Is America the greatest country in the world?

rgambs said:

I have no desire to defend America.
That being said, SC is coming off like an insecure dude who's worried about the size of his "country" and can't get "country" size off his mind.

HughFreakingDillon said:

cincybearcat said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

The US has its faults and, like every other country, could be better; however, its citizens fare very well compared to a lot of other countries.

Look at Pakistan, where women can be killed for clapping to music... or disfigured for making their husband jealous, for example: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/a-pakistani-man-told-me-he-feared-hed-be-killed-for-exposing-“honor-killings”-his-worst-fear-just-came-true/ar-BBUvr7G?ocid=spartanntp

You are right now trying to make the US look good by comparing the US... to Pakistan.

Seriously wants your problem? The thread was started as a veiled “everything that’s wrong with America” thread. No one is in here saying the USA is perfect. What is your continued motivation here? 

Brian - who is a pretty far left and overall nice guy - posts about poverty in the US, and you respond with a meme.

to be fair, he didn't originally respond with a meme. there was quite a bit of intelligent back and forth prior to that. 

I really honestly can't understand why americans are getting so defensive about this thread. if people want to post items in defense of america being the best, or close to the best, why aren't people, no matter where they live, allowed to respond in kind? 

I can't speak for spiritual's "motivations" (I personally don't think he has any besides honest debate), but I can speak for what I think might go through the minds of people from other nations (being from one myself) that scratch their heads at this constant barrage of "the US is the greatest nation on earth" that we hear constantly from politicians and other talking heads, and have for decades. when you really look at everything that goes on, it's not even close. 

cincybearcat said:

oftenreading said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

mcgruff10 said:

I've traveled throughout most of Western Europe, the caribbean, and central america  and have seen the same amount of nationalism as in the us. Everyone is proud of their country and think they are number 1 for different reasons.  The craziest amount of "we are number 1" I have ever witnessed was being in Europe for two EuroCups and a World Cup.  Holy shit that was intense.  I literally was almost killed in an English pub because I said David Beckham sucked after he missed a pk in the '04 Eurocup.  

well football in europe is a whole different animal. i'll give you that. it could also be that I have lived in canada my entire life, and grew up watching a lot of canadian and american television, seeing the stark differences in nationalism, and also in my travels both in canada and the us. 

I’ve lived in Canada almost all of my life, but I’ve also lived in the UK for four years and I spend a lot of time in the US, and I agree that the difference is striking. Citizens of other countries can definitely be patriotic and proud, but I don’t meet people in any other country who routinely and unquestioningly assert that their country is the best at almost every opportunity. It’s a national pastime. 

I have literally not heard anyone say that the USA is the best in I don;t know how long.  Maybe you should interact with Americans more often than every 4th of July!

Spiritual_Chaos said:

Meltdown99 said:

cincybearcat said:

OnWis97 said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

mcgruff10 said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

Meltdown99 said:

Plenty of Canadians and politicians in Canada walk saying Canada is number 1...

every nation does it to a degree. but honestly in the US it's simply not on the same level as anywhere else. 

How does one make that assertion?  What is it based on?  Is this just a typical generalization around the world that America thinks it is the best in everything?  
America has pluses and minuses just like every other country in the world.  

just growing up over the years and observing the differences in culture between the US and everyone else, both in entertainment and in real life. ask anyone who has traveled anywhere else. there's no other nation that just erupts into chants of their country's name spontaneously, even when it makes zero sense. 

As an American, I cannot prove it, but I feel it as well.  We seem a bit more devoted to talking about how we're #1 than others.  Then again, maybe people sit around over beers in Norway and talk about how they're the greatest country in the world.  I'm pretty much only privy to what's going on in the USA. USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

Well I know people in Sweden like to post how awesome they are on the internet.

Honestly I don’t get either side of this. Posting over and over about how awesome the USA is or posting over and over what’s wrong with the USA.

The thing is, I don't think he is looking at what is right in America, 

Name a few things.

cincybearcat said:

oftenreading said:

cincybearcat said:

oftenreading said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

mcgruff10 said:

I've traveled throughout most of Western Europe, the caribbean, and central america  and have seen the same amount of nationalism as in the us. Everyone is proud of their country and think they are number 1 for different reasons.  The craziest amount of "we are number 1" I have ever witnessed was being in Europe for two EuroCups and a World Cup.  Holy shit that was intense.  I literally was almost killed in an English pub because I said David Beckham sucked after he missed a pk in the '04 Eurocup.  

well football in europe is a whole different animal. i'll give you that. it could also be that I have lived in canada my entire life, and grew up watching a lot of canadian and american television, seeing the stark differences in nationalism, and also in my travels both in canada and the us. 

I’ve lived in Canada almost all of my life, but I’ve also lived in the UK for four years and I spend a lot of time in the US, and I agree that the difference is striking. Citizens of other countries can definitely be patriotic and proud, but I don’t meet people in any other country who routinely and unquestioningly assert that their country is the best at almost every opportunity. It’s a national pastime. 

