Politics of Mediocrity

I just read an interesting article titled "Ranking 37th - Measuring the Performance of the U.S. Health Care System" over at the Health Policy and Reform blog of the New England Journal of Medicine.

I read through this article and the one thing that strikes me over and over is the fact that the United States is rated 37th.  37th!  We aren't even in the top 10, we're barely in the top 40.  Yet I hear the rhetoric about how our health care is the best in the world over and over from the politicians and their apologists.

It might be great, but when you are ranked 37th based on it's effectiveness as a whole, then there is a problem.

Our national leaders have sold us, the American People, out!  They are being paid to hype the health care in this country in the face of reports just as this one.  Business is investiong in policy in Washington D.C. and state capitols across this nation, and the people are paying the dividends of it.

I've lost hope.  I really have.  This nation has begun to circle the drain.  We've forgotten what it takes to be great.  Greatness as a nation is not something inherant to a geographical area, or a name.  Greatness is derived only from the combined greatness of the citizens.  We have lost the will to be great.  We've come to believe greatness is our due, and not something to be worked for.  We've been convinced that mediocrity is greatness by our leaders, who are bought and paid for by the very business lobbies that have the most to lose should we try to claw our way back from medocrity and the edge failure.

As long as this is the case, 37th is about as high as we will be able to climb.