Is America the greatest country in the world?

How many other countries suffered a weds night massacre ? 

The Juggler said:

Seems like a lot of my fellow Americans have some awfully thin skin in here. Jeez...

Just puff your chest, square your jaw, strut, pretend to button your suit jacket that won’t fit around your girth and have someone else fire your underlings.

The Juggler said:

Seems like a lot of my fellow Americans have some awfully thin skin in here. Jeez...

America is the greatest because you live there, Juggler.

eddiec said:

my2hands said:

America is the 3rd largest country on planet earth with about 325 million people living here... below is the list of the 20 most populated countries.... out of the 20 largest countries on planet earth I see only three that I would like to live in... USA, Japan, and Germany... again, we have 200 MILLION more people here than Japan and 4 times the population of Germany... for a country that is so large, with such a diverse population, and a diverse culture, I think we are doing pretty fucking good.... as you can see, the globe can be a shit place and the vast majority of the worlds population lives in questionable countries at best, dare I say "shitholes"... show me a country in the top 9 of population that is doing it better, that you would prefer to live in, Nigeria maybe? how bout India? Bangladesh is hopping! How bout Putin on The Ritz? Canada has 36 million people, which is 3 million less than California alone... Sweden has 9 million and would be only our 12th biggest state, just behind New Jersey lol... Sweden is so white it doesn't even keep track of racial demographics... and now the influx of immigrants has caused a spike in your crime and has charged the politics which hard line right wingers making strides... and Canada has a black population of 2.5% and even less of a Hispanic population... your idea of diversity is white people with different European backgrounds... America has problems, of course, what country of 325 million wouldn't and doesn't? show me a country of 150+ million that is doing it better? some people sure have a guarded and naïve view of the world.... so feel free to continue to point your judgmental stereotyping finger, parrot what the media wants you to believe about this beautiful country, I don't give AF, just don't be upset when I call bullshit. I heard Pakistan is nice in the spring

1	China	1,379,302,784
2	India	1,281,935,872
3	United States	326,625,792
4	Indonesia	260,580,736
5	Brazil	207,353,392
6	Pakistan	204,924,864
7	Nigeria	190,632,256
8	Bangladesh	157,826,576
9	Russia	142,257,520
10	Japan	126,451,400
11	Mexico	124,574,792
12	Ethiopia	105,350,016
13	Philippines	104,256,080
14	Egypt	97,041,072
15	Vietnam	96,160,160
16	Congo, Democratic Republic of the	83,301,152
17	Iran	82,021,568
18	Turkey	80,845,216
19	Germany	80,594,016
20	Thailand	68,414,136

I'm not sure I get the point of this graph. While the US may have a large population, it is actually one of the least dense countries in the world. In fact, it falls near the bottom of the list for population density. So I don't think it's as difficult as you say to manage a country of that population when you have such a huge land mass with bountiful resources.

I'm from New York and I lived in Manhattan and while it's busy, I never felt people were living on top of each other compared to other countries I've visited. I've been to India- completely different story.

"We have many people" is just the blanket defense for people not being able to admit that they've grown up in a country that isn't the greatest, most unique country in the world. 

The top 3 defenses are:
1. We have a bigger population than you, so you can't take our problems into account
2. We are more diverse than you, so you can't take our problems into account
3. We have free speech, no other country has free speech. It's unique to the US to be able to say what's on your mind.

Spiritual_Chaos said:

eddiec said:

my2hands said:

America is the 3rd largest country on planet earth with about 325 million people living here... below is the list of the 20 most populated countries.... out of the 20 largest countries on planet earth I see only three that I would like to live in... USA, Japan, and Germany... again, we have 200 MILLION more people here than Japan and 4 times the population of Germany... for a country that is so large, with such a diverse population, and a diverse culture, I think we are doing pretty fucking good.... as you can see, the globe can be a shit place and the vast majority of the worlds population lives in questionable countries at best, dare I say "shitholes"... show me a country in the top 9 of population that is doing it better, that you would prefer to live in, Nigeria maybe? how bout India? Bangladesh is hopping! How bout Putin on The Ritz? Canada has 36 million people, which is 3 million less than California alone... Sweden has 9 million and would be only our 12th biggest state, just behind New Jersey lol... Sweden is so white it doesn't even keep track of racial demographics... and now the influx of immigrants has caused a spike in your crime and has charged the politics which hard line right wingers making strides... and Canada has a black population of 2.5% and even less of a Hispanic population... your idea of diversity is white people with different European backgrounds... America has problems, of course, what country of 325 million wouldn't and doesn't? show me a country of 150+ million that is doing it better? some people sure have a guarded and naïve view of the world.... so feel free to continue to point your judgmental stereotyping finger, parrot what the media wants you to believe about this beautiful country, I don't give AF, just don't be upset when I call bullshit. I heard Pakistan is nice in the spring

1	China	1,379,302,784
2	India	1,281,935,872
3	United States	326,625,792
4	Indonesia	260,580,736
5	Brazil	207,353,392
6	Pakistan	204,924,864
7	Nigeria	190,632,256
8	Bangladesh	157,826,576
9	Russia	142,257,520
10	Japan	126,451,400
11	Mexico	124,574,792
12	Ethiopia	105,350,016
13	Philippines	104,256,080
14	Egypt	97,041,072
15	Vietnam	96,160,160
16	Congo, Democratic Republic of the	83,301,152
17	Iran	82,021,568
18	Turkey	80,845,216
19	Germany	80,594,016
20	Thailand	68,414,136

I'm not sure I get the point of this graph. While the US may have a large population, it is actually one of the least dense countries in the world. In fact, it falls near the bottom of the list for population density. So I don't think it's as difficult as you say to manage a country of that population when you have such a huge land mass with bountiful resources.

