Watching the U.S. decline over time

Phil Ventura, Las Vegas

Sunday, July 29, 2012 | 2:01 a.m.

I hear politicians and talk show hosts stating, “America is the greatest country on earth,” and I wonder: Are they saying that to convince me or themselves? I lived through the times when America became the greatest country on earth and no one had to convince me. In my lifetime, I watched Americans invent the polio vaccine, pass the Civil Rights Act, develop the first nuclear submarine, put a man on the moon, create personal computers — and the list goes on.

Now, after years of career politicians, and the lobbyist and financial backers that keep them in office, American ingenuity and drive have been compromised by the greed of the few who control the direction of this country.

I always assumed America was still the leader in the important areas that made our society better than all others, but over the past decade, I have discovered that other countries have passed us by in many areas.

The United States has fallen drastically in education. We rank 24th in life expectancy, 34th in infant mortality and 37th in health care. The world’s largest casino is in Macau, the biggest movie industry is in India, and the world’s largest mall is in Beijing.

America is still the greatest country in the world, but the margin is getting slimmer every year. Other countries are coming out of their cocoons and emerging quickly as world leaders while the current gridlock in Washington leaves us standing still or falling back. One thing is for sure: The recent changes in our campaign funding guarantee we will continue to have the best government money can buy.