Is America the greatest country in the world?

1192022242580

Comments

  • mcgruff10 said:
    The president is banking on the caravan argument to help GOP in 13 days and it’s working the blue wave at the end will be a trickle ..
    And that caravan of people is risking life and limb to get to the United States.  So the United States has to be a pretty good country, no?
    The US definitely is waaaay better than Honduras and Mexico.

    You're setting the bar pretty low here, Scruffy. I'm not a hater of the US- I actually really like the areas I've been to and the people in those areas; however, there are other areas I have zero interest in seeing given what I have come to understand about them and their resistance to evolution.

    Areas I've been to that I love: Hawaii, Washington, California, and Massachusetts.

    Areas that were 'okay': Arizona.

    Areas I have zero interest in: use your imagination (there's an assorted array).
    "My brain's a good brain!"
  • josevolutionjosevolution Posts: 29,474
    mcgruff10 said:
    The president is banking on the caravan argument to help GOP in 13 days and it’s working the blue wave at the end will be a trickle ..
    And that caravan of people is risking life and limb to get to the United States.  So the United States has to be a pretty good country, no?
    It’s the only game in town for them given the choices they have I bet if they could walk down to South America or walk on water across to Europe they would ! 
    jesus greets me looks just like me ....
  • oftenreadingoftenreading Posts: 12,845
    mcgruff10 said:
    The president is banking on the caravan argument to help GOP in 13 days and it’s working the blue wave at the end will be a trickle ..
    And that caravan of people is risking life and limb to get to the United States.  So the United States has to be a pretty good country, no?
    Well, it’s better than Honduras. 
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • Spiritual_ChaosSpiritual_Chaos Posts: 30,499
    edited October 2018
    As I've said, the US PR-machine has worked overtime for decades also (just look at people in this thread). Ofc people think it's "the country of opportunity" or whatever. Throw up some bulletpoints with facts comparing Finland and the US, and people would not pick the US. If the Atlantic ocean wouldn't be there stopping them. I would think.
    Post edited by Spiritual_Chaos on
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • Based on what criteria? 
    09/15/1998 & 09/16/1998, Mansfield, MA; 08/29/00 08/30/00, Mansfield, MA; 07/02/03, 07/03/03, Mansfield, MA; 09/28/04, 09/29/04, Boston, MA; 09/22/05, Halifax, NS; 05/24/06, 05/25/06, Boston, MA; 07/22/06, 07/23/06, Gorge, WA; 06/27/2008, Hartford; 06/28/08, 06/30/08, Mansfield; 08/18/2009, O2, London, UK; 10/30/09, 10/31/09, Philadelphia, PA; 05/15/10, Hartford, CT; 05/17/10, Boston, MA; 05/20/10, 05/21/10, NY, NY; 06/22/10, Dublin, IRE; 06/23/10, Northern Ireland; 09/03/11, 09/04/11, Alpine Valley, WI; 09/11/11, 09/12/11, Toronto, Ont; 09/14/11, Ottawa, Ont; 09/15/11, Hamilton, Ont; 07/02/2012, Prague, Czech Republic; 07/04/2012 & 07/05/2012, Berlin, Germany; 07/07/2012, Stockholm, Sweden; 09/30/2012, Missoula, MT; 07/16/2013, London, Ont; 07/19/2013, Chicago, IL; 10/15/2013 & 10/16/2013, Worcester, MA; 10/21/2013 & 10/22/2013, Philadelphia, PA; 10/25/2013, Hartford, CT; 11/29/2013, Portland, OR; 11/30/2013, Spokane, WA; 12/04/2013, Vancouver, BC; 12/06/2013, Seattle, WA; 10/03/2014, St. Louis. MO; 10/22/2014, Denver, CO; 10/26/2015, New York, NY; 04/23/2016, New Orleans, LA; 04/28/2016 & 04/29/2016, Philadelphia, PA; 05/01/2016 & 05/02/2016, New York, NY; 05/08/2016, Ottawa, Ont.; 05/10/2016 & 05/12/2016, Toronto, Ont.; 08/05/2016 & 08/07/2016, Boston, MA; 08/20/2016 & 08/22/2016, Chicago, IL; 07/01/2018, Prague, Czech Republic; 07/03/2018, Krakow, Poland; 07/05/2018, Berlin, Germany; 09/02/2018 & 09/04/2018, Boston, MA; 09/08/2022, Toronto, Ont; 09/11/2022, New York, NY; 09/14/2022, Camden, NJ; 09/02/2023, St. Paul, MN; 05/04/2024 & 05/06/2024, Vancouver, BC; 05/10/2024, Portland, OR;

    Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.

