Abraham Lincoln, Mary Lincoln, and Depression

Abraham Lincoln, Mary Lincoln, and Depression

No matter how much we try to perceive otherwise, there is a lot of sadness in the evolutionary process. Survival of the fittest, meaning in this sense an ability to survive in a changing environment, has little to do with the likable qualities or the ethical qualities of the environmental victims. Bambi’s are everywhere, except even this is not universal in that some people thrive on seeing the Bambi’s of world get the short end of the stick. 

Abraham Lincoln is perennially voted the best President ever according to historians. Mary Lincoln would likely be voted one of the worst First Lady’s ever. Lincoln understood human nature better than any other President. He didn’t see others so much as evil or good but simply products of their genes and environments. Mary saw others as well defined good and bad people. Lincoln kept almost everything close to his vest, had few close friends but endless meaningful interactions with other people of almost every sort. Mary had few close friends because of her personality which was mercurial and judgmental. The two personal secretaries for Lincoln in the White House referred to her as “Hellcat”. 

For a start here we need define normal depression and clinical depression. In normal depression the person is grieving about something that everyone would agree to be normal to be sad about. A spouse dies and you are sad—well, most of the time anyway. A good person dies and we are sad—well, unless it is an Indian in a western movie, or a Vietnam resident of a small village. Because Lincoln understood human nature he genuinely saw his mission as one of helping all sorts of people with problems, while he himself pretty much remained aloof from identifying himself closely with any sort of group. He never joined a church even though he did believe in God, declaring that:

 “I am not a member of any Christian Church is true; but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general, or an any denomination of Christians in particular………I have never united myself to any church because I have found difficulty in giving my assent without mental reservation to the long complicated statements of Christian doctrine which characterize their articles of belief and confessions of faith. When any church will inscribe over its altar as the sole qualification for membership the Savior's condensed statement of the substance of both law and gospel: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind, and love thy neighbor as thyself," that church I will join with all my heart.” 

When Lincoln Died the outpouring of disbelief and mourning was rampant. People who at times had been angered by his decisions and annoyed at his policies seemed almost unanimously to suddenly get the big picture of just how well he had managed to bring out the ‘better angels of their nature’. A million people out of a total population of 30 million, managed to view him in the casket as the funeral train wended it’s way west for burial In Illinois. Roughly a third of the population, in the states which the funeral train passed, managed to stand along the tracks as the train passed. Considering the kind of transportation and absence of places to sleep overnight, this figure is staggering. In every city the people who joined in the funeral procession took over 4 hours to pass by, with blacks often relegated to the rear of the procession. Most of the blacks stood by the railroad tracks as the train passed, tears steaming down their face, seemingly distraught as to what would now happen to them. Some modern day historians have tried to downplay Lincoln’s concern for blacks and insist he only wanted to save the union. But none of the blacks who lived back then were fooled at all: Lincoln had engineered the abolition of slavery, period. At each city where the casket was displayed, 10,000 people per hour passed by the casket and children by the score were frightened by seeing their father in tears.  In Springfield, where he had lived most of his adult life, it was bedlam. Behind the casket walked Lincoln’s horse Bob, the horse who carried him over the judicial circuit for so many years. His old dog Fido, a homely yellowish mutt, was brought to see him in the casket, and with a soulfully sad face, he laid by, and on top, of the casket for hours. There are more books written about Lincoln outside of Jesus than anyone else, and probably no death ever caused more widespread intense grief.

During all these funeral activities Mary Lincoln was present at none. She was too incapacitated to participate in any of it. Mary was never a strong person emotionally. She had lost her mother at a young age and was raised by a stepmother who had little love for her. She then lost her father. She lost her first born child at a young age, then 3 of her 4 sons. Her family was from the south and she lost several family members during the war who were in the Confederate army. Many northerners accused her of having confederate sympathies. She was a compulsive spender of clothing, and most of the citizens of the north despised her for this compulsion. While the Civil War was rough on most citizens in so many ways, Mary Lincoln was pushed to the edge of insanity by her endless loss of those close to her by the war or disease. When her son Willie died in the White House Lincoln had to threaten her with being put in an insane asylum if she did not manage to pull herself together over the death of Willie. When Lincoln was shot and killed right before her eyes it was far more than she could handle. She dressed in black for the rest of her life, she went to spiritualists to converse with those who had died, lashed out at just about anyone, over anything, as her moods changed constantly. She never let Tad, her youngest son, out of her sight and then he died at age 17. The living nightmare for her never ended. Her oldest son tried to take good care of her, but his wife couldn’t stand her, and he had three young children to raise and in trying to protect Mary  from the media vultures, she ended up targeting most of her anger at the world toward him. It was really a sad, sad, situation. It was all pure tragedy and hell with no evil involved on the part of Mary or Robert Lincoln. The only person who could have possibly settled Mary down was Lincoln and he was gone.

What we now have here are two people who suffered from depressive episodes in their lives; one was highly revered and admired, one was disliked and ridiculed. One might think that the admiration of the public back then for Lincoln, after the assassination, would have generated a desire to care for the widow Mary Lincoln, no matter what her psychological state. But it didn’t happen. Mary spent much of her time begging Congress to give her a pension and with little luck until the latter part of her life when they reluctantly gave her one only because several other widows of former Presidents were getting a pension. This reflects why Lincoln is so revered compared to the rest of us. He could always find empathy for the diversity of others, providing they were not themselves persecuting others different from themselves. Many people loved Lincoln even though to do so was a repudiation of their own psychological state. I guess the same is true for many people who call themselves Christians too. 

