Is America the greatest country in the world?

Spiritual_Chaos

tbergs said:

Spiritual_Chaos 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? 

cincybearcat

Spiritual_Chaos said:

mcgruff10 said:

josevolution 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

mcgruff10

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

josevolution 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?

Spiritual_Chaos

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

josevolution 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?

mcgruff10

Spiritual_Chaos said:

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

josevolution 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.

oftenreading

mcgruff10 said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

josevolution 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. 
 

oftenreading

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.  

Spiritual_Chaos

mcgruff10 said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

josevolution 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.

mcgruff10

oftenreading said:

mcgruff10 said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

josevolution 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. 

mcgruff10

Spiritual_Chaos said:

mcgruff10 said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

josevolution 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?

Spiritual_Chaos

mcgruff10 said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

mcgruff10 said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

josevolution 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. 

eddiec

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

josevolution 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.

oftenreading

mcgruff10 said:

oftenreading said:

mcgruff10 said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

josevolution 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?

brianlux

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.

my2hands

Now imagine if you made the baboon comment in 2014

Spiritual_Chaos

my2hands said:

Now imagine if you made the baboon comment in 2014

And..?

lastexitlondon

If you never leave your USA  to see the world how would you know it's the greatest?

brianlux

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.)

my2hands

I want to be Brian Lux when I grow up, you're the man

njnancy

Spiritual_Chaos said:

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.