WE JUST KEEP GETTING MORE LIKE OURSELVES:

Our History by the Numbers (Robert J. Samuelson, Jan. 23, 2006, Newsweek)

Let us now praise the newest edition of "Historical Statistics of the United States," whose five volumes and 1,781 tables are about to hit libraries and universities all over the country. [...]

If you peruse "Historical Statistics," you'll encounter many revealing numbers:

* During the past century, religion has become more organized in the sense that more people have joined a formal church. In 1890 only about 34 percent of Americans belonged; by 1989 that share was 60 percent, down slightly from its peak of 64 percent in 1970. This decline may reflect the rise of small storefront congregations, which are missed by membership surveys. [...]

* Despite massive suburbanization since World War II, the United States remains a country of vast open spaces—farms, forests, pastures and range. From 1945 to 1997, the amount of "urban land" (defined as areas with at least 2,500 people) quadrupled to 65.5 million acres; still, that was less than 3 percent of the total of 2.26 billion acres. Cropland (455 million acres) and forests (642 million acres) had increased slightly since 1945. Reforestation has offset much woodland lost to subdivisions.

But just try telling a Leftist that we're a religious people and that we have more forests than we used to.....

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 21, 2006 4:45 PM