I grew up hearing on the news, hearing in church, hearing in school and conversations around me that “The United States of America is the greatest nation in the world.” Never before have I really questioned this notion instead blindly accepting it as truth. But recently I’ve stumbled across several statements that offer a different perspective on the “greatness” of this country and have me wondering how do we really measure greatness? Is greatness measured by our educational system? Is greatness measured by the quality of life in both longevity and care? Or perhaps greatness is measured by our freedoms?
I decided to take a look into our “measurables” to see just how great of a nation we truly are by the numbers. This is what I found:
» Health Care
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), of all the countries in the world we rank a paltry thirty-seventh (37th) behind countries like Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Iceland, Malta and France. (France is the top country in the world for health care). In regards to life expectancy we fare slightly better ranking twenty-fourth (24th). However, as a country our overall health performance plummets to seventy-second (72nd). This quote from The Guardian helps to sum up the state of our health care system:
“Despite spending $230million an hour on healthcare, Americans live shorter lives than citizens of almost every other developed country.”
Not quite the statement you’d expect about the “greatest” nation in the world.
» Education:
As a product of our educational system, it’s not hard to believe that we don’t rank at the top, but what surprised me more than anything is we (the United States) don’t even crack the Top 25 in Reading, Math or Science. Canada, our neighbor to the north, ranks in the top 5 in Reading and Science and the top 10 in Math.
Not quite the statistics you’d expect about the “greatest” nation in the world.
» Freedom:
So, if education and health care don’t make you the greatest nation then it must be our freedoms, right? As the purveyor and champion of freedom in the world, it would stand to reason that we experience the greatest amount of freedom in the world. However, according to Freedom House (who provides the US with the benefit of the doubt) we tie for 21st in Freedom of the Press behind a slew of countries like Finland and Denmark, Iceland and Germany. Or take this stat for instance: The United States of America “enjoys” the greatest rate of incarceration of any country in the world at 5.6 million, or 1 in 37 adults… which doesn’t include many white-collar criminals like Bernie Madoff. (Sidenote: Why do we have so much crime in this country compared to all the others?)
We are, however quite free according to Freedom House, but not the most free. We simply reside in the upper tier with 50 other countries like France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Poland, Malta, Slovenia, Micronesia, etc. So, then if we are the “greatest” nation in the world and freedom, education, and health aren’t a part of the equation then what is it that makes us so great?
In a word: Military. We are the undisputed (undisputable) #1 country in military strength/might/power. Our defense budget is a whopping $515 billion dollars, or more than 10 times higher than Russia—the #2 country on the list.
Is this really why we’re the “greatest” country in the world? (“Agree with us or we’ll blow you up?”) Perhaps its time for us to stop saying we’re the “greatest” country in the world and start living like we are… start shifting some of that massive defense budget towards investments like health care and education—could you imagine a $200 billion infusion into our educational system?! It wouldn’t hurt our military standing in the world but it’d certainly revolutionize our children’s education!—and instead of “protecting our freedom” actually create systems and structures that promote freedom within our borders instead of working to incarcerate 1 in 37 adults.
When is enough firepower enough? Is it when we continue to stockpile it to the detriment of our children’s education? Is it when we continue to add more and more weapons of mass destruction to our arsenal to the detriment of our own health and well-being? Or is it enough when we’ve incarcerated more of our citizens than any other country?
I suppose more than anything our “defense” (offense) spending shows where our true priorities sit… and it’s certainly not an attempt to make this nation great… but rather to protect our mediocrity.
“The Church is the hope of the world.” These are the words Bill Hybels has been preaching at Leadership Summits and Conferences, printing in books and writing in articles for many years, but my question is not whether it’s true but if it’s actually being lived out by the church.
