Re: 40 embarrassing things US best at
Well regardless of source and the motives behind it, this does serve some purpose. I for one am of the opinion that your enemies can teach you more of yourself then your friends. Your enemies highlight your flaws, and thus force you to improve. Your friends not so much.
You said that we hold ourselves to a higher standard. When you hold yourself to higher standards, that implies that your flaws also a have greater weight. If we truly hold ourselves to higher standards, then we must also judge our flaws by a higher standard. So things that are minor flaws among others, are major and embarrassing flaws for us. You can not have it both ways. If you hold yourself to higher standard, you also open yourself to criticism for even the most minor of flaws.
The problem with US health care is not with the quality of care, but with access to that care. We all know this.
The embarrassing part is that we are not all covered. This would be excusable in a developing country, but not one who holds the standards the US does.
I think it is embarrassing that people die for lack of access to preventable health care. Or people have to compromise on their quality of life for a lack of affordability of basic meds. Again, this is the US, yet countries like Cuba have better coverage and care? You not embarrassed by that?
All this while the Afghan war is costing BILLIONS! Thats embarrassing.
The cost of elections is an issue, and an embarrassing one. The thriving secular democracy is in the hands of corporate interest and lobby groups with deep pockets.
When politicians sacrifice the their mandate for lobby groups, just for the sake of donations, then there is something very wrong with the system.
Super power embarrassments should be internal, but in the case of the US, those embarrassments can have a global impact. Example, that US politicians wallow among defense contractors, means more needless war and conflict in far flung areas of the world.
Also, as you said, we hold ourselves to higher standards. Not very many countries can say that. Iran with its skewed elections and corruption can be excused for its failings because it never claimed to be a shining example to the rest of the world. American exceptionalism means your failing cannot be excused in the same way.
You cannot tell the world your somehow better then all of them, and then get upset when they point out your flaws.