Despite this being an irritant to some readers here, Lincoln and Terrell Owens have some key similar genetic attributes. Both were born with a tremendous amount of will power. Lincoln understood that slavery had to go, that it was an ethical evil, and even the horrors of the Civil War did not deter him from that goal. Lincoln has been described as being like a steel cable which goes from point A to point B and while swaying from side to side to placate opposing sides on the slavery question, in the end the steel cable connects to point B. Mission accomplished. Both Lincoln and Terrell Owens also learned the ability to stay focused on their goals. Nothing diverted their attention from their goals. And to protect this focus, they built protective bubbles around themselves and rarely let any others inside this protective mental barrier. Of course Lincoln’s focus was a far more important goal, whereas Terrell Owens had a much smaller in scope goal—to be the best possible wide receiver he could be. Were Terrell Owens to be assassinated half would cheer and the other half would be angered. And that is understandable. 

It is interesting, but puzzling, to see how much so many people resent deviation from their own perceptions of right behavior no matter how tragic the reality sometimes is for the person they resent. To what degree Mary was insane is essentially irrelevant. No one is insane or not insane by choice and the line between insanity and sanity is hardly a clear cut line. Perhaps all of us have our moments of insanity. Certainly it is irrational to hate the insane however mild or severe. In the same fashion it irrational to hate other religions, other races, other cultures, other economic groups, other political bents, certain age groups, or the personal appearance of certain others. Diversity is a key element in the evolutionary process so hating diversity is a pointless exercise, but all of us are susceptible here to varying degrees. Lincoln, in this lack of hate toward diversity, was better than all of us. He just did not hate anything except injustice to others. 

Today, attitude toward diversity is split. A lot of people are genuinely comfortable with diversity, while others are raging antagonists against all sorts of groups. We are now in an age where facts are no more valid than ‘alternate facts’ or feelings about varied matters. The term political correctness used to mean those political policies which brought the most contentment to the greatest number of citizens. Now, to many, it means just the opposite: there is no need to be concerned about certain groups in society and to acknowledge otherwise is an interference with their own personal right to hate these others to any degree desired. These emotionally charged people are angered, really angered, by any suggestions that they have any obligation to aid, support, or tolerate the objects of their hatred. Both sides here, in this country and in most countries, have sizable members on their respective sides. As always, it is nigh impossible to tell someone they need feel different about the groups they so despise.    

It is important to understand the difference between the depression of Lincoln and the depression of Mary Lincoln. Both had good reasons to be depressed. The Civil War gave millions of people good reason to be very depressed. But Lincoln’s depression was a natural emotion. For someone who genuinely wanted all sorts of people to be given a fair shake in life, the political atmosphere back then would naturally generate depression for someone like Lincoln—who personally suffered along with those facing the varied tragedies associated with the political struggles of the time. But here is the crux of the matter: Lincoln at no point in his life lost his ability to deal with daily matters as they needed to be attended to, and he did it with a clarity and insight which was invariably brilliant. Observers have described an evening with Lincoln in which, at times, he would sink into a strange melancholic appearance as if no one else was present, then suddenly he would snap out of it and participate in a lively fashion in the discussion. We all experience situations where we are active and rational during a meeting when all of a sudden we suddenly feel overwhelmed by the reality our spouse is slowly dying at home or our favorite pet had recently died, etc. All this called normal depression. It is a normal reaction which lasts a ‘normal’ length of time. 

Mary, on the other hand, could not function when hit by these severe depressions. She lacked the will power to go on with her life, her focus got fixated on the trauma which caused her depression. This is clinical depression. Today, various drugs might have given her relief. But back then, treatment of severe depression was rudimentary at best. Even today, with all our knowledge about causes of depression, a lot of it is simply ignored. We know that one symptom of clinical depression is overeating and thus sizable weight gain. We know that our citizens who live in our ghettos where violence and economic stresses are prevalent, are likely to become overweight and many do. But most will attribute this to their laziness or lack of willpower or a typical trait of a particular race. Mary Lincoln was the relentless target of ignorance which generated hatred toward her. When she finally left the White House after Lincoln’s death there was no one but her attendant and surviving son to send her off. Millions gave her husband a momentous farewell, no one gave Mary a send-off at all. “There was scarcely a friend to tell her goodbye.”  Money and clothes were a compulsive addiction to Mary all her life. When depressed these matters were all that seemed to matter. It was just a thoroughly sad situation. Insanity is hardly the right term. 

As the only one remaining son, Robert Lincoln tried his best to protect his mother from the media vultures. He considered this to be his responsibility. He not only had to deal with her extreme depression, but her long time compulsive behavior toward money and clothes. He feared, regarding the latter, that left alone she would be ripe for pickings. He was trapped. If he did nothing he would get the blame, if he took over her financial affairs he would get the blame. He consulted endlessly with those who knew her all her life. Mary, unfortunately was dead set against having anyone control her financial assets. The real question, which had no easy answer was: How could Mary best be protected from her tragic lonely state?  The insanity trial was less about sanity and how necessary was it to get someone else to protect her financial state. Robert Lincoln begged others who could be trusted to be the legal overseer of her estate but no one else would do it. And no one could do it unless she was declared insane. Not a pretty picture. 

Jason Emerson, the author of the most complete book on Mary Lincoln, seems to have the best take on the whole sad matter: “To declare Robert an honorable, loving son is not to attack or demean Mary Lincoln.  This is one of the primary roadblocks to a true understanding of the insanity event that has been a part of the popular thinking for decades: to defend either Robert or Mary does not make it a requirement to defile the other.  Mary Lincoln deserves understanding for her horribly traumatic life and her psychiatric illness. She deserves empathy, and not a little pity, for the trials she endured, which began with the death of her mother and ended only in her own death. Mental illness is not something actively sought, and we cannot blame Mary for her irrationalities; nor can we blame Robert for dealing with his mother in a way he deemed most necessary and proper.”

At Mary’s funeral it was stated: “When Abraham died, Mary died as well, only much more slowly.” We feel genuine sadness that Abraham Lincoln died at the hands of an assassin. But the reality is that Mary’s long tortured dying process after her husband’s death was exponentially more sad. Robert Lincoln also spent many tortured years wrestling with how best to protect his mother. I guess it was another example of “heads I lose, tails I lose”. I wonder how many battles in life have no winner?

