The United States of America has long prided itself as a
global leader in economic prosperity, security, and freedom, and regards itself
as a model that the rest of the world follows. As a global leader, the US has
an obligation to encourage and help other countries that aren’t as prosperous
as the US through financial aid and military intervention to remove extreme
regimes that oppress their citizens.
The US foreign policy aims to bring as many nations to a
level of economic force so they are able to contribute positively to the global
economy. This includes stabilizing a country by reducing violence, mortality
rates, and poverty.
There is one country in particular that the US has failed at attaining this goal. The country in question has high rates of infant mortality,
child poverty, violence, and incarceration. All figures are from sets of data
recorded through 2013, as this was the most complete set of data to compare
this country to the rest of the world:
-In this country, the infant
mortality rate is 6.0, compared to the global
average of 3.4 – nearly 1.8 times greater than the global average.
-In this country, 16 million children are in
poverty, which is 22% of all children, and 7% of the population. This is
compared to 400
million in total globally, which is 21% of all children, and 5.5% of the global population.
-In this country, the total crime
index is at 53.44, compared to the median index of 42.95. This country
ranks 31 out of the 188 countries in which data was analyzed in crime - meaning it is the 31st most susceptible country for crime.
-In this country, nearly
1% of its total population is incarcerated, compared to the global average
of 0.0046%. Additionally, this country will see 50% of their prison population
recidivate – i.e. reenter the prison population within three years.
-Finally, during the entire existence of this country, it
has been
at war nearly 96% of the time.
On paper this country seems like an impoverished, dangerous, war torn place. This is the kind of country that the US needs to
support. Fortunately, the US doesn’t need to go very far, because the country I
speak of is the United States of America.
