Is America the greatest country in the world?

riley540 said:

 I feel like with hard work and drive I can achieve my dreams here

You have swallowed it hook, line and sinker. This reads like irony.

Obviously No, with all the issues with guns, opioids, education, health care, infrastructure and so on that are uncommon to many other places. Does it even make the top 10 would be the question for me.

I don't think any country would take that honor. Every country in the world has some major flaw.
I would put the US in the top 10 but it would be a top 10 with no particular order.

More people come here than to any other.  Ask them.

I think it depends on what you value in life and what you desire to achieve. In most cases the US has a spot for anybody, no matter what your cultural, religious, economic status, race or any other background is; if you find your community of people. I don't think you will find that level of diverse possibilities in any other country in the world right now, but the landscape is changing, so other countries might catch up to us. Does that make us the greatest, no probably not, but it provides the best opportunity for anyone. I would never consider this the best county in the world because I can't compare it to anything else. Visiting another country doesn't qualify me to know enough. I do know that there are countries outside the US that I would gladly live in (Australia and Sweden) based on limited knowledge, but I'm sure they have societal issues I would find problematic as well.

America is #1.  To those who disagree, this is my retort ...

  

PJ_Soul said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

mcgruff10 said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

nope.

if you have never lived anywhere else, how the fuck would you even know?

that's not really a fair comparison. in order to answer the question you have to live in another country?  have people living in other countries actually lived in the united states?
I resided in spain for 3 months and have been to over 35 countries...am I qualified to answer the question?
every country has it's plus and minuses.  

that wasnt directed at you personally. should have said how the fuck would one even know?

I think there are a ton of things anyone can look at to determine whether or not a country is the greatest in the world, and I think it is extremely easy to determine that the USA is not it. I think anyone who isn't letting an outrageous amount of bias cloud their judgment would have to admit that.... Or, I suppose, anyone who loves a large amount of injustice, violence, racism, and poverty within in the richest nation in the world.

I get your point and I by far do not consider us the greatest country, but I also don't know how we determine who is. The negatives you bring up exist almost universally all over the world, but I would argue there are vast amounts of groups, organizations and individuals fighting to address the issues you mention. In some countries, these issues are buried or not up for open opposition.

You have made it clear the US is not the greatest country so do you have an idea of what country is based on your criteria?

tbergs said:

PJ_Soul said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

mcgruff10 said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

nope.

if you have never lived anywhere else, how the fuck would you even know?

that's not really a fair comparison. in order to answer the question you have to live in another country?  have people living in other countries actually lived in the united states?
I resided in spain for 3 months and have been to over 35 countries...am I qualified to answer the question?
every country has it's plus and minuses.  

that wasnt directed at you personally. should have said how the fuck would one even know?

I think there are a ton of things anyone can look at to determine whether or not a country is the greatest in the world, and I think it is extremely easy to determine that the USA is not it. I think anyone who isn't letting an outrageous amount of bias cloud their judgment would have to admit that.... Or, I suppose, anyone who loves a large amount of injustice, violence, racism, and poverty within in the richest nation in the world.

I get your point and I by far do not consider us the greatest country, but I also don't know how we determine who is. The negatives you bring up exist almost universally all over the world, but I would argue there are vast amounts of groups, organizations and individuals fighting to address the issues you mention. In some countries, these issues are buried or not up for open opposition.

You have made it clear the US is not the greatest country so do you have an idea of what country is based on your criteria?

Well there are international bodies who have collectively identified many logical criteria, and they take many things into account. Median incomes, cost of living, affordable access to health care and education, education outcomes, poverty stats, wage gaps, gender equality, human rights records, prison stats, racial equality, taxation, infrastructure maintenance, inflation rates, housing affordability, public transit systems, international reputation, electoral process, etc etc. All of these things can be broken down into hard data. I don't consider this a very subjective topic.

PJ_Soul said:

tbergs said:

PJ_Soul said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

mcgruff10 said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

nope.

if you have never lived anywhere else, how the fuck would you even know?

that's not really a fair comparison. in order to answer the question you have to live in another country?  have people living in other countries actually lived in the united states?
I resided in spain for 3 months and have been to over 35 countries...am I qualified to answer the question?
every country has it's plus and minuses.  

that wasnt directed at you personally. should have said how the fuck would one even know?

I think there are a ton of things anyone can look at to determine whether or not a country is the greatest in the world, and I think it is extremely easy to determine that the USA is not it. I think anyone who isn't letting an outrageous amount of bias cloud their judgment would have to admit that.... Or, I suppose, anyone who loves a large amount of injustice, violence, racism, and poverty within in the richest nation in the world.

I get your point and I by far do not consider us the greatest country, but I also don't know how we determine who is. The negatives you bring up exist almost universally all over the world, but I would argue there are vast amounts of groups, organizations and individuals fighting to address the issues you mention. In some countries, these issues are buried or not up for open opposition.

You have made it clear the US is not the greatest country so do you have an idea of what country is based on your criteria?

Well there are international bodies who have collectively identified many logical criteria, and they take many things into account. Median incomes, cost of living, affordable access to health care and education, education outcomes, poverty stats, wage gaps, gender equality, human rights records, prison stats, racial equality, taxation, infrastructure maintenance, inflation rates, housing affordability, public transit systems, international reputation, electoral process, etc etc. All of these things can be broken down into hard data. I don't consider this a very subjective topic.

Of course it is subjective. You can gather all of the hard data you want, but determining which hard data to prioritize, which hard data is positive, which is negative, depends on your perspective. There are ways of making data look great by removing freedoms (mandatory voting, etc...). For people who enjoy liberty and freedom, having a lower number for voter turnout isn't necessarily a bad thing, as there is also no compulsion. The greatest country in the world is whatever the one making that proclamation thinks it is. This entire thread is silly. I'm not a nationalist, I don't make any claims that the US is the greatest country (in fact, I'll say it isn't, and would be perfectly happy in Canada, Europe or Scandinavia. I just happen to have been born in the US by chance) , but there is simply no objective way to make that determination. You can absolutely say a certain country has the highest literacy rate. A different country may have the lowest per capita murder rate. Yet another country may have the greatest amount of ethnic diversity. Another country may be the most homogenous. Lowest unemployment stats could be interesting unless it is the government who provides employment for its citizens. Again, there is no objective way to determine The Greatest Country In The World (tm). 

It's harder to determine what is best than it is to eliminate something from contention.

In terms of quality of life and equality, Canada is better, most of the Scandinavian countries are better, Australia might be, I don't know enough to say so.

Sadly, I think most Americans confuse "strongest" with "greatest".