Čisto slučajno brskam po Foreign Policy, iščem zanimive zgodbe, ko opazim naslov. Očitno se nam, Slovencem, opravičuje kolumnist The New York Timesa, Nicholas Kristoff. Njegov greh je bil namreč, da si je naše zdravstvo drznil primerjati z ameriškim in to celo na neprimeren način.

In several columns, I’ve noted indignantly that we have worse health statistics than Slovenia. For example, I noted that an American child is twice as likely to die in its first year as a Slovenian child. The tone — worse than Slovenia! — gravely offended Slovenians. They resent having their fine universal health coverage compared with the notoriously dysfunctional American system.

As far as I can tell, every Slovenian has written to me. Twice. So, to all you Slovenians, I apologize profusely for the invidious comparison of our health systems. Yet I still don’t see anything wrong with us Americans aspiring for health care every bit as good as yours.

Med nami je očitno kar nekaj ljudi, ki verjamejo, da v ZDA ljudje žrejo travo in povečini tolčejo revščino, povrhu pa so že zabiti, tako da nas res ne gre primerjati s to drhaljo. Kaj češ, antiamerikanizem na vrhuncu. Tako je celo naše zdravstvo, čeprav vsi vemo, da ne deluje, kar naenkrat potrebno braniti pred hudobnimi Američani, ki naj bodo lepo tiho in naj nas nikar ne omenjajo. Noro.

Prav je, da se zavedamo lepot naše države, relativnega bogastva in urejenosti, a skočiti vsakokrat, ko nas kdo od zunaj malo postrani pogleda, kaže predvsem na pomanjkanje samozavesti in neumno ukvarjanje s podobo, ki jo kažemo svetu. Ne živimo ne v raju, ne v peklu, ampak v državi, ki ima ogromno prednosti in tudi ogromno pomanjkljivosti.