    Brilliantati©
  • tbergstbergs Posts: 9,793
    As I've said, the US PR-machine has worked overtime for decades also (just look at people in this thread). Ofc people think it's "the country of opportunity" or whatever. Throw up some bulletpoints with facts comparing Finland and the US, and people would not pick the US. If the Atlantic ocean wouldn't be there stopping them.
    Trust me, there's no US PR machine driving my thinking and while I agree that there are people like that in this country, I don't think they are on this forum and definitely not in the AMT so you can quit with the pompous generalizations that we're all some slack jawed drooling flag waving morons who eat up anything fed to us to keep the myth alive.

    I don't know what the greatest country is because I can't speak to what it's like to live other places for several years. There are a lot of great things about several countries in this world. It all depends on what you need and what you desire as a lifestyle. Someone with kids will have a completely different opinion then someone who is retired. Personally, if I didn't have kids and didn't have any family, I'd probably being living on the French Polynesian islands. That place is so beautiful and you could get by on very little if you didn't have a care in the world for "stuff" and physical possessions. I don't have any significant health concerns so at this point in my life I wouldn't be worried about health care.

    Someone earlier mentioned the G7 countries and I would agree you probably could pick any one of them and sprinkle in a few other European countries and Australia and find them pretty comparable on the greatness scale.
    It's a hopeless situation...
  • Spiritual_ChaosSpiritual_Chaos Posts: 30,499
    edited October 2018
    tbergs said:

    I'd say it's the greatest country simply for the fact of everything being discussed going on in this country is able to be openly debated, challenged and changed. 
    tbergs said:
    I don't know what the greatest country is because I can't speak to what it's like to live other places for several years. 
    You'r changing your story. Your credibility would be screwed if you were on trial.

    :P

    I also never got an answer to what differ the possibilities in the US to open debate, challenge and change that other countries lack?
    Post edited by Spiritual_Chaos on
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • Spiritual_ChaosSpiritual_Chaos Posts: 30,499
    edited October 2018
    tbergs said:

     Someone with kids will have a completely different opinion then someone who is retired. Personally, if I didn't have kids and didn't have any family, I'd probably being living on the French Polynesian islands. That place is so beautiful and you could get by on very little if you didn't have a care in the world for "stuff" and physical possessions. I don't have any significant health concerns so at this point in my life I wouldn't be worried about health care.
    You can look at things holistically, even if you e.g. IN THIS VERY MOMENT do not need healthcare. You can also use your empathy to put yourself in other peoples shoes when discussing a topic. Instead of "I DO NOT NEED HEALTHCARE", you can look at it as "DO PEOPLE NEED HEALTHCARE?" or "LOOK AT THESE FACTS PRESENTED REGARDING HEALTHCARE". Etc.
    Post edited by Spiritual_Chaos on
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • tbergstbergs Posts: 9,793
    tbergs said:

    I'd say it's the greatest country simply for the fact of everything being discussed going on in this country is able to be openly debated, challenged and changed. 
    tbergs said:
    I don't know what the greatest country is because I can't speak to what it's like to live other places for several years. 
    You'r changing your story. Your credibility would be screwed if you were on trial.

    :P
    Yes, I know what I said, which is why I provided context to what I stated today. I am open minded and willing to change my opinions when I read or find new information. There are days I'd probably say Pearl Jam is the greatest band of all time and others where I'd be like, maybe not.
    It's a hopeless situation...
  • tbergstbergs Posts: 9,793
    tbergs said:

     Someone with kids will have a completely different opinion then someone who is retired. Personally, if I didn't have kids and didn't have any family, I'd probably being living on the French Polynesian islands. That place is so beautiful and you could get by on very little if you didn't have a care in the world for "stuff" and physical possessions. I don't have any significant health concerns so at this point in my life I wouldn't be worried about health care.
    You can look at things holistically, even if you e.g. IN THIS VERY MOMENT do not need healthcare. You can also use your empathy to put yourself in other peoples shoes when discussing a topic. Instead of "I DO NOT NEED HEALTHCARE", you can look at it as "DO PEOPLE NEED HEALTHCARE?" or "LOOK AT THESE FACTS PRESENTED REGARDING HEALTHCARE". Etc.
    Fair point. I honestly don't know how good healthcare is in Tahiti. Maybe it's fabulous :)
    It's a hopeless situation...
  • Spiritual_ChaosSpiritual_Chaos Posts: 30,499
    edited October 2018
    tbergs said:
    tbergs said:

