We're number one! Uh-oh...

This is a sobering read, and a template for the kind of hard self-examination our nation needs to do if it is to survive...

Many Americans take deep pride in their nation and the truth is that the U.S. has a lot going for it. The United States has the largest economy in the world. The United States also has the most powerful military on the entire planet. The United States has produced most of the greatest movies that the world has ever seen. But the United States is also number one in a lot of categories that are not go great. If we ever want to turn this country around, we need to be very honest with ourselves. We need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and realize that it is not a good thing that we are number one in divorce, drug addiction, debt, obesity, car thefts, murders and total crimes...

A lot of people that write articles like this have a deep hatred for America. But that is not the case with me. I love the United States. ((Hear, hear! -- Jemison)) I love the American people. America is like an aging, bloated rock star that has become addicted to a dozen different drugs. America is a shadow of its former self and it desperately needs to wake up before it plunges into oblivion.

If you do not believe that America is in bad shape, just read the list below...

On an individual level, the trend today is for people to call it "hate speech" when somebody cares enough to point out self-destructive aspects of certain behaviors.  This is also true on the national level.  For every "America hater" who fails to ever see anything good that came of the U.S., there are the Fox News junkies who think any thoughtful criticism smacks of treason.  Such groupthink merely reinforces the problems.

And so it is we'll have yet another raise to the 'debt ceiling,' all while continuing to make our nation's number one export the business end of military hardware.  Like the author above, I've long loved what America stood for.  I'm no longer sure the two are still related.  Like losing a relative to Alzheimer's, it feels like my nation has slipped away from me, becoming something confused and only vaguely recognizable.  Literally, only God knows if that sad condition can be reversed.