I could make a whole argument about how the difference in cost between healthy and unhealthy foods in the US is quite negligible. But I won’t, because that doesn’t matter, because the actual thing that matters is that in America, poor people are fat. Which is less than ideal, but is not bad. In fact, it’s pretty good considering that for most of human history, poor people were noticeably shorter than wealthy people because their growth was stunted as children. For most of human history, it was normal to die in famine.
Like, I can go outside in America right now. The sun is shining. The birds are chirping. I’m not a fan of the things going on in DC, but I’m a fan of the fact that I’m meeting up with a bunch of friends today to have a nice time together. And you know what? I’ve been to areas of Mexico which have a significant amount of cartel influence - and the people there are doing pretty okay. They enjoy going to the markets with their families, and having a few beers with their friends. They have ambitions to start businesses, find love, and pursue hobbies.
Sure, the US is falling flat on its face if we demand it be number one at everything all the time. But taking a more wholistic view, we can see that the US is still doing quite well relative to almost any time in the past. Is the US exceptional? I don’t think so. So why would I be surprised or unhappy when it turns out to not be exceptional?
Except America really isn’t that bad.
I could make a whole argument about how the difference in cost between healthy and unhealthy foods in the US is quite negligible. But I won’t, because that doesn’t matter, because the actual thing that matters is that in America, poor people are fat. Which is less than ideal, but is not bad. In fact, it’s pretty good considering that for most of human history, poor people were noticeably shorter than wealthy people because their growth was stunted as children. For most of human history, it was normal to die in famine.
Like, I can go outside in America right now. The sun is shining. The birds are chirping. I’m not a fan of the things going on in DC, but I’m a fan of the fact that I’m meeting up with a bunch of friends today to have a nice time together. And you know what? I’ve been to areas of Mexico which have a significant amount of cartel influence - and the people there are doing pretty okay. They enjoy going to the markets with their families, and having a few beers with their friends. They have ambitions to start businesses, find love, and pursue hobbies.
Sure, the US is falling flat on its face if we demand it be number one at everything all the time. But taking a more wholistic view, we can see that the US is still doing quite well relative to almost any time in the past. Is the US exceptional? I don’t think so. So why would I be surprised or unhappy when it turns out to not be exceptional?