges that do the bidding of oligarchs and political influencers without fail. This topic alone kills it for us.
So, even though we have a majority of wonderful citizens and permanent residents of all the colors of the rainbow, from across the globe that are so beautiful, vibrant, hardworking, talented speaking languages from around planet we can’t seem to understand that what makes a country great is how we treat our citizens and residents. And for that very reason, no, we are simply not the greatest country in the world. We’re still a decent country with lots of promise, but we are a citizenry that is so easily manipulated and gullible to be the greatest country in the world.
We have a lot of work to do if we want to join the exclusive status of being considered a “greatest country.” It’s time to get to work.
Try the greatest murderers in the world. The greatest liars and thieves
I love the US, but I don't think we have ever been "the greatest country in the world" - not when racism has been built into the fabric of our country since day one. So even when everything was rolling along nicely after WWII for the expanding middle class white Americans, those opportunities were denied to the descendants of the former slaves who helped build this country, as well as the Chinese and other immigrants who helped build the railroads, and the indigenous peoples who we stole this land from. By denying how systemic racism is and has been, and how that means not everyone has had the same opportunities, we deny the possibility of being the greatest country. We have so much potential to accomplish great things here in the US, and we are squandering our opportunities by not giving everyone equal rights and equal opportunities.
Anne Wright, you didn't mention post-WWll American prejudice against religious minorities such as Jews and Muslims.
Very true. I admit that I tend to just group all non-WASP/Catholics minorities, and that's not really fair because there are so many forms of bigotry here in the US. I almost went into the way the US failed to help Jewish people leading up to the Holocaust (and preferred to let them all move to Palestine rather than allowing more into the US after WWII). Certainly the discrimination against religious minorities continued after WWII along side racism.
No you’re not. Not sure you’ve ever been - humility goes with great. If there’s on thing the US has not ever been its humble. Perhaps when humility burrows into the psyche of the nature, you might have a chance.
Not anymore!
I really enjoyed this piece because it forced me to stop and think instead of just reacting.
I love this country. I genuinely do. But no country in the history of the world has ever stood around chanting, “We’re number two!” Every country wants to believe they’re the greatest. That’s human nature. The question is whether we’re willing to honestly measure ourselves against everyone else instead of simply repeating the slogan.
To me, patriotism isn’t pretending we’re perfect. Patriotism is loving your country enough to admit where we’re falling short because that’s the only way you ever get better.
What discourages me the most isn’t even where we rank on various lists. It’s the way we’ve chosen to treat each other.
People love to point at communism as the great evil, but capitalism has its own blind spots too. Every economic system eventually seems to favor the few over the many if left unchecked.
Take Walmart as an example. For years there were reports of companies taking life insurance policies out on employees while simultaneously keeping many of those same employees below full-time status so they wouldn’t qualify for health insurance or benefits. If someone got sick, the burden shifted to taxpayers, hospitals, and families. If they died, in some cases the company benefited financially through insurance policies while the family was left with crushing medical debt.
Whether every detail of every case is identical isn’t really my point. The point is this. Somewhere along the way we built systems that often reward corporations more than the people doing the work. That should bother all of us.
Then I look at Norway.
When Norway discovered oil, they made a decision. They invested that wealth back into their people. They built a sovereign wealth fund that benefits future generations. They made sure people don’t spend their lives wondering how they’ll afford college, whether breaking an ankle will bankrupt them, how they’ll survive retirement, or whether having a baby will leave them buried in debt.
Do Norwegians all drive Ferraris? No.
Do they all live in mansions? No.
But they have something that, to me, seems far more valuable. They have peace of mind. They have security. They have dignity.
Meanwhile, we’ve spent decades convincing ourselves that if we simply give more and more power to corporations, eventually everyone else will benefit. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes it doesn’t. Looking around today, I think it’s fair to ask whether the balance has tipped too far.
I also think America sometimes forgets just how young we are.
There are families in Europe living in homes older than our country. There are little girls having tea parties in buildings that have stood longer than the United States has existed.
We’re still a very young nation trying to figure ourselves out.
Our history wasn’t clean. It wasn’t noble from beginning to end. It includes slavery, the destruction and displacement of Indigenous peoples, disease, injustice, and countless mistakes.
Loving America doesn’t require pretending those things didn’t happen.
It requires acknowledging them, learning from them, and choosing to do better.
Sometimes I think America is like an incredibly talented teenager.
Confident.
Brilliant.
Capable of amazing things.
Also stubborn.
Convinced nobody can tell us anything.
Rolling our eyes whenever another country points out something we’re doing poorly.
There’s an old saying that ignorance is bliss. I think arrogance and ignorance often travel together. We don’t know what we don’t know.
Every generation believes they’re living through the worst political moment in history. I don’t know that we’re unique. History tends to move in cycles. The pendulum swings too far one direction, then too far the other, and every once in a while it briefly passes through something resembling normal.
The difference today is speed.
A hundred years ago misinformation moved as fast as a horse or a newspaper.
Now it circles the globe in seconds.
People form opinions from headlines they never read beyond. Algorithms reward outrage over understanding. Division spreads faster than facts because anger gets clicks.
So what do we do?
Honestly, I think we stop obsessing over everyone else’s backyard and start cleaning up our own.
Turn off the television.
Put down the phone.
Step away from social media.
Sit quietly with your own thoughts for a little while.
Ask yourself difficult questions.
If you’re a Christian, are the politics you support actually reflecting the Jesus you say you follow?
If you’re angry, why?