On Tuesday morning (1.20.09), Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States under the banner of hope and a promise of change. Obama’s rise from obscurity was nothing short of remarkable, but he achieved this by tapping into the hunger and desperation the country (and the world) was seeking: Hope. Obama’s message was tailored throughout the campaign, and even now in his first few days of office, specifically around the idea of hope which has laid dormant in the hearts and minds of Americans. Ultimately Obama did a tremendous job of exegeting our culture and this masterful understanding not only won him the election but elevated him as the symbol of hope in this country and around the world.
What happened to the church being the hope of the world?
Perhaps a statistic can help us with the big picture. In a recent survey conducted by Lifeway Research, 72% of respondents said the church is “full of hypocrites.” It’s no secret that the public image of the church has taken a major hit, but how did we get to this point?
During the election season, much of the church stood vocally opposed to the election of Barack Obama and his message of hope, sealing the image of the church as destroyers of hope. Despite where you stood in the election, the church’s response to Barack Obama was neither gracious, loving, and least of all hopeful. Perhaps the most startling example was from Focus on the Family in a letter written by Dr. James Dobson entitled Letter from 2012 in Obama’s America [pdf] which declared that the hope Obama would bring is nothing short of the destruction of the Christian faith and unraveling the fabric of American life. In the eyes of the public, the church stood diametrically opposed to hope. This was perhaps the final nail in the proverbial coffin.
For far too long the church has engaged in “hell-fire and brimstone” tactics and strategies that have veered more on the hope-less rather than bringing hope and promise to a world starved for a message of hope. The church’s role is to fill the void with a new hope, however we haven’t and instead of filling it we’ve left a gaping expanse. Barack Obama simply filled the void left by the church.
The church hasn’t done the hard work of listening, of trying to understand what the country is clamoring for (hope-which is exactly what the gospel offers when presented as good news instead of “hell-fire and brimstone”). We haven’t changed our approach to express the hope of the Kingdom of God and as a result Obama has become the symbol of hope reserved for the church because of Jesus. (Never more was this more clear than on Tuesday.) Now we’re left in a position we should have never been in the first place.
It’s time for the church to listen to and learn from Obama, to understand how he speaks to the country and the way in which he communicates a new hope for a new age. It’s time or us not to hitch our train to him, but to ride his coattails and prepare the way of hope by using his language and his rhetoric in ways that communicate the gospel. We can learn from his exegesis of the culture in such a way that eventually we will be able to take up the mantle of hope in the public square once again. Let me be clear: This is not about systematically embracing his political viewpoints and promoting his public policy. This is about learning how he communicates hope to the culture, something we have obviously forgotten how to do.
Remember, in four to eight years Obama, like Bush, will fade into history. Unless the church is there and prepared to pick up the ball of hope and run with it, we’ll have missed our opportunity once again to be the symbol of hope as the bride of Christ. And instead, to the rest of the world, hopelessness will be the banner by which we operate.
“I was there.” Those are the words that someday I will be able to say to my children and my children’s children. Today marked an amazing day in the history of the United States as President Barack Obama took office as the 44th President of this country. I spent the morning with thousands of other people watching the Inauguration simulcast on a big screen in front of City Hall in a scene that could only be described as surreal. There was a great sense of anticipation, a tremendous amount of jubilee and excitement in what many could only classify as “hope” seized the day.
I remember the party we went to on November 4th, the night the votes were tallied and the will of the people was expressed. There were cheers and shouts of excitement, tears shed as people hugged and sobbed for a new belief in what could be possible at this moment. Today was the realization of that moment 2 1/2 months ago.
As I stood among the crowd I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of emotion that took place. Directly in front of me a couple stood embraced with tears pouring down their face after Obama took the oath of office. Another man to my right openly sobbed as he held his arms high with clenched fists before shouting at the top of his lungs with what I can only describe as a shout of freedom. All throughout the crowd scenes such as these took place over and over again. Never before have I seen so much emotion, so much hope, and so many dreams for a brighter tomorrow than I did today on the faces of the people of San Francisco.
