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Most equate the American Dream with prosperity. What does prosperity mean to you?
Webster defines prosperity as : the condition of being successful or thriving; especially :
economic well-being.
Nothing wrong with that, right?
But what happens when a nation becomes addicted to prosperity? Epidemic obesity? Hoarding?
Excessive Debt? Wall Street Crashes? Struggling education systems? Pill popping?
Environmental disasters? War and innocent victims worldwide?
By exclaiming "American Dream, Global Nightmare", we are trying to start a conversation; one
in which we ask ourselves many important questions. We are not unpatriotic, rather we
recognize how blessed we are in this nation to have all that we do, but wonder, how many people
go without so that we can have so much? By selling stickers that say "American Dream, Global
Nightmare" we are trying to start a revolution; one in which Americans can redefine our place in
the world as one of peaceful not just prosperous, mindful not just material, philanthropic not just
plundering.
Consider the following....
SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP
For many resources, the United States of America is the world's largest consumer in absolute
terms. For a list of 20 major traded commodities, it takes the greatest share of 11 of them: corn,
coffee, copper, lead, zinc, tin, aluminum, rubber, oil seeds, oil and natural gas. For many more it
is the largest per-capita consumer. (Source: American Association for the Advancement of
Science.)
GLOBAL WARMING...AMERICA'S CONTRIBUTION
* The United States constitutes 4 per cent of the world population
* American's are responsible for a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions - an average of
40,000 pounds of carbon dioxide is released by each US citizen every year - the highest of any
country in the world, and more than China, India and Japan combined
* Americans use 50 million tons of paper annually - consuming more than 850 million trees
* Every year US industries release at least 2.4 billion pounds of chemicals into the atmosphere
* Despite having just 2 per cent of known oil reserves, the US consumes 25 per cent of the
world's oil production
* 16 per cent of world oil production goes into American cars alone.
* More than 1.5 million gallons of oil were spilled into US waters in 2000 alone
* Only 1 per cent of American travel is on public transport, an eighth of that in the UK and an
eighteenth of that in Japan
* The average American produces 864kg of municipal waste per year, almost three times the
quantity of rubbish produced annually by an Italian (Source: Common Dreams)
AMERICA AT WAR...
* The cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost the average American household
approximately $10,000. (Source: National Priorities Project)
* There are an average of 950 suicide attempts each month by veterans who are receiving
some type of treatment from the Veterans Affairs Department. Seven percent of the attempts are
successful, and 11 percent of those who don’t succeed on the first attempt try again within nine
months. (Source: Army Times)
AMERICA IN THE CLASSROOM...
* According to the National Adult Literacy Survey, 42 million adult Americans can't read; 50
million can recognize so few printed words they are limited to a 4th or 5th grade reading level;
one out of every four teenagers drops out of high school, and of those who graduate, one out of
every four has the equivalent or less of an eighth grade education.
*The scores from the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment showed that U.S. 15-
year-olds trailed their peers from many industrialized countries. The average science score of U.
S. students lagged behind those in 16 of 30 countries in the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development, a Paris-based group that represents the world's richest
countries. The U.S. students were further behind in math, trailing counterparts in 23 countries.
(Source: Washington Post)
AT LEAST WE'VE GOT OUR HEALTH...
* More money per person is spent on health care in the United States than in any other nation in
the world, and a greater percentage of total income in the nation is spent on health care in the U.
S. than in any United Nations member state except for East Timor. Despite the fact that not all
citizens are covered, the United States has the third highest public health care expenditure per
capita. A 2001 study in five states found that medical debt contributed to 62% of all personal
bankruptcies. Since then, health costs and the numbers of uninsured and underinsured have
increased. (Source: Wikipedia)
* Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and type 2
diabetes. During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United
States. In 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia had a prevalence of obesity less than
20%. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
The statistics could go on and on.
Tired of being scared and angry?
Wake up! You're having a bad dream...
Webster defines prosperity as : the condition of being successful or thriving; especially :
economic well-being.
Nothing wrong with that, right?
But what happens when a nation becomes addicted to prosperity? Epidemic obesity? Hoarding?
Excessive Debt? Wall Street Crashes? Struggling education systems? Pill popping?
Environmental disasters? War and innocent victims worldwide?
