10 Reasons The U.S. Is NOT Numero Uno

Americans assume that they are the greatest and best country in the world, and are completely and unselfconsciously arrogant about it. The Austin Chronical, a free weekly, has some examples of just how egregious this attitude can be. The facts show that:

1. The U.S. is 49th in the world in literacy
2. The U.S. ranked 28th out of 40 countries in mathematics
3. The European Union leads the U.S. in the number of science and engineering graduates
4. Twenty percent of Americans think the sun orbits the Earth
5. In overall health performance, the U.S. is 37th
6. U.S. childhood poverty now ranks 22nd, or second to last, among the developed nations
7. The United States is 41st in the world in infant mortality. Cuba scores higher
8. Women are 70% more likely to die in childbirth in America than in Europe
9. Sometime in the next 10 years Brazil will probably pass the U.S. as the world's largest agricultural producer
10. As of last June, the U.S. imported more food than it exported

Seems a lot of us are sitting on our laurels, while the rest of the world passes us by.