I have literally not heard anyone say that the USA is the best in I don;t know how long.  Maybe you should interact with Americans more often than every 4th of July!

Actually, like I said, I’m in your country on average at least monthly, and I see and hear this stuff all the time. You just don’t notice it. It’s pervasive. 

I was joking about 4th...hence the smiley.

But in reality, I have honestly not heard it in a very long time...don't even remember last time.  It's not something that comes up at work, in my neighborhood or anywhere really.  Now if you considering playing the national anthem at a sporting event, then I have heard that a lot.

Spiritual_Chaos said:

mcgruff10 said:

I've traveled throughout most of Western Europe, the caribbean, and central america  and have seen the same amount of nationalism as in the us. Everyone is proud of their country and think they are number 1 for different reasons.  The craziest amount of "we are number 1" I have ever witnessed was being in Europe for two EuroCups and a World Cup.  Holy shit that was intense.  I literally was almost killed in an English pub because I said David Beckham sucked after he missed a pk in the '04 Eurocup.  

The "other countries are much more nationalistic because I saw them cheer for their country in a pub during the BIGGEST SPORTING EVENT IN THE WORLD" would not held up in court. 

It's actually quite an absurd thing to say. Instead of just admitting the US view of themselves i comparison to an objective breakdown of the country is quite absurd.

HughFreakingDillon said:

cincybearcat said:

oftenreading said:

cincybearcat said:

oftenreading said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

mcgruff10 said:

I've traveled throughout most of Western Europe, the caribbean, and central america  and have seen the same amount of nationalism as in the us. Everyone is proud of their country and think they are number 1 for different reasons.  The craziest amount of "we are number 1" I have ever witnessed was being in Europe for two EuroCups and a World Cup.  Holy shit that was intense.  I literally was almost killed in an English pub because I said David Beckham sucked after he missed a pk in the '04 Eurocup.  

well football in europe is a whole different animal. i'll give you that. it could also be that I have lived in canada my entire life, and grew up watching a lot of canadian and american television, seeing the stark differences in nationalism, and also in my travels both in canada and the us. 

I’ve lived in Canada almost all of my life, but I’ve also lived in the UK for four years and I spend a lot of time in the US, and I agree that the difference is striking. Citizens of other countries can definitely be patriotic and proud, but I don’t meet people in any other country who routinely and unquestioningly assert that their country is the best at almost every opportunity. It’s a national pastime. 

I have literally not heard anyone say that the USA is the best in I don;t know how long.  Maybe you should interact with Americans more often than every 4th of July!

Actually, like I said, I’m in your country on average at least monthly, and I see and hear this stuff all the time. You just don’t notice it. It’s pervasive. 

I was joking about 4th...hence the smiley.

But in reality, I have honestly not heard it in a very long time...don't even remember last time.  It's not something that comes up at work, in my neighborhood or anywhere really.  Now if you considering playing the national anthem at a sporting event, then I have heard that a lot.

it's not just in the dialogue, but that is a big part of it. it's the american flags on every doorstep and restaurant. the bumper stickers and t shirts and...it's just the general attitude. 

we all have the national anthem at sporting events. (which I find equally stupid, no matter what country you're from, but I digress.....)

Spiritual_Chaos said:

Meltdown99 said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

Meltdown99 said:

cincybearcat said:

OnWis97 said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

mcgruff10 said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

Meltdown99 said:

Plenty of Canadians and politicians in Canada walk saying Canada is number 1...

every nation does it to a degree. but honestly in the US it's simply not on the same level as anywhere else. 

How does one make that assertion?  What is it based on?  Is this just a typical generalization around the world that America thinks it is the best in everything?  
America has pluses and minuses just like every other country in the world.  

just growing up over the years and observing the differences in culture between the US and everyone else, both in entertainment and in real life. ask anyone who has traveled anywhere else. there's no other nation that just erupts into chants of their country's name spontaneously, even when it makes zero sense. 

As an American, I cannot prove it, but I feel it as well.  We seem a bit more devoted to talking about how we're #1 than others.  Then again, maybe people sit around over beers in Norway and talk about how they're the greatest country in the world.  I'm pretty much only privy to what's going on in the USA. USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

Well I know people in Sweden like to post how awesome they are on the internet.

Honestly I don’t get either side of this. Posting over and over about how awesome the USA is or posting over and over what’s wrong with the USA.

The thing is, I don't think he is looking at what is right in America, 

Name a few things.

Music...plenty of great music
Hollywood...never short of great movies and TV shows.
Cannabis...US states started legalizing it, which I'm sure made it easier for our government to legalize it
Climate...there is pretty much any climate you could ask for in the US...so depending what your climate of choice is, I am sure you can find.
30 minutes from my door is downtown Detroit, I can attend all 4 major sports, farther down the road UM has world class college sports, pretty much all bands hit up Detroit when touring.
National Parks...
Route 66
The Pacific Coast HWY
Lifestyle...you can live pretty much live any lifestyle you want
Affordability

just off the top of my head.

Name some things that are important for peoples actual health, rights or lives.