Is America the greatest country in the world?

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Comments

  • oftenreadingoftenreading Posts: 12,845
    Yeah.  We're the nuts.
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    Playing poker the other day with a guy from Vietnam... great guy... someone said they would love to visit Vietnam and asked if he ever goes back to visit... he said "fuck no... America is the best place in the world, believe me"

    His family owns a business and his son is a college student

    I do LOVE that about America, the idealism of the shining beacon on a hill... 
  • pljampljam Posts: 387
    American's are as patriotic as you can get and that is admirable,our nightly news here in Australia certainly paints an image of a place that is far from the best country in the world,drugs ,violence,unemployment,political unease ,homelessness are forever the story on any given night
    Melbourne Australia was voted most liveable city two year's running or two out of three just recently but the issues of major concern listed above in America are probably ten fold here in Australia especially Melbourne as per capita,I have never been to America but one day would love to but if one was to focus on your what our news displays I think it would keep people away
    Australian image I am sure sells our country to be the place to live but I assure you it has its major issues but mostly great people ,I am sure it's the same in the U.S 
    They certainly have the best music/ bands on the planet
  • KC138045KC138045 Posts: 2,716


    Hacksaw says yes
    Columbus-2000
    Columbus-2003
    Cincinnati-2006
    Columbus-2010
    Wrigley-2013
    Cincinnati-2014
    Lexington-2016
    Wrigley 1 & 2-2018
  • HesCalledDyerHesCalledDyer Posts: 16,433
    pljam said:
    American's are as patriotic as you can get and that is admirable,our nightly news here in Australia certainly paints an image of a place that is far from the best country in the world,drugs ,violence,unemployment,political unease ,homelessness are forever the story on any given night
    Melbourne Australia was voted most liveable city two year's running or two out of three just recently but the issues of major concern listed above in America are probably ten fold here in Australia especially Melbourne as per capita,I have never been to America but one day would love to but if one was to focus on your what our news displays I think it would keep people away
    Australian image I am sure sells our country to be the place to live but I assure you it has its major issues but mostly great people ,I am sure it's the same in the U.S 
    They certainly have the best music/ bands on the planet
    I'm pretty sure you'll find those problems in most developed countries these days.  They may vary in severity but all the same issues are there.  I think the big problem with the United States is that for the last century we have tried to police the entire globe under the guise of ending tyranny and spreading freedom.  Has it been necessary? At times, I'd say yes (World War II, e.g.) but mostly we should probably just keep our nose out of other peoples' & countries' business.  It's all about resources.  Who has what we want and how are we gonna take it from them so we can continue being the mighty eagle.

    We also elected the biggest fucking idiot on the planet to run our country, so that should tell you how well we're doing in education.

    And by the way, Aussies have some great musicians/bands as well!  My collections of Australian artists is constantly expanding.
  • dignindignin Posts: 9,336
    edited June 2017
    A dark and shameful day in the history of the US.
  • tbergstbergs Posts: 9,792
    No, we just dropped to 199th. Right ahead of Syria and Nicaragua. 
    It's a hopeless situation...
  • dignindignin Posts: 9,336
    tbergs said:
    No, we just dropped to 199th. Right ahead of Syria and Nicaragua. 
    Nicaragua didn't sign on to the Paris agreement because it wasn't aggressive enough. 



    Don’t compare Trump’s Paris decision to Nicaragua’s — they’ve embraced renewable energy: Analysis

    https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/06/01/dont-compare-trumps-paris-decision-to-nicaraguas-theyve-embraced-renewable-energy-analysis.html

  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 41,976
    OP, maybe time to edit your thread heading?  We've already determined America is not a country.

    The U.S. is an enigma.  It's the best of places and the worst of places.  You can't really put a single label on if... even if inclined to do so.  As soon as you try to define it, the definition falls apart or is argued over infinitely.  And even if you could pin it down to one thing, it changes and becomes something else.  Voila!
    “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.













  • tbergstbergs Posts: 9,792
    dignin said:
    tbergs said:
    No, we just dropped to 199th. Right ahead of Syria and Nicaragua. 
    Nicaragua didn't sign on to the Paris agreement because it wasn't aggressive enough. 



    Don’t compare Trump’s Paris decision to Nicaragua’s — they’ve embraced renewable energy: Analysis

    https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/06/01/dont-compare-trumps-paris-decision-to-nicaraguas-theyve-embraced-renewable-energy-analysis.html

    You're right. My apologies to Nicaragua. We're tied with Syria.
    It's a hopeless situation...
  • Spiritual_ChaosSpiritual_Chaos Posts: 30,493
    Just gonna leave this here. Haha. 


    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • Spiritual_ChaosSpiritual_Chaos Posts: 30,493
    This too.  fucking Scary.


