ABSTRACT
Americans never were very comfortable with authority, but that discomfort was balanced by a respect for the law and for the vote—once an election was held, the man or woman elected was, generally, respectfully regarded and treated. Just about every international study, as well, shows how poorly American students rank against others across the world; in surveys with 13,000 executives around the world, ranks the US as the second most competitive economy behind Switzerland, but ranks its public institutions thirty-fourth, behind Iceland and Saudi Arabia. That these are the very men and women necessary to make the new health care reform policy work does not bode well for the American future. Even as the United States seemed to take a new and promising step forward on policy this last week, the levels of incivility and even vulgar and dangerous behavior among our citizens also reached new levels.
