University of Virginia Library

Rather Be No. Two
And Just Try Harder

NEW YORK
(LNS)—According to a poll
solicited by the Wall Street
Journal, a "sizeable minority
of the American public just
don't care whether they're No.
One in everything. More than
30 percent say that, as a
general concept, the idea of the
U.S. being No. One in the
world simply isn't important to
them." 67 percent supported
the concept while 3 percent
had no opinion.

To some of those
interviewed, in fact, the idea of
being No. 1 was more than not
important—it was repugnant.
An Aspen, Colorado newspaper
editor voiced the views of
nearly two thirds of the
dissenters, "I think it's a great
mistake to try to be first. The
people of the world have to
live together without the
thought of who's supreme. It's
a very bad attitude. Rather
than trying to be first, we
should try to be more
civilized—to get along with our
neighbors and allocate money
to pressing domestic issues."

An analysis of the survey by
age groups showed that among
those 30 to 39 years old, 76.6
percent wanted to be No. One
while among those 20 to 29,
only 60.8 percent shared that
view.