Editor's note: David R. Wheeler lives in Lexington, Kentucky, where he is a freelance writer and a journalism professor at Asbury University. Follow him on Twitter @David_R_Wheeler The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) -- Here's a question that seems to be lost in the debate over the Scottish independence vote scheduled for September 18:

If Scotland votes to secede, does that open up a spot for another country? And if so -- Scotland, can we take your place?

David Wheeler

I realize that Americans fought a bloody war of independence from England in the late 1700s, but our rifts have healed over the past 240 years. In 2013, the Pew Research Center reportedthat England topped America's list of favorite nations, in a near-tie with our beloved northern neighbor, Canada.

In the past few years, as America has degenerated into political and economic chaos, it has become increasingly clear that we would be far better off if we apologized for our revolt against the Crown and requested to rejoin the United Kingdom.

 

Parting Shots: Over the sea to Skye

 

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UK leaders urging Scotland to vote 'no'

There are four main ways America would benefit from unification with the UK: Brits have better health, less inequality, excellent manners and -- let's face it -- a superior culture. Let's improve our quality of life by joining them.

Want to live longer? Then let's become Stateland — the 50-state replacement for Scotland.

Brits have greater longevity than Americans, and the British health care system, while far from perfect, is indescribably better than ours. In my visits to the United Kingdom, I've noticed that just about anyone who can afford private health insurance buys it, which allows Brits to supplement their free, government-provided health care. That means there's a baseline of care that every person receives, and if you want something faster or better, you pay for it yourself.

Meanwhile, America's needlessly complicated arrangement of government- and employer-provided health care, in a clumsy compromise with insurance companies, costs way more than other developed countries' while producing worse results.

Next, Britain is a more equitable society. Although America has a higher GDP per capita, most of us -- that is, the 99% -- are not happy because of our ever-widening wealth gap. Brits have less inequality, and their median incomes (unlike ours) have risen in the past decade.

America's middle class used to be the richest in the world; now we're overtaken by Canada. Unless you are the 1% in America, chances are your wages are stagnant. Living a good life -- owning a house and a car and being able to support a family -- seems like a struggle, especially when compared with your parents' generation.

Americans could also learn a few lessons from the Brits when it comes to good manners.

When I took students with me to film news reports of the 2012 Olympics in London, we dealt with unimaginable crowds on the street, in the shopping centers and on the Tube. Did we hear groans of exasperation when we accidentally bumped into Brits in Parliament Square while trying to get a better view of Big Ben? Never. Did we see looks of frustration when our cameras accidentally knocked into innocent people in Piccadilly Circus? Not even once.

This patience and politeness stands in stark contrast to the attitude in big American cities, where cab drivers curse at you just for your mere existence, and TSA agents at American airports compete for the title of Biggest Emotional Abuser.

Finally, America would benefit from a closer association with Britain's culture. The country that produced Shakespeare, the world's best storyteller, has also given us some of the best entertainment and media of modern times. Our imitation of British television (e.g. "The Office") speaks for itself. Has any band ever topped the Beatles?

And nothing against PBS and NPR, but the BBC produces some of the best publicly funded journalism, putting much of the world's radio and television news programs to shame. The world respects the United Kingdom, in part, because the BBC is so trustworthy. That's called soft power.

But wait, you ask. What's in it for the Brits? Three things. Natural resources (oh so much land!), the majestic Grand Canyon and a sport called "American football." They'll love it.

So remember, Americans, if Scotland votes for independence on September 18, let's improve our lives by asking to take their place -- if not officially, then at least in spirit. We hold this truth to be self-evident: Brits have a superior society.

Americans claim we don't want a monarchy, but deep down, we're just as hungry as our British cousins for news about Queen Elizabeth, Princes William and Harry, and those adorable royal babies.

