This Noble Land Read Online Free

that refuses to assist such institutions financially. I told one group of city leaders who were debating whether they could afford a new stadium: ‘Any city is a collection of citizens who
behave
like a city. That means they are obligated to provide a stadium for sports, a theater for drama and dance and opera, an art museum, and a very strong chain of free libraries.’ That’s what cities are all about, and nations, too.
    12. Is the nation able to balance the different cultural and ethnic and racial groups within its society, and does it treat all such groups equitably?
    I believe that in the United States the deterioration of racial relations has become so intense that there is a risk of interracial strife unless the situation is drastically improved. No nation can allow its social, political or economic systems to discriminate against any one segment of its society. Neither can it allow minorities to become so frustrated that they feel it is futile to try to educate themselves or to raise their standards of living.
    13. Does the nation provide an orderly system whereby the interests of the aged are protected from the ravages that overtake them?
    I place a high priority on this social obligation primarily, I suppose, because I am myself subject to the demands and realize how delinquent we are as a society in caring for our older people. Compared with nations that have a superior social concern about the welfare of the aged—China, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Korea and the smaller East Asian countries—we are far behind and ought to make a serious effort to catch up.
    In my travels I have constantly applied these criteria to other countries as well as to my own, and found that differences between societies are glaring; not surprisingly, I have concluded that certain societies are more admirable than others. To deny this is to blind oneself to reality. At the end of six decades of persistent evaluation of nations I am prepared to present some conclusions as to how the United States compares with other nations.
    Evaluations
CHARACTERISTIC
HISTORICAL U.S.
CONDITION TODAY
Stable society
Superb, up to now
But imperiled by racial conflict in decades ahead.
Reliable money system
Superior, up to now
But within the near future heavy debt poses a fearful danger.
Orderly political change
Impeccable so far
But the threat of third parties is real and ominous.
Adequate health services
Low average among leading nations
Far behind Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Scandinavia in making care available and affordable.
Educational system
Grades 1 to 6 fine; high school deplorable; college low average; graduate studies superior
Behind France, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia in providing mastery of fundamentals.
Free libraries
Has been world’s best, still good
But grievously endangered by budget cuts and closing of branches.
Employment opportunities
Has been superior
Bad slippage recently. Lags behind Japan, Germany, China.
Distribution of wealth
Superior in making a well-to-do middle class possible
Distance between very wealthy and very poor is deplorable. Also, middle class suffers.
Churches
Exceptional
But reactionary drift threatens future political stability.
Recreation opportunities
Superior, as of now
But raw commercialism endangers sports system.
Higher cultures
Excellent so far
But entire structure endangered by budget cuts and attacks.
Racial equality
Poor in the past
Becoming worse.
Care for the aged
Historically delinquent, and even now lagging behind most countries
Social systems of China, Japan, Scandinavia far ahead.
    A quick scan of the middle column above will explain why I feel justified in describing my homeland as a great society, especially during the decades of my growing up. Except for the racial discrimination that has been our national disgrace throughout our history, we excelled in so many important categories and reached respectable levels even in those where other nations surpassed us that I had a right to be proud.
    As I