P.S. Given his concern about justice and fairness for all, how content was Lincoln? Since living by the Golden Rule brings contentment to both the giver and the receiver, it does not seem contentment is unavailable to the genuine sadness Lincoln perceived around him all his life. Depression not withstanding, Lincoln had more confidence in his own decisions as any man could have. He only needed to feel that he was doing his best by others as he could, to be encapsulated in contentment even when depressed. What would be truly strange is if he spent all his waking moments hopelessly mired in a depressive state. He never was hopelessly depressed which is not to say he did not fully realize the sadness all around him during his Presidency, and felt this sadness to his core. Were he to have acted otherwise, this would be abnormal. How could someone as genuinely concerned for all varieties of humanity, be a picture of joviality and mirth during the Civil War? Lincoln’s gift was that most anyone who came in contact with him felt he was genuinely interested in solving the problem that be, whatever it might be, irregardless of their own stature or ethnicity, or religious sect, or whatever. Lincoln, like a few other leaders in history, did not seem to represent any particular portion of the society in which he governed. 

Food for Thought

Food for Thought

No one could be expected to read through all this in one setting. There is a lot of info here which takes time to ingest and mull over. Any interpretations or conclusions will vary. Nothing herein is claimed to be all inclusive or accurate in any conclusions. The title here is Food For Thought for exactly that reason. 

On a whim I thought it might be interesting to compare the United States, Canada, Sweden, Russia, China, Vietnam, France, Iraq, Columbia, Haiti, Germany, Cuba, when it comes to the cost of health care, keeping a prisoner in jail, percentage of people in jail, percentage of people living in poverty, military budgets, death rates from violence, the happiness index, and maybe along the way I will add other categories. I picked these countries before I started to look for the stats so I did not search out any particular countries to prove any prior derived points. 

In each category I will rank them. If these stats lead to any conclusions, I will leave this to another musing, which, of course will come as a surprise to no one. In my retirement years, musings have become my own generated entertainment. Between my musings, my long wandering walks every other day (5-7 miles)——in nature/safer urban neighborhoods of Chicago, my cooking, my books (all non fiction) my netflix movies, my FANAFI Fund, and my condo projects——all cocooned in hermit-hood—it adds up to a busy, if unconventional life style. The FANAFI Fund takes care of the obligation to the less fortunate (no more face to face involvement as in my productive years, and so I reckon this makes my life rather selfish in my terminational years—but I easily spend as much on my FANAFI Fund per year as I do the total expenditures on myself, so the stats are good in this category}. What has changed is that I no longer spend any of my time with the less fortunate face to face. Of course in my city walks it is hard not to be saddened by the reality of how so many live. The evolutionary process is as amazing as it is endless and progressive—but it all comes with a heavy cost—97% of species which existed in the past are extinct.  This is reality, along with no evidence that God is really abrogating any of His created laws—which govern the process—to protect any group or individual. We appear all to have a mere temporary existence let alone have any control over the process—only our own lifespan, and here that control is mixed in with other variables. Our species, via the innate ethical essence of the Golden Rule, has the ability to maximize the contentment for the maximum number of individuals. But we fail badly here and what this means for our species in the near and distant future is not predictable. All we as individuals can realize is that Time stays, WE GO. The phrase I detest the most these days is the mandatory demand at the end of every political speech——“God Bless America”. How self serving is that? Maybe we, collectively, should spend more time making sure as many people can live contented lives as possible, and in that way create our own blessings for the maximum number of citizens. Telling God to do it via endless prayers seems self evidently puerile. It reminds one of kids who constantly tell their parents to do this and that for them ad nausea, and the parent(s) making it clear that what a kid can do for themselves they need do, or suffer the consequences. God, it seems, is a good parent. 

I will preface the need to look at these stats with a favorite Lincoln quote: “If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it.” Now that we have three large citizen populations of blacks, whites, hispanics, and no group has a clear majority, how we manage to generate justice, support, and opportunities for all three groups pretty much determines our fate. This challenge matches the immensity of the Civil War era issues. And this includes the possibility of violence (terrorism, not uniformed soldiers on battlefields this time).

Death rate from Violence:  (ranked with each other from least violence to most)

Canada:  rank 142,   murder rate 16.23 /million people———5     

China: rank 167,  murder rate 10/million people ———————2               

Columbia: rank 14, murder rate 332/million people————12         

Cuba:  rank 92,  murder rate 49.87/million people  ————8           

France: rank 163, murder rate 10.54/million people —————3         

Germany: 177, murder rate 8.44/million people———————13                

Haiti: rank 84, murder rate 69.62/milliion people—————9              

Iraq: rank 130, murder rate 20.66 ———————————6                                    

Kenya:rank 33, murder rate 199.44/million  ——————-11                     

Sweden: rank 169, murder rate is 9.7/million ———————1 (least violent)                   

Russia: rank 67, murder rate is 102.35/million people——10         

United States:  rank 99, murder rate is 42/million people——7   

Vietnam: rank 144, murder rate is 15.81/million———————4  

The disappointing thing here is that the U.S. is coupled with the likes of Cuba, Kenya, and has far more violence than Canada, France, Germany, and Sweden. The murder rate in the U.S. per capita is three times higher than Vietnam. If any country tends to shine in most of these stat charts it is Vietnam. That country started almost from scratch after having had almost all their infrastructure and population decimated by years of U.S. bombing. If Vietnam is still communist, then it must be the only communist country which has actually spread out the wealth among it’s citizens. Maybe the more admirable country won that war.                 

Laws which regulate gun ownership:

The only countries with permissive gun legislation are: Albania, Austria, Chad, Republic of Congo, Honduras, Micronesia, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Tanzania, the United States, Yemen and Zambia  Here is their rank (lowest is worst, can compare to ranks with the countries above:  Honduras 1,Zambia 10, Tanzania 23, Congo 24, Namibia 42, Chad 46, Nigeria 59, Senegal 77,  Pakistan 81, United States 99,  Albania 101, Albania ?, Austria ?, Micronesia ?, Yemen ?