蘇格蘭，你要出去？我們會取代你的位置
由大衛·R·惠勒
2014年9月12日 - 更新2055 GMT（0455 HKT）

您的視頻將開始瞬間。
新聞提要
蘇格蘭是9月18日的投票在公投脫離英國獨立
大衛·惠勒：如果蘇格蘭secedes，美國可以取代其位置？
他提供了四種主要的方式，為什麼美國人將從中受益統一與英國
惠勒：英國人有更好的健康，禮儀，少不平等和卓越的文化
編者按：大衛·R·惠勒住在列剋星敦，肯塔基州，在那裡他是一個自由撰稿人，並在阿斯伯里大學的新聞學教授。按照他的Twitter上@David_R_Wheeler表示在本評論中觀點僅為作者。
（CNN） -這裡的，這似乎是失去了在定於9月18日在蘇格蘭獨立投票的爭論一個問題：
如果蘇格蘭票分裂出去，這是否打開了另一個國家的一個點？如果是的話 - 蘇格蘭，我們可以取代你的位置？
大衛·惠勒
大衛·惠勒
我認識到，美國人在18世紀後期轉戰獨立的血腥戰爭，從英國，但我們的裂痕已經癒合過去240年。在2013年，皮尤研究中心的報告，英國居首最喜歡的國家美國的名單中，近領帶與我們敬愛的北方鄰國，加拿大。
在過去的幾年裡，隨著美國已經淪為政治和經濟混亂，它已成為越來越清楚，我們會好得多，如果我們道歉，我們對官方的反抗，並要求重新加入英國。
臨別射擊：向海斯凱 蘇格蘭皇家銀行：若蘇格蘭去單飛，我們就出局了 英國領導人敦促蘇格蘭投票“不”
主要有四個方面美國將受益於統一的英國：英國人都更健康，更少的不平等，優良的禮儀和 - 讓我們面對它 - 卓越的文化。讓我們來改善我們的生活質量通過加入他們。
想長壽？然後，讓我們成為Stateland - 在50個州替代蘇格蘭。
英國人有更大的壽命比美國人和英國人的醫療制度，而遠非完美，是說不出的比我們的好。在我訪問英國，我注意到，幾乎每個人都誰能夠負擔得起私人醫療保險購買它，這讓英國人來補充他們的自由，政府提供的醫療服務。這意味著有照顧每個人收到的基線，如果你想要的東西，更快，更好，你自己付錢。
與此同時，美國的不必要的複雜的政府-以及雇主提供的醫療服務安排，笨拙的妥協與保險公司，花費更多的方式比其他發達國家的同時產生更壞的結果。

其次，英國是一個更公平的社會。儘管美國的人均GDP較高，我們大多數人-也就是說，99％ -是因為我們日益擴大的貧富差距並不快樂。英國人有較少的不平等，他們的入息中位數（不象我們的）已經上升，在過去的十年。
美國的中產階級曾經是最富有的世界; 現在我們由加拿大所取代。除非你是在美國的1％，那麼你的工資停滯。過著美好的生活 - 擁有自己的房子和汽車，並能夠支持一個家庭 - 似乎是一個鬥爭，尤其是當你的父母輩相比。
美國人也可以學習英國人幾節課，當涉及到禮貌。
當我帶著同學跟我拍攝的倫敦2012年奧運會的新聞報導中，我們處理了在大街上難以想像的人群，在商場和地鐵站。難道我們聽到憤怒的呻吟，當我們不小心碰到了英國人在議會廣場，同時試圖讓大本鐘的更好的視野？從來沒有。難道我們看到的挫折時，看起來我們的相機不小心敲到無辜的人在皮卡迪利廣場？一次也沒有。
這個耐心和禮貌形成鮮明對比的是美國大的城市，在那裡的出租車司機罵你只為你存在本身的態度，和TSA代理在美國的機場爭奪最大的情感施虐者的稱號。
最後，美國將受益於與英國的文化更緊密的聯繫。這產生莎士比亞，世界上最好的講故事的人的國家，也給了我們一些近代最好的娛樂和媒體。我們的英國電視（如“辦公室”）的模仿是不言而喻的。有沒有帶過突破披頭士？
並沒有對PBS和NPR，但英國廣播公司產生一些最好的公共資金資助的新聞，把世界上許多廣播和電視新聞節目的恥辱。世界尊重的英國，部分原因是英國廣播公司是如此值得信賴。這就是所謂的軟實力。
別急，你問。什麼是在它的英國人？三件事情。自然資源（哦，這麼多土地！），雄偉的大峽谷和運動被稱為“美式足球”。他們會喜歡的。
所以請記住，美國人，如果蘇格蘭票獨立於9月18日，讓我們通過詢問來取代他們的位置改善了我們的生活 - 如果沒有特別的話，至少在精神上。我們認為這些真理是不言而喻的：英國人擁有優越的社會。
美國人聲稱，我們不想要一個君​​主，但在內心深處，我們只是餓得像我們關於英國女王伊麗莎白，威廉和哈里王子，以及那些可愛的王室嬰兒的消息英國表親。
英格蘭，你會帶我們回去？