God Bless America

"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely and nobly." Bertrand Russell It is the same thing with nations. Look at America, once the richest and the most powerful nation in the world. Today in America, presidential candidates still debate on how to achieve not intellectual growth as a people, but only more of the same old story - economic growth as a nation. In the meantime, the majority of Americans live under the threat of bankruptcy on the one hand, and on the other hand - live under a culture of hate, fear, and violence. Oh yes, Americans as a people are armed with private weapons against each other; America as a nation is also armed to the teeth against any other nation not willing to submit to imperialism more known as American capitalism; or, to kleptocracy, not to democracy. Consider crime statistics hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly in America: Every 22.2 seconds - One violent crime occurs Every 30.9 minutes - One murder occurs Every 5.7 minutes - One forcible rape occurs Every 1.2 minutes - One robbery occurs Every 36.6 seconds - One aggravated assault occurs Every 3.2 seconds - One property crime occurs Every 14.4 seconds - One burglary occurs Every 4.8 seconds - One larceny-theft occurs Every 26.4 seconds - One motor vehicle theft occurs 2010 FBI Crime Clock Stats An estimated five out of six people will be victims of either completed or attempted violent crimes at least once in their lives (Koppel, 1987). According to The National Women's Study, 683,000 forcible rapes occur every year, which equals 56,916 per month; 1,871 per day; 78 per hour; and 1.3 per minute (National Center for Victims of Crime &Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, 1992). One out of four women will be sexually assaulted on a college campus (Hirsch,1990). Antonio Novello, the former Surgeon General,has estimated that domestic violence kills 58,000 people every five years, the same number lost in the Vietnam War (Gardner, 1992). In the United States, there are over 3,400 animal protection shelters and only about 1,200 shelters for battered women (Buel, 1994) Findings from The National Women's Study reveal that rape victims compared to non-crime victims were: 5.3 times more likely to have used prescription drugs non-medically (14.7 percent vs.2.8 percent); 3.4 times as likely to have used marijuana (52.2 percent vs.15.5 percent); 6 times more likely to have used cocaine (15.5 percent vs 2.6 percent); 10.1 times more likely to have used hard drugs other than cocaine (12.1 percent vs. 1.2 percent); and 6.4 times more likely to have used hard drugs or cocaine (19.2 percent vs.3 percent). Additionally, rape victims were 4.1 times more likely than non-crime victims to have contemplated suicide and 13 times more likely to have actually made a suicide attempt (Ibid ). It has been repeatedly said before, let's say it again: God bless America - the land of the free and the home of the brave! Poch Suzara