Canada: Canadian civilians aren't allowed to possess automatic weapons, handguns with a barrel shorter than 10.5 cm or any modified handgun, rifle or shotgun

China:  Firearm ownership law in China. Firearm ownership law in the People's Republic ofChina heavily regulates the ownership of firearms. Generally, private citizens are not allowed to possess firearms.

Columbia: recently issued a ban, but 1 in 53 has a weapons permit

Cuba: not clear

France: There is no right to bear arms for the French, and to own a gun, you need a hunting or sporting license which needs to be repeatedly renewed and requires a psychological evaluation.

Germany: The German system of gun control is among the most stringent in Europe. It restricts the acquisition, possession, and carrying of firearms to those with a creditable need for a weapon. It bans fully automatic weapons and severely restricts the acquisition of other types of weapons.Jul 30, 2015

Haiti: not clear

Iraq: Firearms

Laws to regulate civilian access: YES

Mandatory background check: YES

Handguns/long guns/automatic weapons: YES/YES/YES

Carrying firearms in public: YES

Programmes to reduce civilian firearm possession and use: YES

Kenya: There is no law regulating the number of firearms a person should own. A proposed amendment, Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2015, provides for imprisonment for life for those found in possession of firearms such as AK47,G3 and MP5.

Sweden: There would need to be a valid reason for ownership of more firearms. It is stipulated that all firearms are to be stored/kept in an approved gun safe. It is illegal for a civilian in Sweden to carry a firearm, unless for a specific, legal purpose; such as hunting or attending shooting ranges. Civilians cannot possess military weapons, but may possess long rifles.

Russia: Gun politics in the Soviet Union refer to the firearms legislation in the Union of Soviet States. Post-communist Soviet gun laws are known to be moderately restrictive, while firearms are federally controlled, they are accessible. 

Russian citizens can own firearms for hunting, sport-shooting, pest-control, self-defense and collecting. Currently, the firearms that are legal in Russia include handguns, and any rifle that is not a military-style assault rifle, such as AK-47s, AR-15s or FN-FALs. 

Vietnam:  In Vietnam, it's illegal for civilians to own firearms other than shotguns, and those can be held only under restrictive regulations.

*United States:  the majority of gun legislation in the US is enacted at the state level. That has brought broad variations across the country, with states taking different approaches to issues. The American attachment to guns, a carry-over from the wild West, seems to trump (no pun intended) any effort to get guns designed for human slaughter out of the hands of our citizens. There are so many guns out there now that there is no way they could be collected. Open carry gun laws are virtually portable gun shops, with a gun free for the taking by anyone waiting for the right opportunity.

Percentage of People Living in Poverty:

Canada:  About 9% of Canadians live in poverty—————4

United States: 14.5 percent———————————————7

China: 6.5%  (it was 88% in 1981)———————————————2

Columbia:  28%—————————————————————11

Cuba: No published data but it is believed to be high

France: 14.2%————————————————————6

Germany: 15.7%————————————————————8

Haiti: 58.6%———————————————————————13

Iraq: 20-25%—————————————————————10

Kenya:  42%————————————————————- 12  

Sweden 1%—————————————————————1 (Least percentage in poverty)

Russia: 13.4%———————————————————5

Vietnam: 8.4%———————————————————3

The big surprise here is China and Vietnam.  The United States is in a real bind. When 43% of adults do no make enough money to qualify to pay income taxes that means 43% of adults are in no position to spend much money to stimulate the economy, not to mention the damage being done to their physical and mental health by their environment. There is a real medical problem for so many of these people under chronic stress, not to mention the seeds planted for widespread eventual violence of a terroristic nature.  

United States is in 7th place on this list.  How accurate these figures are is hard to say. Governments publish the data and this makes the stats always questionable. Has China really improved that much since 1981?  And is Vietnam really  in third place in terms of least in poverty?  Notice that all the countries which we have invaded the past 50 years have high poverty rates with the exception of Vietnam and Vietnam won the war. I guess having the United States invade ensures poverty levels will be high for years to come. While our soldiers hardly proved to be the ‘peace soldiers’, they certainly aren’t the ‘prosperity soldiers’. It also shows another way wars have changed. It is hard to bounce back poverty-wise. Battle field losses are one thing, widespread infrastructure damage is another. 

Percentage of People in Jail

Canada: 139/100,000 pop——————————7

United States: 716/100,000 pop————12

China:  164/100,000 pop—————————8

Columbia: 226/100,000————————9

Cuba:  510/1000,000 pop——————————10

France: 102/100,000 pop———————————4

Germany: 77/100,000 pop——————————————2

Haiti:  96/100,000 pop——————————————3

Iraq: 123/100,000——————————6

Kenya: 121———————————————————5

Sweden: 53—————————————————————-1 (least percentage)

Russia: 581/100,000 pop———————-11

Vietnam

*Note: Interpretation is a bit deceptive. For example Haiti is low only because there are not enough jails in such a poor country. The jails there are over 400% overpopulated. For the United States it is not only the percentage of our people we put in jail, but the cost ($30,000/yer). If we arrest some kid in the ghetto selling illegal drugs, where unemployment for 20 year olds may be 60%, and give him a mandatory sentence of ten years we have spent $300,000 for what? Then add the cost of likely welfare for the rest of his/her life and the cost of jailing so many citizens becomes astronomical. Punishment is a natural and legitimate concept but the real goal should always be to eliminate environments which generate illegal/violent behavior and to concentrate on programs which help people turn their lives around. America has a huge problem in this respect. Subtly, and without admitting it, many Americans make crime a genetic issue; feeling certain races are violent by nature. The truth is, wherever the poor are crammed together in ghetto environments, crime of all sorts is rampant no matter the race. 

