Just How Is America The Best Nation In The World?

[Yavin4]

I got into a littler debate with another DUer wherein he stated that America is the best nation on the planet, and I asked him to elaborate. He replied that in France for example, they have $8/gal gas, small apartments, and dirty health clinics.

I responded that because of mass transit in France, you don't have to drive everywhere. I share a small apt in NYC with two other people and I climb 7 flights of stairs. Finally, as a contractor, I have no health insurance.

Now, I throw this question out to everyone here. How is America better than any other nation on the planet? I know it's better if you're stinking wealthy, but how is it better for the working class like myself?

Please elaborate. No Sean Hannity-like empty sloganeering.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. I wouldn't be so arrogant as to say "the best", but our Constitution is worthy

of impressing the world.

[Yavin4]

2. There Are European and Asian Constitutions That Are Superior

You have far more individual rights in Amsterdam than you have here.

[arcadian]

9. A Constitution written by slave-holder for slave-holders.

Please let's quit deifying the "Founding Fathers".

[arcadian]

11. wrong space

[no_hypocrisy]

16. The Constitution has been refined and improved via its amendments and

the option to make it better is always there, provided the citizenry wants a better government.

[Moochy]

27. But rewriting history to boost our petty egos..

it's so fun, and profitable...

[treestar]

21. I would agree with that, in fact, our bill of Rights was like the model

for many International Declarations regarding human rights. Our standards for human rights were ahead of many countries and something to be proud of. We could honestly be judgmental of countries like Saudi Arabia who did not respect basic rights concerning trial and arrest, no imprisonment without trial, no incognito or unlimited detention, no laws discriminating against classes of people.

Until 2001 when the Chimp and his party started to disrespect that. That's one more thing they lost for us.

[Romulox]

24. The same constitution that gives North Dakota the same number of Senators as California?

Equal representation would be a whole lot more impressive.

[terrya]

3. We can truly be generous and selfless.

Look at the Marshall Plan after World War II.

Look at Americans immediately helping out...like the tsunami from a few years ago that caused so much death and devastation.

Americans can be so selfless and generous.

[MrScorpio]

4. "Best" is relative

and too subjective

[KatyMan]

5. Don't you think

everyone everywhere pretty much believes that their nation is the greatest on earth, regardless of how much they might hate their government? Nation, I think, is a word that surpasses mere patriotism, and talks more about the people of the land...I'm sure that during the worst of the purges in the Soviet Union, Russians believed themselves and their culture to be the 'greatest'. I think it's just natural. It's the people and culture of a nation that matter.

But, OTOH, in the case you reference, that is just jingoism, vying for right wing votes.

[Bob Dobbs]

6. #1 in Willful Ignorance.

You can't beat our self deception!

USA! USA!

[Bob Dobbs]

8. World leaders in HUBRIS.

Our defecate is not odiferous.

[Moochy]

10. We are the leaders in Defecate Spending

[Bob Dobbs]

12. Heh.

No one buys more SHIT than we do.

Largely from China. Slave made SHIT.

[LibDemAlways]

33. Agreed. And probably #1 in devaluing education,

distorting Christianity, fearing Muslims, immigrant bashing, selfishness, greed, and general lack of knowledge of or interest in the rest of the planet.

This summer I had the opportunity to visit St. Petersburg, Russia and take a guided tour of the magnificent museums and palaces. Some of the inane questions asked by Americans of the tour guide made me want to hide my head in shame. Examples:

Do you have elevators in Russia?
Are there Nazis here?
Why are there so many churches? Isn't this a commie country?

Willful ignorance coupled with stupidity. Not something to be proud of.

[Bob Dobbs]

36. "Willful ignorance coupled with stupidity. Not something to be proud of."

Unless you are in the republic party.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

37. #1 in debtor dollars owed!

[Moochy]

7. It's better because the elites here say it is

USA USA USA USA

seriously though...

Nationalism is a poison, it rots the mind.

[arcadian]

13. This country will never be great until it gives up it's imperialistic ways.

And confronts it's genocidal past honestly.

[KatyMan]

17. True, in a certain sense,

But aren't the people and culture great? Your profile doesn't tell your location, but I can tell you that after spending the last 3 years in England, we love being back in Texas, with it's chicken fried steak, bbq joints, good ol'boys (and they're not all redneck weirdos!), great music, etc. Isn't the whole point of wanting Obama to be president the fact that you want to keep your culture, because it's great?
I do draw the line at faux patriotism...I can't say that I'm patriotic in the sense that God Bless America makes me tear up, but this country is made up of great people, great culture, food, music, art...and one should be proud of it the same as an Albanian is proud of Albanian culture. The culture might not translate worldwide, but it works for those that inhabit it, and it's the best way to live if that's the culture you grew up in or have adopted.

PS--I'm not dissing English culture, it's just too expensive to live there ;)

[musikate]

14. Well, if you're Sarah Palin

then you don't like America at all. Alaska is the greatest country in the world, and it should be put FIRST! lol

[jdlh8894]

22. Well,

Alaska is bigger than most European countries.

[LibDemAlways]

34. Palin is only interested in Alaska as a means to an end.

Exploit the oil and natural gas resources and kill the wildlife.

She is so unworthy of governing that magnificent place. It's a goddamn crime.

[But....]