    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • rgambsrgambs Posts: 13,576
    Yep.  Scary.
    40%
    Hmmm, where have I seen that number recently?
    Oh yeah, Trump's approval rating.
    Lines up pretty well!
    Monkey Driven, Call this Living?
  • SmellymanSmellyman Posts: 4,524
    rgambs said:
    Yep.  Scary.
    40%
    Hmmm, where have I seen that number recently?
    Oh yeah, Trump's approval rating.
    Lines up pretty well!
    Trump loves the poorly educated.
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 41,976


    “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.













  • tbergstbergs Posts: 9,792
    A very interesting read. It sounds like she had a very conservative and compartmentalized upbringing and then was hit with the reality of how America really is and how the rest of the world views us. I agree with some of her assessments and her backstory also allows you to see who the Trump voters are in this country.

    I will admit that up until around my senior year in HS, I probably had similar experiences. As a kid, you don't think about that stuff and then in the early teens you're just a hormonal idiot so I didn't really start considering the US role in foreign affairs and its negative impact until about my senior year in HS. It helped to have a social justice class where we studied how the US engaged in Vietnam, Nicaragua, etc. In college, it was the 2nd Iraq war that really drove the point home.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/08/unlearning-the-myth-of-american-innocence
    It's a hopeless situation...
  • Had to go back many pages in AMT to find a thread that was a good fit for this article, which I saw this morning.

    U.S. Drops To 27th In The World For Education And Health Care

    The United States is ranked 27th globally on education and health care, a new study based on 2016 data reports.

    The study, organized by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, seeks to identify “the number of productive years an individual in each country can be expected to work between the ages of 20 to 64,” based on education and health care. This number is referred to as the “human capital” of a nation’s people.

    America’s human capital measurement is 23 years, that’s the amount of time a person can be expected to work at peak productivity when accounting for life expectancy, general health and education. The U.S. ranked sixth in the world in 1990, and the drop apparently took researchers by surprise.

    “The decline of human capital in the United States was one of the biggest surprises in our study,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of IHME.

    The study shows that China has had the opposite trajectory since 1990, going from 69th in the world to 44th.

    Finland landed in the top with 28.4 years, followed by Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Taiwan. At the bottom was Niger at less than 1.6 years of human capital.


    https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/whelp-the-us-now-ranks-27th-in-the-world-on-education-and-healthcare_us_5bae5d02e4b0425e3c23508f
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • BentleyspopBentleyspop Posts: 10,748
    Had to go back many pages in AMT to find a thread that was a good fit for this article, which I saw this morning.

    U.S. Drops To 27th In The World For Education And Health Care

    The United States is ranked 27th globally on education and health care, a new study based on 2016 data reports.

    The study, organized by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, seeks to identify “the number of productive years an individual in each country can be expected to work between the ages of 20 to 64,” based on education and health care. This number is referred to as the “human capital” of a nation’s people.

    America’s human capital measurement is 23 years, that’s the amount of time a person can be expected to work at peak productivity when accounting for life expectancy, general health and education. The U.S. ranked sixth in the world in 1990, and the drop apparently took researchers by surprise.

    “The decline of human capital in the United States was one of the biggest surprises in our study,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of IHME.

    The study shows that China has had the opposite trajectory since 1990, going from 69th in the world to 44th.

    Finland landed in the top with 28.4 years, followed by Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Taiwan. At the bottom was Niger at less than 1.6 years of human capital.


    https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/whelp-the-us-now-ranks-27th-in-the-world-on-education-and-healthcare_us_5bae5d02e4b0425e3c23508f
    But we're  number 1 in gun related deaths
  • mcgruff10mcgruff10 Posts: 28,476
    Education is so different between countries that I really think you have to take that ranking with a grain of salt. Curriculum comparison is apples to oranges. 
    I'll ride the wave where it takes me......
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 41,976
    Had to go back many pages in AMT to find a thread that was a good fit for this article, which I saw this morning.

    U.S. Drops To 27th In The World For Education And Health Care

    The United States is ranked 27th globally on education and health care, a new study based on 2016 data reports.

    The study, organized by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, seeks to identify “the number of productive years an individual in each country can be expected to work between the ages of 20 to 64,” based on education and health care. This number is referred to as the “human capital” of a nation’s people.

    America’s human capital measurement is 23 years, that’s the amount of time a person can be expected to work at peak productivity when accounting for life expectancy, general health and education. The U.S. ranked sixth in the world in 1990, and the drop apparently took researchers by surprise.

    “The decline of human capital in the United States was one of the biggest surprises in our study,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of IHME.

    The study shows that China has had the opposite trajectory since 1990, going from 69th in the world to 44th.

