Crazy

Trey Smith

Writing in the New Yorker, British-born and now naturalized American citizen John Cassidy asks a very pointed question: Is America Crazy?

Having lived here for almost thirty years, and having been a U.S. citizen for the past five, I am greatly attached to this country and admire many aspects of it enormously. But the dogged persistence of certain American shibboleths has always struck me as somewhat curious.

What are these shared convictions? I could go on all day, but here, for argument’s sake, are ten. Not all Americans subscribe to them, of course. In some instances, the true believers may amount to a small but vocal minority. Still, the popular sentiment underlying these statements is so strong that politicians defy it at their peril.

1. Gun laws and gun deaths are unconnected.
2. Private enterprise is good; public enterprise is bad.
3. God created America and gave it a special purpose.
4. Our health-care system is the best there is.
5. The Founding Fathers were saintly figures who established liberty and democracy for everyone.
6. America is the greatest country in the world.
7. Tax rates are too high.
8. America is a peace-loving nation: the reason it gets involved in so many wars is that foreigners keep attacking us.
9. Cheap energy, gasoline especially, is our birthright.
10. Everybody else wishes they were American.

I'd like to quibble with his list, but I see no reason to. It is actually pretty much on target! Since I seem to be out-of-step with most on my fellow citizens, the way I will respond to this list (with a list of my own) neither will surprise nor shock readers.

1. Gun laws and gun deaths are connected -- How could a sane person think otherwise?
2. Private enterprise can be good (when well regulated), but so can public enterprise.
3. There is no such thing as God and thus the US has no "special" purpose.
4. Our health-care system is not very good. It costs way more than it should and too many Americans are left out of this system altogether.
5. The Founding Fathers were not saints. They established uneven liberty and democracy.
6. America is but one country in the world.
7. Tax rates are too low for the wealthy and tend to be regressive, in nature.
8. America is a war-loving nation: the reason it gets involved in so many wars is that our leaders are greedy bastards!
9. Cheap energy, gasoline especially, is no one's birthright.
10. Everybody else wishes they were American -- I doubt this greatly!