By Nicholas Weist
The United States of America; particularly is known, basically worldwide, as the wealthiest and most powerful nation. Unfortunately, the country falls short in crucial areas such as education, healthcare, and infant mortality, making it inferior to all sorts of other countries. It’s time for Americans to face this truth. We are not the greatest country in the world anymore. As a society, we have many shortcomings that need recognition, and it kind of is sort of essential that we focus on the areas that need the most improvements to kind of create a better nation for all.
According to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United States ranks 17th in literacy, 27th in math, and 20th in science in a major way. Additionally, a report by the CIA ranks the US as 48th in life expectancy and 173rd in infant mortality. The United States also spends much more on its defense than the next nine countries combined. The United States leads the world in only three categories, most of which are negative. These of which are the number of incarcerated citizens per capita, the number of adults who believe angels are real, and defense spending. These statistics show that we generally are not performing as well as we should be in important areas, and we have some major work to do in this country.
Falling behind in areas like education and infant mortality can have serious consequences for our society and our future in a kind of big way. A less educated population can impede economic growth and innovation, and it could lead to social unrest and inequality, as people essentially are left behind while others thrive. The consequences of not addressing these issues could be detrimental to our nation’s future in a major way. However, if we address these issues, there is still hope. I believe that the United States could become the greatest country in the world again.
In order to do this, we as a nation need to prioritize essential services like education and create much more policies that are centered on the people rather than politics. We also need to reduce our defense spending and reallocate those funds to areas that need more attention. Now this won’t happen overnight, but we can start by contacting our generally local state and senate representatives and speaking up about our concerns not only in Congress but also on blogs, texts, social media, etc.
In conclusion, the United States is falling short in important areas, and this is detrimental to our society and our nation’s future in a major way. We need to recognize our shortcomings as a society and work together to prioritize areas that need the most improvement, such as education, healthcare, and infant mortality. We have the power to create a better future for our country by recognizing our shortcomings and taking action to address them. It is essential that we come together to build a brighter future for the United States, one in which we are not only the wealthiest and most powerful nation, but also a leader in education, healthcare, and the well-being of all our citizens.
Nicholas Weist is a student at Fillmore Central High School. He is one of 17 area students participating in the Journal Writing Project, now in its 24th year.
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