    I'd say it's the greatest country simply for the fact of everything being discussed going on in this country is able to be openly debated, challenged and changed. 
    tbergs said:
    I don't know what the greatest country is because I can't speak to what it's like to live other places for several years. 
    You'r changing your story. Your credibility would be screwed if you were on trial.

    :P
    Yes, I know what I said, which is why I provided context to what I stated today. I am open minded and willing to change my opinions when I read or find new information. There are days I'd probably say Pearl Jam is the greatest band of all time and others where I'd be like, maybe not.
    I also never got an answer to what possibilities exist in the US to open debate, challenge and change that other countries lack? 
    Post edited by Spiritual_Chaos on
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • cincybearcatcincybearcat Posts: 16,435
    mcgruff10 said:
    The president is banking on the caravan argument to help GOP in 13 days and it’s working the blue wave at the end will be a trickle ..
    And that caravan of people is risking life and limb to get to the United States.  So the United States has to be a pretty good country, no?
    The logic here doesn't check out. If your're leaving something making it worth of risking life and limb, wouldn't most other countries be "pretty good" :)

    Also, how a country appear through chuck norris movies and how they are in reality, are two difference things :) But I guess Pearl Jam might have been a factor going. 

    "I wanna be there when they play Just A Girl again"
    Apparently most other countries are not as they continue to move through other countries
    hippiemom = goodness
  • mcgruff10mcgruff10 Posts: 28,478
    mcgruff10 said:
    The president is banking on the caravan argument to help GOP in 13 days and it’s working the blue wave at the end will be a trickle ..
    And that caravan of people is risking life and limb to get to the United States.  So the United States has to be a pretty good country, no?
    The US definitely is waaaay better than Honduras and Mexico.

    You're setting the bar pretty low here, Scruffy. I'm not a hater of the US- I actually really like the areas I've been to and the people in those areas; however, there are other areas I have zero interest in seeing given what I have come to understand about them and their resistance to evolution.

    Areas I've been to that I love: Hawaii, Washington, California, and Massachusetts.

    Areas that were 'okay': Arizona.

    Areas I have zero interest in: use your imagination (there's an assorted array).
    Yeah there are areas in every country that have places you don't want to visit.  My wife and I loved arizona and I would head back there in a heart beat.  For me, Manitoba is not high on the list.

    I mean it is not cheap to be "smuggled" into the US:
    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/30/world/smuggling-illegal-immigration-costs.html
    The nearly 2,000-mile trip had already cost Mr. Cruz’s family more than $6,000 and brought him within sight of Brownsville, Tex. The remaining 500 miles to Houston — terrain prowled by the United States Border Patrol as well as the state and local police — would set them back another $6,500.

    This family spent roughly $12,000 to come here; if America isn't the greatest why not board a plane and head to Europe or Canada?
    I'll ride the wave where it takes me......
  • mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    The president is banking on the caravan argument to help GOP in 13 days and it’s working the blue wave at the end will be a trickle ..
    And that caravan of people is risking life and limb to get to the United States.  So the United States has to be a pretty good country, no?
    The US definitely is waaaay better than Honduras and Mexico.

    You're setting the bar pretty low here, Scruffy. I'm not a hater of the US- I actually really like the areas I've been to and the people in those areas; however, there are other areas I have zero interest in seeing given what I have come to understand about them and their resistance to evolution.

    Areas I've been to that I love: Hawaii, Washington, California, and Massachusetts.

    Areas that were 'okay': Arizona.

    Areas I have zero interest in: use your imagination (there's an assorted array).
    Yeah there are areas in every country that have places you don't want to visit.  My wife and I loved arizona and I would head back there in a heart beat.  For me, Manitoba is not high on the list.

    I mean it is not cheap to be "smuggled" into the US:
    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/30/world/smuggling-illegal-immigration-costs.html
    The nearly 2,000-mile trip had already cost Mr. Cruz’s family more than $6,000 and brought him within sight of Brownsville, Tex. The remaining 500 miles to Houston — terrain prowled by the United States Border Patrol as well as the state and local police — would set them back another $6,500.