    Finland landed in the top with 28.4 years, followed by Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Taiwan. At the bottom was Niger at less than 1.6 years of human capital.


    https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/whelp-the-us-now-ranks-27th-in-the-world-on-education-and-healthcare_us_5bae5d02e4b0425e3c23508f
    But we're  number 1 in gun related deaths
    Yep.  Meanwhile, my neighbors are out there shooting, preparing for the next gun battle at the OK Coral while I lie at home recuperating from a visit to the ER Friday due to extreme dizziness and nausea and hyperventilating.  'merica.  Rah fucking rah. 
    “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.













  • mcgruff10 said:
    Education is so different between countries that I really think you have to take that ranking with a grain of salt. Curriculum comparison is apples to oranges. 

    They aren't comparing curricula. They are comparing outcomes. 
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • BentleyspopBentleyspop Posts: 10,748
    brianlux said:
    Had to go back many pages in AMT to find a thread that was a good fit for this article, which I saw this morning.

    U.S. Drops To 27th In The World For Education And Health Care

    The United States is ranked 27th globally on education and health care, a new study based on 2016 data reports.

    The study, organized by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, seeks to identify “the number of productive years an individual in each country can be expected to work between the ages of 20 to 64,” based on education and health care. This number is referred to as the “human capital” of a nation’s people.

    America’s human capital measurement is 23 years, that’s the amount of time a person can be expected to work at peak productivity when accounting for life expectancy, general health and education. The U.S. ranked sixth in the world in 1990, and the drop apparently took researchers by surprise.

    “The decline of human capital in the United States was one of the biggest surprises in our study,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of IHME.

    The study shows that China has had the opposite trajectory since 1990, going from 69th in the world to 44th.

    Finland landed in the top with 28.4 years, followed by Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Taiwan. At the bottom was Niger at less than 1.6 years of human capital.


    https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/whelp-the-us-now-ranks-27th-in-the-world-on-education-and-healthcare_us_5bae5d02e4b0425e3c23508f
    But we're  number 1 in gun related deaths
    Yep.  Meanwhile, my neighbors are out there shooting, preparing for the next gun battle at the OK Coral while I lie at home recuperating from a visit to the ER Friday due to extreme dizziness and nausea and hyperventilating.  'merica.  Rah fucking rah. 
    You need to stay off the strong sativa
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 41,976
    brianlux said:
    Had to go back many pages in AMT to find a thread that was a good fit for this article, which I saw this morning.

    U.S. Drops To 27th In The World For Education And Health Care

    The United States is ranked 27th globally on education and health care, a new study based on 2016 data reports.

    The study, organized by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, seeks to identify “the number of productive years an individual in each country can be expected to work between the ages of 20 to 64,” based on education and health care. This number is referred to as the “human capital” of a nation’s people.

    America’s human capital measurement is 23 years, that’s the amount of time a person can be expected to work at peak productivity when accounting for life expectancy, general health and education. The U.S. ranked sixth in the world in 1990, and the drop apparently took researchers by surprise.

    “The decline of human capital in the United States was one of the biggest surprises in our study,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of IHME.

    The study shows that China has had the opposite trajectory since 1990, going from 69th in the world to 44th.

    Finland landed in the top with 28.4 years, followed by Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Taiwan. At the bottom was Niger at less than 1.6 years of human capital.


    https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/whelp-the-us-now-ranks-27th-in-the-world-on-education-and-healthcare_us_5bae5d02e4b0425e3c23508f
    But we're  number 1 in gun related deaths
    Yep.  Meanwhile, my neighbors are out there shooting, preparing for the next gun battle at the OK Coral while I lie at home recuperating from a visit to the ER Friday due to extreme dizziness and nausea and hyperventilating.  'merica.  Rah fucking rah. 
    You need to stay off the strong sativa
    Not a pot related incident.  Haven't smoked in a while.  I've had problems with vertigo since the mid 80's.  Despite MRI's, CT scans, etc.,, no confirmed diagnosis.  As someone on another forum talking about vertigo mentioned, I'd rather have the worst full blown migraine than vertigo.  It's that bad.
    “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.













  • brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    Had to go back many pages in AMT to find a thread that was a good fit for this article, which I saw this morning.

    U.S. Drops To 27th In The World For Education And Health Care

    The United States is ranked 27th globally on education and health care, a new study based on 2016 data reports.

    The study, organized by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, seeks to identify “the number of productive years an individual in each country can be expected to work between the ages of 20 to 64,” based on education and health care. This number is referred to as the “human capital” of a nation’s people.

    America’s human capital measurement is 23 years, that’s the amount of time a person can be expected to work at peak productivity when accounting for life expectancy, general health and education. The U.S. ranked sixth in the world in 1990, and the drop apparently took researchers by surprise.