Nelson Mandela wrote a letter to President Obama that was delivered today that masterfully captures the tone that many in San Francisco and around the world are experiencing today:
“Your election has inspired the people around the world more than any other recent event… Amongst many in the world there is a sense of hopelessness that had set in as so many problems remain unresolved and seemingly incapable of being resolved. You Mr. President have brought a new voice of hope that these problems can in fact be mastered.”
Today is a new day, and President Obama’s voice is one for the ages. Let us continue to hope, continue to pray and begin working hard to see the change in this world that we dream possible.
This ad ran after the debate in a few select locations…
This is one of the most powerful arguments I’ve seen on the issue or heard and it’s a tremendous example of the power of testimony.
We typically see this issue as an either/or sort of thing – it’s either life or death; it’s either choice (liberty) or governmental restrictions; it’s either murder or protecting the unborn. Is there a way to see this question as a both/and? Is there a middle ground that takes the life of the unborn in to consideration as well as the emotional/physical/wholeness of the mother also?
With fear of stirring up a hornet’s nest I ask the question anyways… what are you thoughts? But more importantly, what should the church’s response to this question be?
Ever wonder who the rest of the world wants us to elect as president? This is the question The Economist asked as it put together its very own global electoral college to help us answer that very question. With 9,875 electoral votes at stake encompassing 195 countries and representing 6.5 billion people, this is how the current electoral map stands as of 11:40am:
Currently the college has it at: Obama 8,489 | McCain 16.
Obviously this isn’t a scientific poll but there is something that I do find interesting about the make-up of this map and the dividing line of red and blue, especially as it relates to the church.
The epicenter of the church has shifted from Western Europe and the United States to the Southern Hemisphere in locations like Australia, South America, Africa and China and in each of these locations on the map they are shaded blue. I find it interesting that Christians in the remainder of the world are not “voting” McCain or swaying many countries ‘Red’ in this global electoral college.
The difference between red and blue in the United States for the past 30 year has revolved around two main issues: homosexuality and abortion. However, for the rest of the world–Christians included–this doesn’t seem to matter as it relates to the next American President. For them it seems the power of America is much more far reaching than those two issues, that this country has a much greater chance to change the world for the better with a certain leader over another. This doesn’t mean that these two issues (homosexuality & abortion) are pointless, but rather that they are something that the church should handle in a caring and loving way — as it does in every other pro-choice nation around the world.
I for one am growing weary of the rhetoric my Christian brothers and sisters pour out in condemnation upon me for choosing to vote Democrat as if this is some sort of break with Jesus and Christianity… that I have somehow walked away from my faith and instead “embraced the liberal-ness of the Devil.” (My favorite accusation by the way.) My vote is no longer a “pro-life” vote even though it is a vote for the hope of peace and less war (no more needless and completely preventable death); it is no longer a “pro-life” vote even though it is a vote for a reduction in abortion (something conspicuously absent—read: removed—from the Republican platform) — // soapbox: if a Republican Congress (pro-life), Republican President (pro-life), and Pro-life Supreme Court can’t outlaw abortion in 8 years then what makes you think McCain is going to be the savior of it all? Don’t you ever feel used for voting for a party which continually promises to overturn Roe v. Wade yet never does anything about it? When is enough enough? Have you ever thought that if Roe v. Wade were overturned what the Republican party would run on that would win elections? There’s nothing else that swings an election like that… why would they get rid of their biggest weapon?// My vote is a pro-life vote for the countless widows and orphans in Africa, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and many other third-world countries who live in extreme poverty, a poverty that kills at a rate of 1 child every 3 seconds. My vote is a pro-life vote in these and many other aspects that I believe will be addressed by the Democratic party nominee for President and his administration.
I don’t disagree with your values, in fact I understand your convictions and applaud them… but please stop your anger and hatred for my convictions which I too find dripping from the pages of Scripture in the words of Jesus and the Prophets.
Perhaps what I find most frustrating about all of this is that we have allowed Red and Blue to divide not only this country, but the church as well… and for that we should be truly ashamed.