15. I don't know if she the best...

but it's the one that I love, although my hearts been broken most 30+ years (hell yea love is blind)
:cry:

[magellan]

18. It's a subjective deal

Billions of people the world over prefer to call THEIR countries the best in the world...for them. If I'm wrong, why aren't they all lined up to get in here? (Without hoods and chains, I mean.)

[Posteritatis]

19. It isn't

Exceptionalism pisses me off.

[treestar]

20. I don't even know why it matters to them.

If they lived in Canada, it would have been the best nation in the world. If you are Canadian, you think it is. Why should you think otherwise? And people live happy lives in Canada all the time. At least as far as I know, you don't have Canadians saying we've got to overtake the U.S. and be bigger and better than they are, dammit, and gearing their lives to that goal.

Same with any other country. Are the French supposed to be upset they aren't number one in military prowess and thus able to attack third world countries on the grounds of specious threats? Did they not survive WWII and being next door to the worst enemy ever? Why can't they be as proud to be French as we can to be Americans? Of course they can.

The only countries that seem obsessed with this concept are the U.S. and the Russians.

[TahitiNut]

23. "You're a good man, Brian." "Well, I try to be." "Exactly."

What folks must realize is that "best" is a term used ONLY when the person (or nation) crosses the FINISH LINE. It's a EULOGY! Until the funeral, it ONLY about trying our utmost. Keepin' on keepin' on. When we pretend to have crossed the finish line and stop trying ... we're dead.

[Romulox]

25. Number 1 in OBESITY! nt

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

26. I'm not going to go into the "best" thing because it's silly.

But that isn't to say that there aren't a lot of great things about the US. There's tons of innovation, upward mobility - especially for immigrants, lack of attachment to a single ethnic identity, positive outlook on life. "Best" is silly, and there are tons of things wrong with America as we all know. Best is relative. It's going to be "the best" for some people, but not others. It all depends on what you value and how far you get in life, doesn't it? France might be the best country in the world for an upper-middle class French person, but is it really the best country in the world for a first generation Algerian immigrant?

[Elwood P Dowd]

28. Here is our ranking

Someone posted this last spring.....

Greenest Countries, 23, Latvia, Environmental Sustainability Index
Deaths by Firearms, 3, Jamaica, None
Life Expectancy, 24, Cyprus, WHO
Global Peace Index, 96, Yemen-Iran, The Economist
Child Well-Being, 19, Hungary, Unicef (rich countries only)
Competitiveness, 1, Singapore, IMD International
Student Teacher Ratio, 19, Czech Rep, OECD
Government Surveillance, 28, Slovenia, Privacy International
Home Ownership, 7, Portugal, Eurostat
Health Care System, 37, Slovenia, WHO
Press Freedom, 17, Hong Kong, Reporters without Borders
Gun Ownership, 1, Norway, United Nations
Debt (external), 1, UK, CIA
Economic Aid (donor), 4, Japan, CIA
Trade Balance, 162 (last), Spain, CIA
Electricity Consumption, 1, China, CIA
Distrib. Of Family Income, 38, Cameroon, CIA
Household Inc by Consumption, 57, Ghana, CIA
Industrial Production Growth, 70, Zimbabwe, CIA
Investment % GDP, 95, Guatemala, CIA
Inflation Rate (2007), 73, Belize, CIA
Natural Gas Consumption, 2, Russia, CIA
Oil Consumption, 1, China, CIA
% Of Population Living Below Poverty Line, 78, Syria, CIA
Public Debt %GDP, 62, Cuba, CIA
Unemployment, 95, Romania, CIA
Gold Reserves, 21, Italy, CIA
Death Rate, 99, Cambodia, CIA
Infant Mortality, 40, Croatia, CIA
Adult AIDS Rate, 49, Latvia, CIA
Literacy Rate, 9 (tie), Moldova, CIA
Military Expense %GDP, 19, Chad, CIA
Military Expense Total, 1, Russia, CIA & Several Others
Pollution Per Capita, 1, China, BBC & Several Others
Pollution Total, 2, China, BBC & Several Others
GDP Per Capita, 6, Iceland, Infoplease
Education System, 18, Hungary, UNICEF
Happiness, 23, Tied With Several, University of Leicester
Freedom And Democracy, 17, Czech Republic, The Economist
No. Of Citizens Incarcerated In Prison Or Jail, 1, Russia, Several

[robcon]

29. Best universities, best economic growth prospects.

best drug companies (finding new drugs), best computer/software companies (innovations), best city (New York), strongest military, most charitable people (by a factor of 5-10 compared to other Western countries), etc.

[SammyWinstonJack]

30. Beats me.

:shrug:

[jakem]

31. so, Yavin, how long have you been a communist?

;)

[Donald Ian Rankin]

32. "Greatest" isn't the same as "best".

Great is a matter more of magnitude than of direction, and the US is still the most powerful - economically, militarily and politically - country in the world (although China is beginning to run it closer).

[High Plains]

35. We're number one in prisons and prisoners. USA!! USA!! USA!!

We are the greatest incarcerators on the planet.

USA--home of "freedom" and 2.3 million prisoners.

[cobalt1999]

38. "Best" is a subjective value

What one person values another person may find worthless.

There are some great things about this country and if you personally value those things highly, then the US will get a higher rating. Another person may value other things we don't have more highly, thus a low rating.