a narrative packed and sold to tiny patriots

reinforced by every cartoon, movie, cheeseburger

and mattress sale. Guaranteed.

A mythology is so entrenched,

our most beloved personalities urge us never to question it.

Don't let anyone ever tell you that this country isn’t great.

This, right now,

is the greatest country on earth.

Greatest country God ever gave man.

We’re the greatest country in the world.

America is the greatest country in the world.

But, what if we did question it?

Now, hold on patriots,

I know what you’re thinking.

America’s done some pretty great stuff. And you’re right.

We built a kickass democracy, walked on the moon,

and we built universities

so prestigious that even Taliban warlords

send their kids.

And we are still very patient.

By the time the Cold War was waning

and baby boomers were booming out their own babies,

it truly felt like we were the greatest country on earth.

Now, listen.

Of course, there’s no single way to measure greatness.

But one good test is how we rank

in the O.E.C.D., which is basically

a golf club of 36 countries, predominantly wealthy,

Western and democratic.

And unlike most golf clubs, this one’s

got some diversity too.

America is the richest country in this club.

But we’re also the poorest with a whopping 18 percent

poverty rate, closer to Mexico than Western Europe.

And speaking of kids,

turns out at the level of high school science

were 19th of 36. Reading, 20th, and math a dismal 30th.

Now, I’m not that good at math —

not America’s fault — but that does not add up well.

And neither does this:

We spend more on health care than any other country

in the golf club, especially out

of our own private little pockets.

But we live sicker and shorter lives.

We’re fatter. And globally,

we’re more likely to see newborns die. We are even

behind Bosnia.

But we have freedom in America.

And everyone’s jealous or something.

The enemies of freedom.

Pursuing the enemies of freedom.

The enemies of freedom.

And other enemies of freedom.

Turns out, a lot of countries have freedoms.

And while we boast about them, using our rights

is a different story.

Only 56 percent of Americans turn out to vote.

While it’s closer to 80 percent in countries

like Denmark and Australia.

And it’s getting worse. This year

America slid on global rankings of corruption

and freedom, and dropped from a functional

to a flawed democracy.

So what besides our economy and military

are we actually No. 1 in? It turns out,

a lot of things! Civilian gun ownership, mass

shootings, TV watching, prescription drug abuse,

prison population.

Oh, and almost No. 1 on environmental damage,

edged out by China.

It’s gotten to a point where I think

there are specific times and places where you can confuse

America for a developing country

as elections are tampered with, water

can’t be drunk from taps.

Citizens don’t trust uniformed officers.

Infrastructure is crumbling and where

a dual system is emerging when public services are for sale

for the highest bidder.

You see this in countries like Pakistan or Nigeria,

where the rich don’t worry about the sad state

of electricity or police because, well, they have

generators and private security.

Or in America, where the Kardashians

rent their own firefighting force.

We were fortunate enough and blessed enough,

and I know that not everyone has this luxury

available to them.

But we were able to get private firefighters. When

health education and safety are increasingly privatized

or driven by privilege,

the truth is how great America is really

depends on how rich you are.

Now, I’m not saying we’re Pakistan or Nigeria

or any number of what we like to call developing countries.

But we’re not perched as high above them

as we’d like to think. We got so

caught up in the rhetoric about America

being the greatest country on earth

that we’ve long ignored the cracks in our system.

And while a bit of patriotism is great, jingoism

is dangerous, especially when it’s

built on old or fake news.

So as we gear up for another election season

where politicians tell us America is great —

or that it isn’t, and then proceed to make it worse —

let’s try a more truthful approach.

America may once have been the greatest, but today America,

we’re just O.K.