The Fabric of America Is Fraying as the Economic Downturn Continues

via AlterNet:



The Fabric of America Is Fraying as the Economic Downturn Continues

By David Wann, Denver Post. Posted July 26, 2008.

Our economic success, as it's generally measured, obscures some deep social problems.




By certain measurements, the U.S. economy has been quite successful in the last several decades, but the fundamental question remains: Successfully what?

We may lead the world in categories like gross domestic product, average house size, and ownership of color TVs, but we also "lead" the industrial nations in debt per capita, the child poverty rate, overall poverty rate, ratio of people in prison, rate of traffic fatalities, murder rate, carbon dioxide emissions per capita, and the per capita consumption of energy and water.

These are hardly distinctions we can be proud of. Clearly, we're not taking care of what really matters. On the upside, increased awareness of where we stand can guide a reordering of national and local priorities, resulting in a healthier and more satisfying American lifestyle.

Especially eye-opening is data compiled by John de Graaf, director of the non-profit Take Back Your Time, which advocates legislative and lifestyle changes to provide more discretionary time.

The data compares the U.S. with 14 European Union countries in key quality-of-life indicators, demonstrating that many of our economic and cultural priorities are out of step with what humans actually need. Despite the familiar aspiration to be/appear optimistic, it's clear that health care, safety, personal security, equality, education, and leisure time are faltering in America.

For example, even a need as basic as nutrition is compromised when money is poorly allocated or spent. The average American slurps 53 gallons of soft drinks every year, and now spends more in restaurants (many of the fast-food variety) than in grocery stores. "Even wild monkeys have healthier diets than most Americans," says anthropologist Katharine Milton, partly because in our fast-paced world, the emphasis is on snackability, convenience and shelf life rather than human life. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/story/92717/the_fabric_of_america_is_fraying_as_the_economic_downturn_continues/

Americans, for the most part, are really a mess. One of the things that has really shocked me in recent years is the number of obese children. I remember as a kid that most of my peers were in the normal weight range. Now, when I look at the other children at the school my own children go to I am truly taken aback. Many of these children live on diets of junk food and fast food. They are going to have diabetes and heart disease by the time they are in their 30's. The health crisis that is looming when some of these kids hit adulthood is going to be far worse than anyone is imagining now.

On another issue,I don't really get American culture anymore. I can't explain it, but I think this country has lost its way. I believe our selfishness and sense of superiority has eroded our values.

Screams from the "Amen" corner! :applause: And even when statistics show better health, education and happiness statistics in many other places, large numbers of people still insist "BUT everything is better here!!!!"

Fatal Roman-esque arrogance.

In the book, the authors tell of the time before WWI & WWII when unions were strong & starting to negotiate for shorter work weeks - 30 hours instead of 40. At that time, Americans were comfortable, not excessively consumptive, & they defined wealth as increased leisure time, not excessive material goods that they didn't need. Then came the war, cars & television. After the war it was more common for women to work so families had more disposable income. Cars allowed families to move to the suburbs & buy bigger houses. And television gave Madison Avenue easy access to the average American. The mythical family "The Jones'" & planned obsolescence were created to keep Americans consuming. We traded in our citizenship to become mindless consumers.

David Horsey's cartoons, sprinkled throughout the book, are worth it alone.

We've really lost our way. Maybe an economic meltdown is what's needed to take to snap the masses out of their consumptive stupor. Life is about what you do, not what you have.

This is a great article. I hope everyone reads it.

k&r