For all its faults, this is still the greatest nation on Earth, and well worth preserving!

It may be the most prosperous nation on earth, but is far from being the greatest. The ratio of success to failure stories is diminishing as the percentage of wealth accumulated at the top echelon of earners increases. This is a continuing trend that started in the ’70s and has been fairly steady since.

Many nations now kick our collective butts in most metrics that are critical to maintaining democracy, such as education and income equality. As a result, they are providing for their citizens a much more available opportunity for success and certainly far less stress. America went the full blown captitalist route after WWII while Europe rebuilt around a more socialist model out of necessity forced upon it by the decimation of its production capacity. As a result, not only are the citizens of most European nations happier and healthier, but the opportunity for business is greater there.

People with their basic needs met, or assured, are able to climb up one step, at least, on Maslow’s pyramid and offer more to society as well as enjoy more prosperity themselves. People who are relegated to a constant competition in a fight for mere survival, as almost half of Americans are now, simply can’t contribute to the betterment of others, and by extension themselves. When the basic tool of education in social advancement is treated as just another market for profit potential that country is dead and just going through the death throes.