Cost of Jails/per inmate/per year

Could only find the cost for United States and Canada.

United States——Average $31,286, some states as high as $60,000(NYC $168,000)(Guantanamo   Bay $900,000)

Canada——— $117,788  (Up 46% from a decade ago)

China———

Columbia——

Cuba——

France——

Germany——

Haiti——

Iraq——

Kenya——

Sweden—— 

Russia——

Vietnam——

As can be seen, had real problems findings stats for these countries. 

Cost of Health Care:

United States: 17.1% of GDP———13.1% in 1995——— 12

Canada—-10.7% of GDP———8.9%in 1995———————11

China——5.5% of GDP—————3.5 %—————————-4

Columbia——7.2%————————6.8———————————6

Cuba—————5.2%——————11.1—————————————2

France—————10.1——————11.5————————————10

Germany————9.4———————11.3————————————————9

Haiti——————6.6———————7.6————————————————5

Iraq—————?—————————5.5————————————

 Kenya———4.3——————————5.7—————————————1(lowest cost)

Sweden————8.0————————11.9——————————7

Russia————5.4——————7.1—————————————————3

Vietnam   ?

Percent of citizens with good health care

Things get really dicey here. Where the United States is lacking, compared to other affluent countries is in percent of people who get good health care. After that, the United States holds it’s own for the most part. The United States does well when in comes to the major causes of death and the treatment results. There is also a greater wait time in the United States to see the doctor, although this depends on what study one views. This is especially noticeable when comparing the U. S. and Canada. AS far as I can decipher one can see a doctor faster in Canada but for major operations the wait time is longer in Canada. Again, the major deficit in United States Health Care is the cost and what percentage of people are not getting health care although this fell substantially with Obamacare but at the cost of higher expenditures for health care. 

Number of doctors/capita:

United States—2.3/1000people—-6

Canada————2.1———————7

China———1.5——————————8

Columbia——-1.4————————9

Cuba———5.9———————1

France———3.4——————3

Germany————3.4—————3

Haiti————.25———————12

Iraq———.66———————10

Kenya——.14————————13

Sweden——3.3——————5

Russia————-4.25————2

Vietnam———.53—————11

*Note:  Hard to calculate is the quality of the doctors. The U.S. does not have enough medical schools to supply the number of doctor’s needed, so many graduate from foreign medical schools which may or may not supply quality doctors. Then too, one needs to add in the number of anecdotal practitioners included in the term doctor. 

Average Lifespan:

United States—78.7———————6

Canada—82.0————————3

China—76———————————7

Columbia—74————————9

Cuba—80———————5

France——83——————1

Germany—81—————— 4                       

Haiti—63——————————11

Iraq—70————————10

Kenya—62————————————12

Sweden—83———————1

Russia—71————————9

Vietnam—76——————————7

These figures can be deceptive for several factors. For example Fairfax county and McDowell County are separated by 350 miles. The median income in Fairfax County is $104,000. The median income of McDowell County is 1/5 that of Fairfax County. In Fairfax county the average life expectancy is 82 for men and 85 for women, about the same as in Sweden. In McDowell county the average life expectancy is 64 for men, and 73 for women. Since 1985 it has actually fallen 2 years for women.

Thus, for this McDowell County population of the U.S., life expectancy is about the same as Iraq. So as we analyze the stats in most any area here, we need to remember that we essentially have two Americas right now—the affluent and extremely wealthy half, and the less affluent and extremely poor half. The wealthy half are doing well in most every category being looked at, and the real question is just how bad off are the poor half living in the United States? There is always the poor and the wealthy, but the poor today are living under far more stress than the poor lived in the past. Drive through the ghettoes, rural, urban, or suburban and one will find the streets desolate, everyone is locked inside their own home, sometimes with windows and doors with bars. That is real stress and the most dangerous stress when it is chronic stress, as it obviously is. A high percentage of these citizens (in name only) are having permanent damage done to their physical and mental health. If we considered only the affluent and real wealthy half of the United States, the United States would still be the front runner in almost any category. Some of us live in the best of all possible worlds while the other half live in the worst of all possible worlds relatively speaking. 

Military Budgets as percentage of GDP or total expenditures, or amount per capita. 

Total Military Expenditures:  When we look at the absolute spending amount, the United States is by far the largest spender. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Yearbook 2011, America spent nearly $700 billion in 2010. This accounts for about 43% of the entire global military spending and is nearly 6 times more than the amount spent by the next largest, China. In fact, the United States spends more on its military than the total spent by the second largest (China), third largest (United Kingdom), fourth largest (France), fifth largest (Russia)... and fifteenth largest (Turkey) combined.

Military Expenditures By percent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

United States—3.29———10

Canada——.99————————3

China———1.9———————6

Columbia——3.39————————11

Cuba———3.08—————————9

France———2.26—————————8

Germany———1.19—————————4

Haiti———————.4——————————1 (least amount spent on military matters)

Iraq—————3.63——————12

Kenya———1.4——————————5

Sweden———1.04——————————2

Russia——-5.4———————13

Vietnam———2.24———————7

The argument here might be that it is good that the United States has military bases all over the globe to protect other countries from attack. It is not clear when or why this became a duty of the United States. And given 75 million refugees at this point in time, it sure hasn’t helped has it? Many of these refugees are from the countries we invaded to ‘save’. 

Military expenses per capita:  

United States——$1,859——-12

Canada———309—————  7

China———$155————————6

Columbia——$81——————————5

Cuba———?

