It’s a report on the average weight and height statistics over the past 40 years by National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The height didn’t change that much (from 5’8 (1.73 m) to 5’9 1/2 (1.77 m) for males (2.2% increase), and from 5’3 (1.60 m) to 5’4 (1.63 m) for females (1.6% increase)). However, the weight increased dramatically: from 166.3 lb (75.6 kg) to 191 lb (86.8 kg) for males (15% increase!!!), and from 140.2 lb (63.7 kg) to 164.3 lb (74.7 kg) for females (17% increase!!!).

And this guy isn’t helping the stats.

I really think it has to do with the food portion they are giving out here. No wonder obesity is such an issue these days.

The National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago’s 2002 survey noted Americans who say that they belong to one of Protestant denominations are only 52%, down from 62% around 1993. A controversial thing is that this number included Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), which accounted for 2%, as protestants. Among immigrants, only 25% were protestants.

On the other hand, the proportions of Roman Catholics and Jews stayed about the same, 25% and 2% respectively. Other religious groups, including Muslims, Orthodox Christians, Buddhists and Hindus rosed to 7%.

Also, another interesting trend was that 27% of those born in 1980 or later claim they have “no religion”.

I was kind of shocked that it was that low among immigrants because I see Korean protestants all the time. So, it’s obvious that Koreans aren’t even close to making a dent in the big picture.

So, the growth of secularism in the U.S. (and the world) and the increasing fanaticism among some religious fundamentalists do have bases in the statistics, and the trend is telling me that it will get worse.

It is undeniable that the U.S.’s hard power (or direct power, such as military or economy) is unmatched by any other countries now. Its military dominance will probably continue for a while (the only weakness about the U.S.’s military power is its own people, public opinions). And its economy as a hard power is as strong as its military. The U.S. still has most of the influential capitals and businesses of the world. Not only those, it also has one of the largest, most sophisticated markets in the world. Maybe, China will be and probably become the only real contender to the U.S.’s economic dominance. These are what makes others to regard the U.S. as a “bully”, but so far, the bully‘s other sides have kept it under control.

However, the U.S.’s soft power seems to be diminishing recently. It probably peaked right after the World War II, but it has been slowly decaying (just like any other things) ever since. And in recent years, with the bubbles of the New Economy popped and with many corporate scandals, the other’s perception of the American Dream and the American capitalism is becoming more realistic and less awe-inspiring.

And as the commercialization of everything has been accelerating in the U.S., the influence of the American culture seems to have become less. This mass-market-driven commercialization inevitably accompanies the “banalization” [my term] of the culture. That is, to appeal to broader audience (which means to be “efficient”, “cost effective” and in “the economy of scale”), one has to appeal to more basic, “lower” common denominators. What was once regarded as “high culture” in the developing and 3rd countries, it becomes just some trendy cheap stuff as they get exposed to more variety.

And so far in the current administration, there has been several incidents where our ideals of democracy, equality, liberty and human rights have been shattered, even within the U.S. soils. After the 9-11, anywhere can be a battle field and the Bush/Rumsfeld/Ashcroft would believe that anything can be compromised. We hear about several U.S. citizens held in military facility without legal representation. We hear about some legal aliens held in prison for following what was asked of them. All this will just make the others think that the American ideals are nothing but fragile illusions that we ourselves will be ready throw away at a moment’s notice. This makes it harder for others to believe that following the American way of life is the thing to do.

Anyway, as Mr. Nye noted, the U.S. cannot maintain the dominance in hard power forever. There will come a time when we have to rely on the accumulated soft power to make our interests heard by others. I just can’t help but think that the current administration isn’t helping at all.

There has always been anti-U.S. resentment in Korea since 1980. You can say it’s a love-hate thingy. Some part of the population (maybe most, unconsciously) felt the need of the U.S. military presence. However, some resented having a foreign military effectively controlling one’s own army. This is especially true for most of the younger generations.

I am sorry to say this to the men and women who serve their country, but they don’t really represent the finest in the soft power that the U.S. has to offer. Maybe, the hard power, but definitely not the soft. There have been many incidents between the U.S. military personnel and the Korean civilians, and most of the times, people will talk about it for a couple of weeks and it would quiet down.

However, this time it seems a bit different. It involved two middle school girls. There are already several agendas against the U.S. (the North Korea issues, the next-generation fighter selection, the HDTV formats, etc.) that it just exploded. Also, I think the success of the World Cup 2002, and the confidence that the Korean people got from that seem to play a bigger part. Also, there is a presidential election soon.

Anyway, maybe this, 2002, is the year that would change the attitude of Korea. Or maybe not.