If you’re wrong, can you admit it?
Can you forgive yourself for making mistakes without doubling down simply because your pride won’t let you change?
That’s the muscle I think we’ve lost.
Introspection.
Every night when I lay my head on the pillow, I don’t want to ask whether I defeated someone online or won another political argument.
I want to ask one question.
Did I make decisions today that aligned with the person I want to be?
If the answer is no, tomorrow is another opportunity.
Forgive yourself.
Own your mistakes.
Adjust.
Grow.
Imagine what this country could become if millions of us did that instead of spending every waking hour blaming everyone else.
I don’t think we’re going to heal ourselves through more outrage, more finger pointing, or more performative anger online.
Whatever we’re doing right now clearly isn’t working.
Maybe the answer isn’t louder voices.
Maybe it’s quieter moments.
Fix your own backyard.
Learn to forgive yourself.
Be kind to yourself.
Because people who extend grace to themselves usually find it much easier to extend grace to other people.
And maybe that’s how countries heal too.
Not all at once.
One honest person at a time.
Wow - this was the first comment I read, and it is equally as moving to me as Mitch’s always incredible and informative writing.
Yes, Daniel Shim. I, too, am moved and inspired by "Try failed society and led by sociopathic murderers". It was liked by Mitch Jackson as well.
I’m inspired by your intuitive, well written comments.
As we look in the mirror, are we really the person we see or does our vanity and pride create an imaginary image that goes beyond the thin and shallow image the silver creates from the back of the glass?
Your inspired post should hopefully encourage us all to look much deeper than just our superficial images.
As humans, supposedly the most intelligent living creatures on earth, we are easily swayed. We will trade our integrity, our self esteem, self respect, empathy for others, our dignity, our loved ones, and even the image we see in the mirror for “30 pieces of silver”, so to speak.
I will save your inspired comments and hopefully employ them in my life, becoming a more joyful, less self absorbed, better, deeper, more “human” version of myself and an inspiration to others. A better citizen!
Try failed society and led by sociopathic murderers
Fabulous! thank you for writing.
Right on the money, Mitch. We can do this and have in many, many areas over time. The number of Nobel Laureates is a wonderful long-term reminder. But to me, it is three things that really trouble me: (1) it is the achievement and schooling we offer to our kids. It is NOT good enough. And by this, I also include parents and how they support and challenge their children in meaningful ways to achieve, work hard, learn, and contribute. (2) I am quite troubled by the number of people we put into prison....as a percentage of the population. A Commission with a clear timeline, objective, public, bipartisan, needs to present a path for us to implement. We can do this if we wish. (3) I am most troubled with the number of guns in this country...more than our population. No country comes close to us. Again a Commission with a short time line, clear objective, and a path to lower the number of guns and the deaths and injuries. Other countries have done it...and done extraordinarily well at this mission.
There I feel better, but sadly knowing how much more we have to do. But like running a company, an organization, we need to pick a few, just a few items like these three (NO MORE THAN THREE I believe), and MAKE SOMETHING MEASUREABLE HAPPEN.
(P.S. NO company or org, for profit or not, that is worth its salt, runs and operates without a focus on the key metrics it wants to improve. We need to stop the talking, and start the "doing". Fewer words, more action, more results.
If we are THE GREATEST, let's show it. NOW."
WOWerful, Mitch. I believe the American Century ended a generation ago (at least). We are well into the Chinese Century. That does not mean our greatness went with it, yet we conflated exceptionalism with fire-power.🫣
The most visible element of American exceptionalism, rooted in a republic or laws not an empire of men, was never supposed to last; and, happily, it has not lasted as many countries have migrated toward democracy. 🗽
The soft-power that also constituted exceptionalism (i.e., promoting human dignity in programs like the Great Society or P.E.P.F.A.R.) required not only republican virtue (i.e., good citizenship), but also engaged vigilance. ⚖️
That speaks to the tragedy of the United States today: our citizenry has become so de-moralized that an epidemic of resignation to corrupted, callous, and authoritarian leadership has emerged and, thus far, appear to be intractable. Hopefully, in this case, appearances deceive. 💔
For more than 10 years American political life has been dominated by trump. A CONVICTED FELON on 34 counts, liable for sexual abuse in court, twice impeached, years of buisness fraud. Four years of investigation, indictments, judicial proceedings and in the end he was reelected.
Trump is a tool of the corporate financial oligarchy that has come to rule the United States.
The Oligarchy has become authoritarian, trump's first term was to establish the elements of a fascist movement. He cultivated paramilitary groups, a hatred for immigrants, authoritarian rule within the executive.
He tried to overthrow the 2020 election with a coup d' etat on Jan.6th.
Now in trump's 2nd term, he is surrounded by loyalists and media propaganda, he deployed his ICE GOONS,into American cities to intimidate and terrorize American citizens exercising their constitutional rights.
An illegal invasion of Venezuela, and war with Iran.
Ukraine, Gaza, Venezuela, Iran are the opening fronts of WW3.
America is in rapid decline and at this point its probably too late to stop it
We used to be. And can again... Come November vote the scoundrels out and correct, or at least address the current problems
Uncle Martin, will there BE Midterms in 2026? If yes, will voters be intimidated by ICE, militia, police, maga crowds, and/or other means? If yes, will votes be counted and registered honestly and fairly? If yes, will the sitting Congress accept and acknowledge the results should Democrats prevail? If NO, and Midterms NOT transpire- or vote counts be suspect- or the current Republicans in Congress refuse to step aside- then, what will Americans DO?