With the latest school shooting media circus, the popular theme of posts on social media right now is who do we blame for what is going on in our world.  What’s wrong with our society is the question and everyone seems to think they have the answer.  I’m not going to claim everyone else is wrong and I am right.  That’s a complete waste of time and i’m not looking to stroke my own ego. American society and its culture are considerably more fragmented. Social class, generally described as a combination of educational attainment, income and occupational prestige, is one of the greatest cultural influences in America.

I just thought the easiest way to bring people from all sides of the political spectrum together to research what’s so terribly wrong with American society, more specifically our youth, is to talk factual statistics.  Not religion.  Not political opinions. Not judge everyone else to make ourselves feel better.  Just REAL….RAW…..STATS.  I think Americans need to swallow their pride and belief that they are the “best in the world,” and need a reality check

So in no particular order, here goes.

1. Our mediocre education statistics compared with other countries. The most recent set of data from 2012 reported by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) bears this out. PISA — which keeps tabs on reading ability, science literacy and math among 15-year-olds — ranked the United States 27th in science out of 64 countries, and an even more middling rank of 35th in math.

2. According to a 2014 survey of 11 rich nations by the Commonwealth Fund, the United States ranked dead last in overall health care performance, in metrics such as equity of care, efficiency and “healthy lives.”

3. With only 5% of the world’s population, the U.S. has more than 20% of the world’s prison population – that makes us the world’s largest jailer. From 1978 to 2014, our prison population has risen 408%. One in 110 adults are incarcerated in a prison or local jail in the U.S. This marks the highest rate of imprisonment in American history.

4. 40 other countries have a BETTER life expectancy rate than America.

5. America is the most obese nation on the planet. According to a study in the journal The Lancet in 2014. Obesity can cause a whole slew of health problems and have a profound effect on your psyche. Not to mention your bank account. Nationwide, nearly 1 in 5 households has medical debt in collections.

6. We vaccinate our children more than any other nation in the world.  The United States has the highest number of mandated vaccines for children under 5 in the world (36, double the Western world average of 18), the highest autism rate in the world, but only places 34th in the world for its children under 5 mortality rate.  Which means children under the age of 5 in 33 countries die LESS than American children 5 and under.

7. Yet we spend the MOST on healthcare in the world. $3.3 trillion spent alone in 2016.

8. The American people are the most drugged people in the history of the planet. Close to 70 percent of all Americans are currently on at least one prescription drug. I think it’s important to also mention that America is only one of two nations in the world that allow direct to consumer advertising from drug companies.  Every drug comes with side effects too.   In the United States today, prescription painkillers kill more Americans than heroin and cocaine combined.

9. The age of which patients are prescribed psychiatric drugs in America is lower than ever.  When I was a kid this was unheard of.  Now, as of 2017, a million children under the age of six are currently on psychiatric drugs.  (This parallel to the rise in the number of childhood vaccinations added to the CDC schedule since 1986)

10. The amount of debt per American household is also on the rise.  Which leads to parents picking up a second or third job.  Leaving children in the care of others and forcing less quality time spent as a family.  7 out of 10 American Society have $1000 or less to their names.

I haven’t even touched on the violence in the media and the entertainment industry factoring into all of this too, but I’m hoping by now you get the jist of it.  We’re a nation in crisis.  It all leads back to who are financially benefiting from our misery.  None of this happened on its own. Follow the money.  At the end of the day, we can argue politics, but it’s those who control the creation of money you need to be focusing on.  I hope this got your attention.  

Sources:

https://www.livescience.com/51448-startling-facts-about-american-culture.html

https://www.aclu.org/prison-crisis

https://www.fourteenstudies.org/nowwhat.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/upshot/us-health-care-expensive-country-comparison.html

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-15/drugging-america-summarized-19-mind-altering-facts

https://www.naturalnews.com/2017-08-27-over-a-million-children-under-the-age-of-six-are-currently-on-psychiatric-drugs-in-america.html