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Over-Success
listen:
  Have Americans become too obsessed with wealth and status? Former New Hampshire state senator Jim Rubens has written a new book claiming society has lifted the definition of success to near impossible heights – achieving fame, having the body of a supermodel or joining the ranks of the super rich - and that it's resulted in the collapse of our ethical standards and made Americans increasingly unhappy and dissatisfied with their day-to-day lives. We’ll talk with Jim Rubens about how “Over-Success" came to be and what can be done to stop it. Guest
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I heard only a bit of today's discussion, but what I did hear included a statement by Mr. Rubens that said (roughly) that the United States and the American system have achieved a doubling (or was it a tripling?) of the human life span. Well, I'm no expert, but …
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632 – 1723), Netherlands. "Father of Microbiology".
Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882), England. Theory of descent through natural selection (evolution) now considered the foundation of all the biological sciences.
Louis Pasteur (1822 – 1895), France. Discoveries involving the causes and prevention of diseases, e.g. pasteurization of milk, germ theory of disease.
Gregor Mendel (1822 – 1884), Austria/Czech Republic. "Father of Genetics".
Joseph Lister (1827 – 1912), England. First to promote sterile surgery and use of antiseptics.
Alexander Fleming (1881 – 1855), Scotland
Howard Florey (1898 – 1968), Australia
Ernst Boris Chain (1906 – 1979), Germany/England
Fleming, Florey and Chain shared the 1945 Nobel Prize for the discovery and development of penicillin.
Francis Crick (1916 – 2004), England.
Maurice Wilkins (1916 – 2004), New Zealand/England
James Watson (1928 - ), United States
Watson (an American!) shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for medicine with Crick and Wilkins for the discovery of the structure of DNA. Their work was supported in part by the research of Rosalind Franklin (1920 – 1958), England.
Credit where credit is due, Mr. Rubens!
You are certainly correct and I was careful to note that the 2x human lifespan since 1760s should not be credited exclusively to Americans. My point is that credit is due to the USA for its citizens' many valuable, life-enhancing material and cultural inventions.
Thanks, Jim, for a book that should start a lot of important discussions about self-worth, health and wellbeing. I'm ordering your book at amazon.com now.