Is America the greatest country in the world?

jeffbr said:

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). 

jeffbr said:

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). 

HughFreakingDillon said:

"god bless america" is one of the funniest phrases in the english language. it is so ridiculous, and egocentric, it baffles the mind. why any "god" would give two shits about a man-made geographical area is laughable. 

HesCalledDyer said:

I like this graphic.  It's a bit self-absorbed that we, citizens of these United States, simply refer to our nation as "America" when America is actually the name of the totality of the land consisting of the continents of North and South America.  We think we're so great that we just take the name and use it for ourselves exclusively, essentially excusing every other nation in the New World as if they're not Americans, too.

rustneversleeps said:

eddiec said:

HesCalledDyer said:

I like this graphic.  It's a bit self-absorbed that we, citizens of these United States, simply refer to our nation as "America" when America is actually the name of the totality of the land consisting of the continents of North and South America.  We think we're so great that we just take the name and use it for ourselves exclusively, essentially excusing every other nation in the New World as if they're not Americans, too.

In fairness, a lot of Europeans call it America as well.

as well as the Canadian hate that spews from here. its always directed at America. 

rustneversleeps said:

eddiec said:

HesCalledDyer said:

I like this graphic.  It's a bit self-absorbed that we, citizens of these United States, simply refer to our nation as "America" when America is actually the name of the totality of the land consisting of the continents of North and South America.  We think we're so great that we just take the name and use it for ourselves exclusively, essentially excusing every other nation in the New World as if they're not Americans, too.

In fairness, a lot of Europeans call it America as well.

as well as the Canadian hate that spews from here. its always directed at America.