After a wonderful week of reform (S/O to SCOTUS and my main woman, the Notorious RBG), I figured it was time to sober up and take in the bigger picture. So first off, congratulations to everyone because we have finally managed to give the very basic rights to people in this country from affordable health care to the right to marriage. Apparently, in the land of the free, seeing everyone as equals is completely different from affording everyone equal opportunity. It’s a battle we are still facing as social equality is too closely tied to polarizing conversations and gridlocks that have stalled any attempt at progress.
That’s right, America is NOT no. 1 and quite frankly, hasn’t been for years. The Social Progress Index for 2015 is out and America is ranked 16th among 133 other countries. Now, that may put us in the top 15th percentile but chanting “We are no. 16!” doesn’t hold the same sentiment. To put it in terms everyone can relate to: saying we are the number one country in the world is a bit like Kanye West saying he’s the “No. 1 Rock Star on the Planet”.
Yes, Kanye may be awesome, but number one? Also, rock star?
So the Social Progress Index measures more than just a country’s numerical value. It asks the basic questions: “Does the country provide the essentials?” “Is social mobility present?” “Is there opportunity for social mobility?”
Now looking at the United States’s scores, we are rarely in the top ten for anything except shelter and access to advanced education. As most college grads have seen, the price that comes with the advanced education is not too kind. Personal safety, health and wellness, ecosystem sustainability, and tolerance and inclusion are among the worse scores. In fact, this social transcript could probably put us on probation.
Maybe it is time to put aside our pride and see how the other nations have managed to surpass us in these categories. We see Canada is a leader in personal safety while Australia is exceptional in health and wellness. The worst part is that we do lead in the amount of money spent on health care per capita.
America has seen economic growth. However, social progress lagging behind economic growth is one of the reasons behind our disappearing middle class. Our less advantaged citizens cannot take advantage of a growing economy due to a more rigid social class. In order for America to be number one, we need to holistically progress forward.
This past week has been a leap forward for America. Unfortunately, this leap may be several years overdue. In my eyes, we have only managed to give everyone their basic rights as citizens of this country. We still have a long way to go in the war for social reform. There are yet more battles to come in order for tolerance and inclusion to increase. We have seen firsthand that personal safety is a huge issue from college campuses to acts of racism. The fact that affordable health care has been under scrutiny rather than being welcomed is another example of how social progress is being stalled. It’s time we start coming together to create a country that we can proudly (and correctly) refer to as number one.