France----977—————————11

Germany——562——————————9

Haiti——3—————————————————1

Iraq——54————————————4

Kenya——5—————————————2

Sweden———555————————8

Russia———$593——————10

Vietnam———46———————3

Our military expenses are so high in part because we are the only country with almost 800 foreign military bases. Despite recently closing hundreds of bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States still maintains nearly 800 military bases in more than 70 countries and territories abroad—from giant “Little Americas” to small radar facilities. Britain, France and Russia, by contrast, have about 30 foreign bases combined.  What has the United States gained by this vast and yearly expense?  We haven’t won a war since Korea if a tie is a win. Ok,maybe Reagan’s Granada and Clinton’s Baltic air war. In a sense, our constant presence and meddling in the internal affairs of other countries (in the name of domestic security) has only led to our being an endless target for terrorists of all ilk. With our missiles and smart bombs and drones, and atomic weapons ad nausea no one even considers an actual military attack on the U.S. Even North Korea with it’s own Trump clone, probably will not be that dumb. TRump’s biggest strength is an ability to scare even North Korea with his emotional instability.

The Happiness Index  2017

United States——14                3

Canada——7                           1

China—79                                8

Columbia—36                           6

Cuba—?

France—31                               5

Germany—16                           4

Haiti——145                            12

Iraq——117                             11

Kenya—112                          10

Sweden—10                           2                     

Russia——49                          7

Vietnam—94                            9

I prefer the term contentment opposed to happiness but these polls purport to measure both. We do not do bad, but again our level is pushed down by the huge percentage of people living in really bad communities. We are really two different nations today, and both halves are finding less and less in common. In numbers ‘the have nots’ are growing faster than the ‘haves’, while the number of armed citizens with military style weapons steadily grows.There could ugly battles ahead for us in everybody’s back yard. An odd, but noteworthy, point here is that studies indicate that one’s contentment/happiness level only increases up to $70,000/yr income and after that it heads downward. No wonder Trump is agitated and angry  24 hrs/day.  

Quality of Roads:

United States——13————————————2

Canada——22——————————————5

China——39———————————————6

Columbia——120—————————————9

Cuba—?

France—6—————————————1

Germany—-16————————————3

Haiti——?

Iraq ——?

Kenya——61——————————————7

Sweden—21————————————4

Russia—-123

Vietnam——89———————————————8

Quality of Infrastructure

United States——8—————————3

Canada————9—————————————4

China——23———————————————6

Columbia————95———————————11

Cuba——108—————————————12

France———15——————————5

Germany——1————————1

Haiti——157—————————————————13

Iraq——152——————————————10

Kenya———42———————————7

Sweden———3———————2

Russia———94————————————9

Vietnam——70———————————8

Quality of Life

United States——8——————4

Canada——2———————1

China——20———————————6

Columbia——55———————————9

Cuba   ?

France——9———————————5

Germany—3————————2

Haiti  ?

Iraq   ?

Kenya——57—————————————10

Sweden——6————————3

Russia———26———————7

Vietnam—44———————————8

Manufacturers Workers Pay

The United States ranks 14th in the world in wages and compensation for manufacturing workers, according to new data released by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's on par with Ireland and Italy and far behind Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Germany, among others. American manufacturing workers earn an average of $34.74 in total hourly compensation, just 60 percent of the $57.53 that workers in top-ranking Norway receive. The table below shows the total hourly compensation (including benefits) as well as pay for time worked for the top 20 countries in 2010.

Country	Pay for Time Worked	Total Hourly Compensation
1. Norway	NA	$57.53
2. Switzerland	$34.29	$53.20
3. Belgium	$24.01	$50.70
4. Denmark	$34.78	$45.48
5. Sweden	$25.05	$43.81             1
6. Germany	$25.80	$43.76            2
7. Finland	$22.35	$42.30
8. Austria	$21.67	$41.07
9. Netherlands	$23.49	$40.92
10. Australia	$28.55	$40.60
11. France	$21.06	$40.55          3
12. Ireland	$26.29	$36.30
13. Canada	$24.23	$35.67         4
14. United States	$23.22	$34.74         5
15. Italy	$18.96	$33.41
16. Japan	$18.32	$31.99
17. United Kingdom	$21.16	$29.44
18. Spain	$14.53	$26.60
19. Greece	$13.01	$22.19
20. New Zealand	$17.29	$20.57

Top Countries with Most paid vacation days by law:

Sweden—41 days          1

France—38 days           2

Germany—34 days        3

United States—0 days required

Capitalism with no limits breeds a very industrious work force but at the same time very wealthy genetic cabals emerge along with suddenly rich CEO’s, professional athletes, actors, politicians, and so on. These 2-5% of our population now own roughly 90% of our wealth. They are still not satisfied, and with few exceptions like Gates and Buffet, their worship of the almighty dollar is a hopeless compulsive and addictive mindset. They are no more to be called happy or contented than someone who feels compelled to wash their hands 150 times a day. 

Countries with lowest unemployment percentage:

United States—4.10——————————5

Canada—5.8—————————————————7

Columbia—11.8———————11

China—3.9————————————4

Cuba—2%——————1

France—8.9—————————9

Germany—3.6—————————3

Haiti—13.9——————————-13

Iraq——16————————————13

Kenya——11.0——————10

Sweden—7.0—————————————8

Russia—5.2————————————6

Vietnam—2.02———————2

Hard to figure that Cuba is first and Vietnam is second unless these are slave wage laborers. 

Countries With least wealth inequality:  (lowest score is best)  The ratio of the average income of the richest 10% to the poorest  10%

United States—18.5—8

Canada——9.4——5

China——21.6——9

Columbia   60.4—-11

Cuba—      ?

France—9.1———4

Germany  6.9——2

Haiti——54.4—10

Iraq——?

Kenya—13.6——7 

Sweden—6.2————1

Russia—12.7—————6

Vietnam—6.9————-2

How does Vietnam rank 2nd?  Interesting. This must be only one of the third world countries where there is no really wide gap between the affluent and the poor. Maybe all the wealthy got the hell out. The goal of any modern society should always be to enable the highest number of citizens to be employed at livable wages. Such a nation will not only be happy but prosperous as almost all residents need no welfare and are able to stimulate the economy by the money they can afford to spend. 