I'm from New York and I lived in Manhattan and while it's busy, I never felt people were living on top of each other compared to other countries I've visited. I've been to India- completely different story.

"We have many people" is just the blanket defense for people not being able to admit that they've grown up in a country that isn't the greatest, most unique country in the world. 

The top 3 defenses are:
1. We have a bigger population than you, so you can't take our problems into account
2. We are more diverse than you, so you can't take our problems into account
3. We have free speech, no other country has free speech. It's unique to the US to be able to say what's on your mind.

So it can certainly be overused, but it does have a place in the conversation  Have you ever worked at a small place and then a large corporation?  Or even a small location and then a bigger one at the same corporation?  Were they in different areas of the US?  Cause I have, and they are all very different and present unique opportunities and challenges.  It is certainly a factor, as you can see with the senate. People in the US live very different lives depending on where you live.

oftenreading said:

cincybearcat said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

eddiec said:

"We have many people" is just the blanket defense for people not being able to admit that they've grown up in a country that isn't the greatest, most unique country in the world. 

The top 3 defenses are:
1. We have a bigger population than you, so you can't take our problems into account
2. We are more diverse than you, so you can't take our problems into account
3. We have free speech, no other country has free speech. It's unique to the US to be able to say what's on your mind.

So it can certainly be overused, but it does have a place in the conversation  Have you ever worked at a small place and then a large corporation?  Or even a small location and then a bigger one at the same corporation?  Were they in different areas of the US?  Cause I have, and they are all very different and present unique opportunities and challenges.  It is certainly a factor, as you can see with the senate. People in the US live very different lives depending on where you live.

Which, again, is in no way unique to the US.

Ummmm it isn't solely unique but only applies to some of the larger countries.  

There are so many potential criteria for the question and we'd all value the criteria differently.  

There are a lot of things that are great.  It's not perfect, but the Constitution is great.  So great, perhaps, that America did not need to be made Great "Again."  There are a lot of pieces of Americana that I love...baseball (our sports culture in general), college towns, rock and roll (not that it doesn't exist elsewhere), etc.  But some people don't care about that stuff.

Someone pointed out GDP.  That is neither here nor there, to me.  Someone pointed out our driving/car culture.  To me that's a negative.  I'd much prefer a culture that finds other ways to get around as much as possible.  And regarding the whole "doing pretty well with lots of people and diversity" view.  Well, how do we compare to others?  Would people from all groups be as likely as we are to think that "we're handling diversity well."  People are calling the cops on blacks nowadays for doing things I don't even think twice about.  Cops shoot black guys with cell phones and bring down white mass shooters without firing shots (and stop at Burger King on the way to the police station).  I'm not really sure the inequities in law & order contribute to "greatness."  Now, maybe there is no country on earth that does this better.  But I honestly hope not.

And we hate each other.  The right is united, but look at us on the left barking at each other.  And look at the utter contempt right has for left, left has for right, and many, many more groups have for each other.

Greatest Country in the World?  Who cares?  Either way, we need to get greater.  And not "again" because most of "again" is probably a step backwards.

And we continue to thump our chests about greatness...almost to the point that it looks like insecurity. 

Spiritual_Chaos said:

OnWis97 said:

 the Constitution is great. 

What makes it better than the "constitutional law" in other countries, making it worth pointing out and setting the US apart?

Just curious have you ever been to the US?  I have certainly criticized the US foreign as much as anyone.  Here are some of the reasons I love the US

-the Florida keys
-Sedona, Arizona
-Grand Canyon, Sequoia NP, Death Vally and so many other National Parks.
-You pick the climate, the US probably has a place for you to live, no matter the climate...you like -40, live in Alaska, you like the desert, Arizona is the place to be, etc.
-Affordability (there are still many places in the US and Canada as well), that you can still raise a family in a single family detached home that is still affordable...this my absolute number 1 for if a place is good place to live,
-Sports, sports, sports.
-Music, music, music
-and from what I've read, the US Constitution is pretty good
-Pearl Jam

cincybearcat said:

The Juggler said:

Seems like a lot of my fellow Americans have some awfully thin skin in here. Jeez...

Hahahaha thin skinned after 31 pages of derogatory remarks and you disagree.  c'mon.

Call it the way I sees it. I think we're the best but I can certainly understand why others do not share that opinion, especially with how our government is currently constructed. Too many in here seem to have their panties in a bunch lately.

There are very few places besides America that I would consider as alternatives to living in America, very few places that I believe would be as livable as America.  But I don't think that makes any country "great".  This world is becoming more and more a difficult place in which to live.  We are lucky to live in America instead of Myanmar or North Korea or Somalia, etc.  That means it is better.  But "great?"  I'm not sure there is any country in the world I would call "great".  I really don't think so.  Not any more.  Not in 2018.  Countries vary, but they are just "better" or "worse".