A friend asked us for our lists of five things we should thank the US for, and five things we wish it can do better,  here is my input:

Five things I think the US is doing very well:

5. Easy and often free access to public facilities such as parks and public libraries, especially the public libraries which contribute a lot to the betterment of the intellectual landscape, as it equalizes access to opportunities to learn and get educated.

4. An incremental approach to changes. The country does not throw away its heritage as easily as China sometimes does. Generations build on the strength of earlier generations in revisions and amendments rather than revocations and revolutions.

3. Freedom of speech in most cases. This is why many social conflicts are resolved before they become bigger problems, as there are channels for people to voice their dissatisfaction and frustration.

2. The country generally encourages each individual to realize his or her individual potential to the full, that’s why there are so many talents in this country. Talents are mostly respected and cultivated. Diversity of talents is also encouraged and that result in contentment of people in being what they are, instead of trying to be somebody else.

1. I actually think the US is doing a pretty good job of not letting the state interfere with people’s faiths. You need only look at what China is doing to house churches to realize the advantages of the US’s mostly hands-off approach.  (some other folks include the separation of church and state in their wish list.)

Five things I think that the US is not doing so well.

5. Higher education is too expensive for the good of the nation.

4. The partisan politics, though great in its democratic design, sometimes has some side effects such as the hate advertisements as you can watch from TV recently. There should be more civil arguments.

3. Medical system. I don’t know what a better model looks like, but the current system is entangled in a vicious cycle as various stakeholders (doctors, insurance companies) try to maximize their own profits, and reduce their own risks, which result in huge burden on the patient and the country.

2. Everybody is minding his or her own little turf without actually caring about the bigger picture of things. There is a lack of holistic thinking at the core of American professionalism. As a result, when you try to solve a problem, you were kicked around in the system like a human ball.

1. America’s k12 educational system, though very strong in many areas, has a lot of room for improvement. There is some level of anti-intellectualism as described by Dr. Edwina Pendarvis. Kids do not spend sufficient quantity of time learning. There are too many frivolous activities going on (or so I think, activities that are not central to the cultivation of skills and knowledge at such stages of students’ lives). Kids are dismissed too early from school, which messed up parents’ schedules as well, making it hard for both parents to work, which can be very necessary in such economy when families are struggling to pay bills.

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