    This family spent roughly $12,000 to come here; if America isn't the greatest why not board a plane and head to Europe or Canada?
    If America is the greatest, why didn't all the Syrian refugees board a plane and head to America?
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • mcgruff10mcgruff10 Posts: 28,478
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    The president is banking on the caravan argument to help GOP in 13 days and it’s working the blue wave at the end will be a trickle ..
    And that caravan of people is risking life and limb to get to the United States.  So the United States has to be a pretty good country, no?
    The US definitely is waaaay better than Honduras and Mexico.

    You're setting the bar pretty low here, Scruffy. I'm not a hater of the US- I actually really like the areas I've been to and the people in those areas; however, there are other areas I have zero interest in seeing given what I have come to understand about them and their resistance to evolution.

    Areas I've been to that I love: Hawaii, Washington, California, and Massachusetts.

    Areas that were 'okay': Arizona.

    Areas I have zero interest in: use your imagination (there's an assorted array).
    Yeah there are areas in every country that have places you don't want to visit.  My wife and I loved arizona and I would head back there in a heart beat.  For me, Manitoba is not high on the list.

    I mean it is not cheap to be "smuggled" into the US:
    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/30/world/smuggling-illegal-immigration-costs.html
    The nearly 2,000-mile trip had already cost Mr. Cruz’s family more than $6,000 and brought him within sight of Brownsville, Tex. The remaining 500 miles to Houston — terrain prowled by the United States Border Patrol as well as the state and local police — would set them back another $6,500.

    This family spent roughly $12,000 to come here; if America isn't the greatest why not board a plane and head to Europe or Canada?
    If America is the greatest, why didn't all the Syrian refugees board a plane and head to America?
    Answering a question with a question.  ugh.  I"m not talking about syrian refugees, I was talking about Central America.
    I'll ride the wave where it takes me......
  • oftenreadingoftenreading Posts: 12,845
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    The president is banking on the caravan argument to help GOP in 13 days and it’s working the blue wave at the end will be a trickle ..
    And that caravan of people is risking life and limb to get to the United States.  So the United States has to be a pretty good country, no?
    The US definitely is waaaay better than Honduras and Mexico.

    You're setting the bar pretty low here, Scruffy. I'm not a hater of the US- I actually really like the areas I've been to and the people in those areas; however, there are other areas I have zero interest in seeing given what I have come to understand about them and their resistance to evolution.

    Areas I've been to that I love: Hawaii, Washington, California, and Massachusetts.

    Areas that were 'okay': Arizona.

    Areas I have zero interest in: use your imagination (there's an assorted array).
    Yeah there are areas in every country that have places you don't want to visit.  My wife and I loved arizona and I would head back there in a heart beat.  For me, Manitoba is not high on the list.

    I mean it is not cheap to be "smuggled" into the US:
    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/30/world/smuggling-illegal-immigration-costs.html
    The nearly 2,000-mile trip had already cost Mr. Cruz’s family more than $6,000 and brought him within sight of Brownsville, Tex. The remaining 500 miles to Houston — terrain prowled by the United States Border Patrol as well as the state and local police — would set them back another $6,500.

    This family spent roughly $12,000 to come here; if America isn't the greatest why not board a plane and head to Europe or Canada?
    If America is the greatest, why didn't all the Syrian refugees board a plane and head to America?
    Answering a question with a question.  ugh.  I"m not talking about syrian refugees, I was talking about Central America.
    The comparison is valid, though. It’s far easier to get through a land border than coming by air. For starters, the airlines just won’t let you board if you don’t have the correct documentation ahead of time. Thus, people go where their feet or land/water vehicles can take them. 
     
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • oftenreadingoftenreading Posts: 12,845
    edited October 2018
    Also, I think we’re muddying the waters by talking about a bunch of different things as if they were the same thing. Paying someone to smuggle you across the border is one thing, and an expensive one. Walking to the border and applying for asylum is quite another.  
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    The president is banking on the caravan argument to help GOP in 13 days and it’s working the blue wave at the end will be a trickle ..
    And that caravan of people is risking life and limb to get to the United States.  So the United States has to be a pretty good country, no?
    The US definitely is waaaay better than Honduras and Mexico.

