Al Jazeera is reporting a new twist, courtesy of UNISEF, on the “what’s the best country” debate. The US and UK appear to be target in this article for ironic value, but they’re definitely at the bottom of the table. It’s interesting in that it reports on values that are often overlooked in the US and the UK. Essentially there are lots of broken homes living under the poverty line in the US and less so in the UK (poverty isn’t much of a problem in the UK if you ask me). I’m not saying that a healthy family is a low priority in the US, but that it’s not required to keep the kids alive. Mothers in the wealthiest countries don’t need fathers to keep the children alive. Or more aptly, the fathers don’t feel the pressure to stick around, because chances are the kids and mother will be ok.

It’s layered up with some cultural problems as well. This bbc report quotes the problem in the UK as “dog eat dog” society. I think this translates to a lack of trust in community and family. The streets here in London are exaggerated, but the people here are angry and struggling against each-other. It’s pretty unpleasant, and would probably have screwed me up as a kid. There has been some recent debate here on how to encourage healthy families, mostly concerning financial incentives. I don’t think it’s a money problem but a cultural one.

Northern Europe always seems to be toping these sort of “quality of life” statistics. Too bad its fricken cold up there.

On a lighter note, Happy Valentine’s Day!