http://www.secondratenation.com/
Second-Rate Nation: From the American Dream to the American Myth
by Sam D. Sieber, Ph.D.
442 pages, including 56 pages of references
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A new book by Sam Sieber, a leading social researcher, author, and
evaluator of federal programs (formerly of Columbia University),
presents conclusions that overturn our most cherished ideas about
America's exceptional standing.
Drawing on copious international and domestic evidence, the author
shows that the nation lags a significant distance behind other advanced
countries in such domains as democratic representation, health care,
education, crime and punishment, civil liberties, foreign affairs,
press freedom, and key features of the economy, including persistent
poverty. He also raises serious questions about the quality of our
mainstream media and our record in protecting the environment and
promoting racial and ethnic equality.
The author endeavors to answer the questions of how and why the
peculiar gulf between America's extraordinary self-esteem and the
true state of affairs has evolved. He is also concerned with
understanding how the nation's idealized self-image is sustained in
spite of overwhelming evidence of impairment in almost every important
domain.
The author's answer to these questions is that a full-fledged
American Myth has largely replaced the traditional American Dream, and
that this shift has occurred because of a series of historical shocks.
These shocks, beginning with the Vietnam War and followed by other
foreign misadventures and several economic downturns, have fostered an
imperiled sense of impotence and lost credibility with a compensatory
need for nostalgic self-celebration and global defiance. This
collective need, according to Sieber, is reinforced and exploited by
the nation's power elite. If Americans remain unaware of the true
conditions in their country, he warns, appropriate measures to overcome
its many deficiencies and bring its dreams to fruition will never be
undertaken. Thus, he regards the American Myth and its corporate,
governmental, and media defenders as the country's greatest obstacles
to progress.
Apart from the author's powerful thesis, the book is a rich
compendium of up-to-date statistical data on a variety of issues,
presented without either technical obfuscation or oversimplification.
It should therefore be useful to policymakers, journalists,
commentators, teachers, students, activists, public speakers, and
ordinary citizens who desire to learn about the true state of affairs
in our country today.
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http://www.ElmerFudd.US/ http://www.notserver.com/
Scientology crooks: http://sf.irk.ru/www/ot3/otiii-gif.html
Scientology murder: http://PerkinsTragedy.org
Improving the herd: http://www.rightard.org/
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