    You're setting the bar pretty low here, Scruffy. I'm not a hater of the US- I actually really like the areas I've been to and the people in those areas; however, there are other areas I have zero interest in seeing given what I have come to understand about them and their resistance to evolution.

    Areas I've been to that I love: Hawaii, Washington, California, and Massachusetts.

    Areas that were 'okay': Arizona.

    Areas I have zero interest in: use your imagination (there's an assorted array).
    Yeah there are areas in every country that have places you don't want to visit.  My wife and I loved arizona and I would head back there in a heart beat.  For me, Manitoba is not high on the list.

    I mean it is not cheap to be "smuggled" into the US:
    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/30/world/smuggling-illegal-immigration-costs.html
    The nearly 2,000-mile trip had already cost Mr. Cruz’s family more than $6,000 and brought him within sight of Brownsville, Tex. The remaining 500 miles to Houston — terrain prowled by the United States Border Patrol as well as the state and local police — would set them back another $6,500.

    This family spent roughly $12,000 to come here; if America isn't the greatest why not board a plane and head to Europe or Canada?
    If America is the greatest, why didn't all the Syrian refugees board a plane and head to America?
    Answering a question with a question.  ugh.
    To open your mind a bit. Ugh.
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • mcgruff10mcgruff10 Posts: 28,478
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    The president is banking on the caravan argument to help GOP in 13 days and it’s working the blue wave at the end will be a trickle ..
    And that caravan of people is risking life and limb to get to the United States.  So the United States has to be a pretty good country, no?
    The US definitely is waaaay better than Honduras and Mexico.

    You're setting the bar pretty low here, Scruffy. I'm not a hater of the US- I actually really like the areas I've been to and the people in those areas; however, there are other areas I have zero interest in seeing given what I have come to understand about them and their resistance to evolution.

    Areas I've been to that I love: Hawaii, Washington, California, and Massachusetts.

    Areas that were 'okay': Arizona.

    Areas I have zero interest in: use your imagination (there's an assorted array).
    Yeah there are areas in every country that have places you don't want to visit.  My wife and I loved arizona and I would head back there in a heart beat.  For me, Manitoba is not high on the list.

    I mean it is not cheap to be "smuggled" into the US:
    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/30/world/smuggling-illegal-immigration-costs.html
    The nearly 2,000-mile trip had already cost Mr. Cruz’s family more than $6,000 and brought him within sight of Brownsville, Tex. The remaining 500 miles to Houston — terrain prowled by the United States Border Patrol as well as the state and local police — would set them back another $6,500.

    This family spent roughly $12,000 to come here; if America isn't the greatest why not board a plane and head to Europe or Canada?
    If America is the greatest, why didn't all the Syrian refugees board a plane and head to America?
    Answering a question with a question.  ugh.  I"m not talking about syrian refugees, I was talking about Central America.
    The comparison is valid, though. It’s far easier to get through a land border than coming by air. For starters, the airlines just won’t let you board if you don’t have the correct documentation ahead of time. Thus, people go where their feet or land/water vehicles can take them. 
     
    Yes thank you, I know that. 
    I'll ride the wave where it takes me......
  • mcgruff10mcgruff10 Posts: 28,478
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    The president is banking on the caravan argument to help GOP in 13 days and it’s working the blue wave at the end will be a trickle ..
    And that caravan of people is risking life and limb to get to the United States.  So the United States has to be a pretty good country, no?
    The US definitely is waaaay better than Honduras and Mexico.

    You're setting the bar pretty low here, Scruffy. I'm not a hater of the US- I actually really like the areas I've been to and the people in those areas; however, there are other areas I have zero interest in seeing given what I have come to understand about them and their resistance to evolution.

    Areas I've been to that I love: Hawaii, Washington, California, and Massachusetts.

    Areas that were 'okay': Arizona.

    Areas I have zero interest in: use your imagination (there's an assorted array).
    Yeah there are areas in every country that have places you don't want to visit.  My wife and I loved arizona and I would head back there in a heart beat.  For me, Manitoba is not high on the list.

    I mean it is not cheap to be "smuggled" into the US:
    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/30/world/smuggling-illegal-immigration-costs.html
    The nearly 2,000-mile trip had already cost Mr. Cruz’s family more than $6,000 and brought him within sight of Brownsville, Tex. The remaining 500 miles to Houston — terrain prowled by the United States Border Patrol as well as the state and local police — would set them back another $6,500.