By exclaiming "American Dream, Global Nightmare", we are trying to start a conversation; one
in which we ask ourselves many important questions. We are not unpatriotic, rather we
recognize how blessed we are in this nation to have all that we do, but wonder, how many people
go without so that we can have so much? By selling stickers that say "American Dream, Global
Nightmare" we are trying to start a revolution; one in which Americans can redefine our place in
the world as one of peaceful not just prosperous, mindful not just material, philanthropic not just
plundering.
Consider the following....
SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP
For many resources, the United States of America is the world's largest consumer in absolute
terms. For a list of 20 major traded commodities, it takes the greatest share of 11 of them: corn,
coffee, copper, lead, zinc, tin, aluminum, rubber, oil seeds, oil and natural gas. For many more it
is the largest per-capita consumer. (Source: American Association for the Advancement of
Science.)
GLOBAL WARMING...AMERICA'S CONTRIBUTION
* The United States constitutes 4 per cent of the world population
* American's are responsible for a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions - an average of
40,000 pounds of carbon dioxide is released by each US citizen every year - the highest of any
country in the world, and more than China, India and Japan combined
* Americans use 50 million tons of paper annually - consuming more than 850 million trees
* Every year US industries release at least 2.4 billion pounds of chemicals into the atmosphere
* Despite having just 2 per cent of known oil reserves, the US consumes 25 per cent of the
world's oil production
* 16 per cent of world oil production goes into American cars alone.
* More than 1.5 million gallons of oil were spilled into US waters in 2000 alone
* Only 1 per cent of American travel is on public transport, an eighth of that in the UK and an
eighteenth of that in Japan
* The average American produces 864kg of municipal waste per year, almost three times the
quantity of rubbish produced annually by an Italian (Source: Common Dreams)
AMERICA AT WAR...
* The cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost the average American household
approximately $10,000. (Source: National Priorities Project)
* There are an average of 950 suicide attempts each month by veterans who are receiving
some type of treatment from the Veterans Affairs Department. Seven percent of the attempts are
successful, and 11 percent of those who don’t succeed on the first attempt try again within nine
months. (Source: Army Times)
AMERICA IN THE CLASSROOM...
* According to the National Adult Literacy Survey, 42 million adult Americans can't read; 50
million can recognize so few printed words they are limited to a 4th or 5th grade reading level;
one out of every four teenagers drops out of high school, and of those who graduate, one out of
every four has the equivalent or less of an eighth grade education.
*The scores from the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment showed that U.S. 15-
year-olds trailed their peers from many industrialized countries. The average science score of U.
S. students lagged behind those in 16 of 30 countries in the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development, a Paris-based group that represents the world's richest
countries. The U.S. students were further behind in math, trailing counterparts in 23 countries.
(Source: Washington Post)
AT LEAST WE'VE GOT OUR HEALTH...
* More money per person is spent on health care in the United States than in any other nation in
the world, and a greater percentage of total income in the nation is spent on health care in the U.
S. than in any United Nations member state except for East Timor. Despite the fact that not all
citizens are covered, the United States has the third highest public health care expenditure per
capita. A 2001 study in five states found that medical debt contributed to 62% of all personal
bankruptcies. Since then, health costs and the numbers of uninsured and underinsured have
increased. (Source: Wikipedia)
* Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and type 2
diabetes. During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United
States. In 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia had a prevalence of obesity less than
20%. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
The statistics could go on and on.
Tired of being scared and angry?
Wake up! You're having a bad dream...
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| Waking Up... Start at home. You can only control yourself. Teach your children the same. Redefine the "American Dream" to include such concepts as community and compassion, not only for others, but for the Earth and all its inhabitants. WASTE NOT, WANT NOT Recognize that every time you spend money you are speaking to your values. Buying products that come from local sources is the best way to value your community. Learn to trust yourself and not become a victim of propaganda. Whether from Washington D.C., Hollywood, or the pharmaceutical companies, most messages are constructed to incite fear. Fear of not having enough, not being pretty enough, not doing enough. Listen to your inner voice, listen to your body; what does it tell you? LISTEN Natural law is one of abundance. One seed can yield much fruit. There is no need to be greedy. What seeds are you planting? WALK Rather than tell yourself, "Oh well, there is always someone worse off than myself." Ask yourself, "How can I share my good fortune to make the life of someone else blessed?" Act upon your answer. VOTE Read more, watch TV less. Get untangled from the World Wide Web. Know your own strength. If the flap of a butterfly's wings can change the weather, then your efforts can change the world. LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY Educate yourself so that you can educate others. Ignorance is not bliss, it is destructive and dangerous. OFFER YOUR OWN SOLUTIONS |