Climate Change Performance Index: (Ranked, lowest is best)

United States——34 —————4  

Canada—56———————————7

China—47———————————5

Columbia  ?

Cuba  ?

France——8———————2

Germany——22———————3

Haiti  ?

Iraq  ?

Kenya   ?

Sweden—6———————1

Russia——53————————8

Vietnam    ?

The ranking only went to 61. Preventing climate change is another one of those modern day serious threats which can only be handled by global sacrifice to prevent any nation from not sacrificing to save our planet. 

Development Assistance by Country as a percentage of GNI

United States——.15—————-6

Canada——.25———————-5

China——.36————————3

Cuba—?

France————.36——————-3

Germany——.49————————2

Haiti—?

Iraq——?

Kenya   ?

Sweden——1.36——————1

Russia——.03—————————-7

Vietnam   ?

Americans have this perception that we are the most generous nation on earth. We are not, either with foreign nations or our own poor/less fortunate. Remember, the above does not include military assistance or money used to support international agencies, only money given for developmental assistance to other countries. Generosity is no longer a trait of most Americans. The most notable trait today is ‘family values’ in which only those part of a genetic cabal count. Taking care of our own, sometimes by desire, and other times by necessity, has created a very difficult environment for such diverse make-up of citizens. 

The top 100 companies producing military equipment, in what country are they located. )Ranked by number of companies in the list of 100 top arms producers.

United States—40———————————12

Canada——1——————————7

China——0—————————1 (ranked by least contributing military equipment to world nations)

Cuba——0——————————1

France——9—————————10

Germany——5———————9

 Haiti———0————————————1

Iraq——0——————————————1

Kenya—0————————————————1

Sweden——1————————————————7

Russia——11 ———————————11

Vietnam—0———————————1

With almost all these charts in this musing, the U.S. is in the middle of the chart except in military spending.  That essentially makes us a borderline country between the most civilized and the least civilized. Maybe there is a better word to be used. 40 years ago we would have been at the top in almost all these categories. Basically, our government has generously met the needs of the affluent and wealthy while failing the poor big time. The ranking here many would contest in that I ranked those countries who spend the least per capita on defense as a good thing. The majority of Americans still seem to think that in terms of military expenditures, endless bombs, endless foreign military bases, endless invasions of other countries is a good thing or at least necessary for national security. The tact taken here in ranking these countries is that all this meddling in the affairs of other countries has only made us a target for their anger, especially when it comes to terroristic acts. Were it not for the two oceans surrounding us, we would be awash in terroristic acts. A wall certainly can’t save us in the future and nor will the two oceans. Our meddling has become counter-productive in that we get blamed for situations in foreign countries that we are not responsible. Not good for either other countries or our own country. 

Refugees

The six wealthiest countries - which make up more than half the global economy —-—host less than nine percent of the world’s refugees while poorer countries and territories are shouldering most of the responsibility.  Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, South Africa as well as the Occupied Palestinian Territory host over 50 percent of the world’s refugees and asylum seekers but account for under 2 percent of the world’s economy. 

55% of refugees worldwide came from three countries—South Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria

On average, it costs about $15,000 to help settle a refugee, including both initial background checks as well as job and English training once they arrive. As refugees are also immediately eligible for welfare assistance and Medicaid, the government spends approximately $92,000 in governmental assistance for the first 20 years each refugee spends in the US.

Over the same time, refugees pay an average of $129,000 in taxes — netting the government approximately $21,000 more than it spends.

On average, refugees who arrived before they turned 14 finished high school and went to college at the same rates as their native-born peers. Older teens who arrived in their late teens struggled the most and had much lower graduation rates, due, in part, to the fact that they come with low English skills and are often separated from their parents.

As for those who come to the US as refugees as adults, most struggled with low employment rates and reliance on government assistance at first. But in only six years in their new country, the same group of refugees surpassed native-born Americans when it came to employment and their reliance on welfare or food stamps.

Refugees per 1000 population:

United States—.85——————————7

Canada——4.87—————————4

China——.22-------------------------8

Cuba——.04—————————————9

France—3.2————————————5

Germany——7.2—————————3

Haiti ———0—————————————-12

Iraq——1.09———————————6

Kenya——9.95——————————1 (accept the most refugees per capita)

Sweden——8.81———————2

Russia——.03——————————10

Vietnam——.02—————————————11

This global problem an be added to human overpopulation, distribution of wealth, climate change, and employment at livable wages as problems which can only be solved via global controls and enforcement. The tendency to not solve overpopulation problems will cause more and  more national populations to drive minorities out of their country. The 75 million refugees today is in sheer numbers greater than anytime before in human history of this globe. These people have nothing—no land, no job, no realistic means to escape their situation and, for good reason, no other country really wants them. If we are indeed all God’s children then God must be quite angry that we so far have been unable to utilize our innate universal ethical trait (the Golden Rule) to help the less fortunate. Of course we also need remember that the evolutionary process will continue, as it always has for millions of years and our species or a new species will evolve, sooner or later, on evolutionary time, to make life more contented for the maximum number of the evolved humans or their replaced species. Nevertheless, right now, for those who stop to imagine the suffering so many are going through, it is a frustratingly sad picture, an embarrassment for those of us who have been dealt better cards in life. Mental torture and hopelessness may rival all other situations as the ultimate deplorable state.

Summary of rankings in different categories:

Advanced Countries:                       U.S.   Canada  China  France  Germany  Sweden  Russia     

Least Violent------------------------------7———5———2———-3————1———2————10

Least % in Poverty———————7———4———11———-6————8———1———5

Least % in jail—————————12———7———-8———-4—————2——-1———-11

Least cost Hlth Care:—————  12———11———4———10————9———-7————3

Most # doctors/capita—————  6———7————8———3————3———5—————2

Longest avg lifespan—————  6———3————7————1——    4———1—————9

Least Milt exp/GDP——————10——   3———   6———  8————4———2—————13

Least Milt Exp/capita—————  12———7———  6————11———9——   8——————10

Best Happiness Index—————3———1————8————5————4———2—————-7

Best Quality Roads——————2————5———6————1————3———4—————10

Best Qual Infrastructure————8————4———6————5————-1———2——————9

Best Quality of Life——————4————1———6—————5————2——3——————7

Mfg  workers compensation——-5————4———-?————3————-2———1——————?