    This family spent roughly $12,000 to come here; if America isn't the greatest why not board a plane and head to Europe or Canada?
    If America is the greatest, why didn't all the Syrian refugees board a plane and head to America?
    Answering a question with a question.  ugh.
    To open your mind a bit. Ugh.
    Don’t you have a girl to ask out?
    I'll ride the wave where it takes me......
  • mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    The president is banking on the caravan argument to help GOP in 13 days and it’s working the blue wave at the end will be a trickle ..
    And that caravan of people is risking life and limb to get to the United States.  So the United States has to be a pretty good country, no?
    The US definitely is waaaay better than Honduras and Mexico.

    You're setting the bar pretty low here, Scruffy. I'm not a hater of the US- I actually really like the areas I've been to and the people in those areas; however, there are other areas I have zero interest in seeing given what I have come to understand about them and their resistance to evolution.

    Areas I've been to that I love: Hawaii, Washington, California, and Massachusetts.

    Areas that were 'okay': Arizona.

    Areas I have zero interest in: use your imagination (there's an assorted array).
    Yeah there are areas in every country that have places you don't want to visit.  My wife and I loved arizona and I would head back there in a heart beat.  For me, Manitoba is not high on the list.

    I mean it is not cheap to be "smuggled" into the US:
    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/30/world/smuggling-illegal-immigration-costs.html
    The nearly 2,000-mile trip had already cost Mr. Cruz’s family more than $6,000 and brought him within sight of Brownsville, Tex. The remaining 500 miles to Houston — terrain prowled by the United States Border Patrol as well as the state and local police — would set them back another $6,500.

    This family spent roughly $12,000 to come here; if America isn't the greatest why not board a plane and head to Europe or Canada?
    If America is the greatest, why didn't all the Syrian refugees board a plane and head to America?
    Answering a question with a question.  ugh.
    To open your mind a bit. Ugh.
    Don’t you have a girl to ask out?
    That's why im on here. Stalling. 
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • eddieceddiec Posts: 3,879
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    The president is banking on the caravan argument to help GOP in 13 days and it’s working the blue wave at the end will be a trickle ..
    And that caravan of people is risking life and limb to get to the United States.  So the United States has to be a pretty good country, no?
    The US definitely is waaaay better than Honduras and Mexico.

    You're setting the bar pretty low here, Scruffy. I'm not a hater of the US- I actually really like the areas I've been to and the people in those areas; however, there are other areas I have zero interest in seeing given what I have come to understand about them and their resistance to evolution.

    Areas I've been to that I love: Hawaii, Washington, California, and Massachusetts.

    Areas that were 'okay': Arizona.

    Areas I have zero interest in: use your imagination (there's an assorted array).
    Yeah there are areas in every country that have places you don't want to visit.  My wife and I loved arizona and I would head back there in a heart beat.  For me, Manitoba is not high on the list.

    I mean it is not cheap to be "smuggled" into the US:
    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/30/world/smuggling-illegal-immigration-costs.html
    The nearly 2,000-mile trip had already cost Mr. Cruz’s family more than $6,000 and brought him within sight of Brownsville, Tex. The remaining 500 miles to Houston — terrain prowled by the United States Border Patrol as well as the state and local police — would set them back another $6,500.

    This family spent roughly $12,000 to come here; if America isn't the greatest why not board a plane and head to Europe or Canada?
    I think there's a big difference between "greatest" and "job opportunities".
    But just because you have a job doesn't mean your quality of life is great.

  • oftenreadingoftenreading Posts: 12,845
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    mcgruff10 said:
    The president is banking on the caravan argument to help GOP in 13 days and it’s working the blue wave at the end will be a trickle ..
    And that caravan of people is risking life and limb to get to the United States.  So the United States has to be a pretty good country, no?
    The US definitely is waaaay better than Honduras and Mexico.

    You're setting the bar pretty low here, Scruffy. I'm not a hater of the US- I actually really like the areas I've been to and the people in those areas; however, there are other areas I have zero interest in seeing given what I have come to understand about them and their resistance to evolution.

    Areas I've been to that I love: Hawaii, Washington, California, and Massachusetts.

    Areas that were 'okay': Arizona.