    “The decline of human capital in the United States was one of the biggest surprises in our study,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of IHME.

    The study shows that China has had the opposite trajectory since 1990, going from 69th in the world to 44th.

    Finland landed in the top with 28.4 years, followed by Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Taiwan. At the bottom was Niger at less than 1.6 years of human capital.


    https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/whelp-the-us-now-ranks-27th-in-the-world-on-education-and-healthcare_us_5bae5d02e4b0425e3c23508f
    But we're  number 1 in gun related deaths
    Yep.  Meanwhile, my neighbors are out there shooting, preparing for the next gun battle at the OK Coral while I lie at home recuperating from a visit to the ER Friday due to extreme dizziness and nausea and hyperventilating.  'merica.  Rah fucking rah. 
    You need to stay off the strong sativa
    Not a pot related incident.  Haven't smoked in a while.  I've had problems with vertigo since the mid 80's.  Despite MRI's, CT scans, etc.,, no confirmed diagnosis.  As someone on another forum talking about vertigo mentioned, I'd rather have the worst full blown migraine than vertigo.  It's that bad.
    It’s possible that it is a migraine, Brian. Some migraines have vertigo as a primary symptom. Has that possibility been explored?

    In any event, hope you recover from this very soon. 
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 41,976
    brianlux said:
    brianlux said:
    Had to go back many pages in AMT to find a thread that was a good fit for this article, which I saw this morning.

    U.S. Drops To 27th In The World For Education And Health Care

    The United States is ranked 27th globally on education and health care, a new study based on 2016 data reports.

    The study, organized by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, seeks to identify “the number of productive years an individual in each country can be expected to work between the ages of 20 to 64,” based on education and health care. This number is referred to as the “human capital” of a nation’s people.

    America’s human capital measurement is 23 years, that’s the amount of time a person can be expected to work at peak productivity when accounting for life expectancy, general health and education. The U.S. ranked sixth in the world in 1990, and the drop apparently took researchers by surprise.

    “The decline of human capital in the United States was one of the biggest surprises in our study,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of IHME.

    The study shows that China has had the opposite trajectory since 1990, going from 69th in the world to 44th.

    Finland landed in the top with 28.4 years, followed by Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Taiwan. At the bottom was Niger at less than 1.6 years of human capital.


    https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/whelp-the-us-now-ranks-27th-in-the-world-on-education-and-healthcare_us_5bae5d02e4b0425e3c23508f
    But we're  number 1 in gun related deaths
    Yep.  Meanwhile, my neighbors are out there shooting, preparing for the next gun battle at the OK Coral while I lie at home recuperating from a visit to the ER Friday due to extreme dizziness and nausea and hyperventilating.  'merica.  Rah fucking rah. 
    You need to stay off the strong sativa
    Not a pot related incident.  Haven't smoked in a while.  I've had problems with vertigo since the mid 80's.  Despite MRI's, CT scans, etc.,, no confirmed diagnosis.  As someone on another forum talking about vertigo mentioned, I'd rather have the worst full blown migraine than vertigo.  It's that bad.
    It’s possible that it is a migraine, Brian. Some migraines have vertigo as a primary symptom. Has that possibility been explored?

    In any event, hope you recover from this very soon. 
    Yes, in fact someone on that other site mentioned Vestibular Migraine and the description sounded a good bit like what I had Friday.  I'll definitely ask my doc about that possibility. 

    I'm starting to feel a bit more level today.  Thanks for good thoughts.
    “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.













  • josevolutionjosevolution Posts: 29,448
    Nope it's not the best country it was at one time maybe , now it's def thee ugliest country in the word that's the only word i can come up to describe it !!
    jesus greets me looks just like me ....
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 41,976
    Nope it's not the best country it was at one time maybe , now it's def thee ugliest country in the word that's the only word i can come up to describe it !!
    It has definitely, DEFINITELY, seen better days!
    “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.













  • Jason PJason P Posts: 19,138
    brianlux said:
    Nope it's not the best country it was at one time maybe , now it's def thee ugliest country in the word that's the only word i can come up to describe it !!
    It has definitely, DEFINITELY, seen better days!
    That is why a man trying to make it great again got elected ;)
  • my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    brianlux said:
    Nope it's not the best country it was at one time maybe , now it's def thee ugliest country in the word that's the only word i can come up to describe it !!
    It has definitely, DEFINITELY, seen better days!
    When was that?
  • Jason PJason P Posts: 19,138
    I don't think it is any worse.  We have to think really hard to come up with problems to be outraged over.  It's not like we a foraging for berries and fighting mutants.  We are instead canceling concerts in protest of where someone gets take a poop and engaging in fiery debate on the topic.  If that's not progress, I don't know what is.    
This discussion has been closed.