Most vacation days/law————13————4———-? ————3————2———1—————?

Lowest unemployment—————5————7————4———9————4———8—————-6

Least wealth inequality—————8————5————-9———4————2———1————6

Best Climate change actions——4—————7————5————2———3———1——-8

Foreign Assist (non military)——6—————5————3———3————2————1———7

Least companies making weapons---12———7————1———10————9————7——11

Most relocated refugees/capita———7———4—————8———5—————3———2——10

Total pts/avg———————149/20=       101/20=      146/18=    101/20=    79/20=   61/20=  144/18=

                                                   7.45              5.05           8.1            5.05         3.95        3.05        8

None of these polls can be trusted to be very accurate but taken as a whole (all 20 categories) it seems fair to say that Sweden wins hands down, then Canada, Germany, and France can be grouped together, while lagging behind are the U.S., China, and Russia. Still, no one has moved up further the last ten years than China. That seems noteworthy. Also these polls indicate priorities for each nation too and this is noteworthy. Since I counted spending so much on military matters as a negative, this pushes the United States down. Someone else would have used the same stats to push the U.S. up. But none of the above powerful countries have been attacked for decades and certainly no one would attack the U.S. even if our military expenditures had been cut in half and we didn’t have all these foreign military bases. Without the obsession with guns, bombs, foreign military bases, jails, and violence as a means to solve situations, the United States probably would have led the way easily in the other categories. That is deduction, not fact.  

Third World Countries                   Columbia        Cuba      Haiti     Iraq     Kenya     Vietnam  

Least Violent ——————————12—————8———9———6——   11————4                  

Least % in Poverty————————11—————?———13 ——-10——12————3

Least % in jail——————————9——————10———3———6——5————?

Least cost Hlth Care:———————6——————2———5———?———1————?

Most # doctors/capita———————9—————  1———12———10——13——   11

Longest avg lifespan———————9—————-5————11———10——12———7

Least Milt exp/GDP———————11—————9————1————12——5———-7

Least Milt Exp/capita——————   5 —————?————1————4———2——-3

Best Happiness Index——————6——————?————12———11———10——9

Best Quality Roads———————9——————?—————?———?———7———8

Best Qual Infrastructure—————11—————12————13———10———7———8

Best Quality of Life———————9——————?————?—————?——10———8

Mfg  workers compensation———?                     ?                ?                 ?         ?           ?

Most vacation days/law———       ?                     ?                ?                 ?          ?            ?

Lowest unemployment—————11—————1—————13———13———10———2

Least wealth inequality—————11————?——————10————?——  7————2

Best Climate change actions—— ?                 ?                    ?                   ?        ?                    ?   

Foreign Assist (non military)           ?               ?                     ?                 ?            ?            ?

Least companies making weapons

Most refugees/capita——————?——————9————12————6———1———     11

Total———————————138/16=————48/9=———115/14=    98/12=   112/16=      83/15=

                                                 8.6                     5.3                8.2             8.2          7                5.5

In these stats Cuba is a wash since not much data was available. Otherwise they all ended up about the same: not doing very well except Vietnam where if you took out the last ranking (most refugees/capita) Vietnam did remarkably well. 

And why would anyone think they are interested in taking in refugees? Who dealt more with the homeless than they after years of American bombing? 

Why, it could be reasonably asked, would I take the time to amass all this data?  Well, I will repeat Lincoln’s quote: “If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it.”

Americans right now need to give up the belief that we are the best in everything. In many areas we still are if we are talking about the top half of American citizens. They fare well——for right now. I suspect most of us, not deliberately, but mostly to avoid dealing with reality, turn a blind eye to the poor and unfortunate amongst us. They are essentially gated off, out of sight, and consequently out of mind. I reckon, if we could, we would all press a button that would make things better for the bottom half of our citizens. We would do that. What we resist doing is using our own excess wealth to level the playing field for those less affluent. We really don’t want our money being used to provide all children good schools, good health care, good job opportunities, safe neighborhoods, good teachers, and so on. We need to substantially alter our priorities when it comes to military matters, climate change, distribution of wealth amongst us, putting limits on capitalism and more regulations on capitalism so that the playing fields are more level for all to participate, and essentially redirect our efforts so that more of our citizens have livable wages, safe neighborhoods, good schools etc. If the country with the most wealth can’t do this, then our grand political experiment is going to implode. This is not to say that other countries will not implode also since human overpopulation is global and the biggest and most dangerous threat to our species. And yet we don’t even talk about it seriously, and act as if our species is immune to overpopulating itself. We simply cannot afford to let global population double again as it has in my lifetime. It is insanity.

For those like myself whose hobby is musing about all the varied aspects of life worth pondering about, the present current era of human evolution is a gold mine——so many problems coming down the pike at us which cannot be solved by individual nations. National pride and politics/religion have become globally toxic to progress. Can humans really save themselves? I guess it doesn’t matter any more than whether the dinosaur’s could save themselves. 97% of all species which once existed are extinct. It hardly seems reasonable that the ‘best’ of each are frolicking around in some heaven. Is it possible to be really sad about the fate of so many others trapped in bad environments today and yet find content in our own lives? I suspect it is, if we can satisfy ourselves that via the Golden Rule, with our time or excess money, we can reap the mental rewards that come with such efforts. While no individuals of any species are in control of the evolutionary process, what all humans have, is a chance to achieve some contentment in their own lives. But this contentment is not achievable without assistance from genetics, environment, luck, and help from others. If we cannot be part of the ‘help’ component here, then any contentment achieved will be shallow and elusive.