    Areas I have zero interest in: use your imagination (there's an assorted array).
    Yeah there are areas in every country that have places you don't want to visit.  My wife and I loved arizona and I would head back there in a heart beat.  For me, Manitoba is not high on the list.

    I mean it is not cheap to be "smuggled" into the US:
    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/30/world/smuggling-illegal-immigration-costs.html
    The nearly 2,000-mile trip had already cost Mr. Cruz’s family more than $6,000 and brought him within sight of Brownsville, Tex. The remaining 500 miles to Houston — terrain prowled by the United States Border Patrol as well as the state and local police — would set them back another $6,500.

    This family spent roughly $12,000 to come here; if America isn't the greatest why not board a plane and head to Europe or Canada?
    If America is the greatest, why didn't all the Syrian refugees board a plane and head to America?
    Answering a question with a question.  ugh.  I"m not talking about syrian refugees, I was talking about Central America.
    The comparison is valid, though. It’s far easier to get through a land border than coming by air. For starters, the airlines just won’t let you board if you don’t have the correct documentation ahead of time. Thus, people go where their feet or land/water vehicles can take them. 
     
    Yes thank you, I know that. 
    So, why did you ask the question, then?
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 41,977
    edited October 2018
    America is great.  It's just all the over-paving, natural resource depletion, loss of wilderness, rapid increase in population, temporary downturn in creativity, it's addiction to mindless social media, and a political system that is banal at best, horrific at worst-- it's those things that totally suck. 

    Are there worse places?  Yes but so what?  That doesn't make this place "great".  Great places don't get abused by its occupants and are not run by Neanderthals.

    Well, maybe if the Neanderthals were of the Edward Abbey type- that might be a great place.
    Post edited by brianlux on
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    Now imagine if you made the baboon comment in 2014
  • Spiritual_ChaosSpiritual_Chaos Posts: 30,499
    edited October 2018
    my2hands said:
    Now imagine if you made the baboon comment in 2014
    And..?
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • If you never leave your USA  to see the world how would you know it's the greatest?
    brixton 93
    astoria 06
    albany 06
    hartford 06
    reading 06
    barcelona 06
    paris 06
    wembley 07
    dusseldorf 07
    nijmegen 07

    this song is meant to be called i got shit,itshould be called i got shit tickets-hartford 06 -
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 41,977
    my2hands said:
    Now imagine if you made the baboon comment in 2014
    See above- fixed.  (E.A. once said proudly that he could sense some of the Neanderthal genes within himself.)
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    I want to be Brian Lux when I grow up, you're the man
  • njnancynjnancy Posts: 5,096
    edited October 2018
    njnancy said:
    I find it hard to answer the question about America being the best country at this point in our history. 
    It's not that hard. There is pretty much nothing going for it to make it compete to be close to the best. Compared to some of the European countries. No metrics where the US is better for the citizens of the country.

    People on here just need to put away the patriotic indoctrination from growing up with the american flag in the classrooms and singing the national anthem at every sporting event and being hit over the head about "the american spirit" and "the greatest country in the world because of 'reasons'" -- and see things for what they are.

    And that's okey. You don't have to be the best.
    I really dislike when one line is taken out of what I post. But...the point I was making was that i have not been able to be to other countries and experience what is was like to live there but there are good and bad things about most countries. The good outways the bad and vice versa depending on the country. But again, without being a world traveler, I cannot say what the best place would be to live. I don't think that America HAS to be the best country in the world. That was my point. And I find that this is a very dark period in our country's history so it is more difficult to think of all the good things there are here. And America is such a large country that there are many different experiences, even within one's own state.

    To say that America doesn't have much going for it is pretty insulting. I detest our president. I think that our country is beautiful and varied and has some great people and some not so great people. There are so many melting pots within the country that I find it to be a very interesting place.

    I haven't been hit over the head by anything nor do I have to yell USA USA USA everywhere I go. How can you even say something like that when i have never spoken of such things. But I also do not need to be told that I need to stop doing 'whatever' and see things for what they are. You took a very moderate post about many things that did not have any crazy America is great no matter what rhetoric and took a sentence so you could post your feelings. Just post them and don't take one sentence from a post.

    The name of the thread is 'Is America the Greatest Country', so to ponder that question would be the intent of this thread, no? But that's okay, we all make mistakes. 
    Post edited by njnancy on
This discussion has been closed.