A lot of fun but how long can they keep it going. Their infrastructure was built with the aid of a political system that abused their populace. I do agree that families in the US do not seem to value education. That could be correlated to the lack of a one child policy...or the low divorce rate....or to a culture that knows that there is something greater out there and makes plans to achieve it very early on. It is captured very well on this TV show.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/susancheng/fresh-off-the-boat-moments-is-way-too-real?utm_term=.vcm5a9xRM#.pavy3Rz8g

Good effin' grief.

they build stuff no one wants with little regard to the people they displace. There are entire cities completely empty.

They do spend a lot on their military and don't use it for war. It's mainly for domestic control

The US does need to fix our crumbling roads and bridges and transit systems and water systems. Obama did fix a bunch with recovery act but it's not nearly enough.

The big money drain is not any of the right wing's favorite punching bags, not remotely close.

We have, for decades, built planes the military would not fly because they would fall out of the sky if it rained. They built tanks and more tanks that just are parked in big lots.

Just look at a pie chart of our budget and it is obvious.

War just speeds up the the money drain while people die.

Minus war and greed this could be a good world for all.

There was a time when republicans - like Ike - had a lick of common sense. Alas and alack, those days are long gone.

......ticket.

the Latter Day republicans would despise him for telling the truth, and for demonstrating American values.

Jack(Captain Obvious) Ma

Is that to some degree the Chinese can now lecture the US.

American gullibility, laziness and paranoia has repeatedly resulted in wildly damaging policies... Abd they don't just damage Americans.

So we've destroyed any real honest exceptionalism, and frankly the rest of the world hasn't believed in that for decades... Since after WW2.

So this notion of being inherently special is now nothing more than inwardly directed propaganda.

We could have the best country on the planet, but now... We're like top 15 maybe.

And Trump is driving that even lower by the day.

Not one country is exceptional - technology has shattered all the myths

Saying that American Exceptionalism isn't just the word America next to the word exceptional.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism

And it's being pushed via schools, and has been for decades:

http://www.newsweek.com/revised-ap-history-standards-will-emphasize-american-exceptionalism-358210
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/16/texas-schools-rewrites-us-history

that everyone buys it.

But millions and millions and millions of Americans so.

Was it ever? Not that I can see.

And the opinion of Ma is right on the money. And not only has the money gone to the military, as I am sure you and I and malaise and all here know.

Would we place greater value on the life of the child and focus more attention on their development?