Why is america the greatest?

14 comments

1. fridum

2. Anybody and everybody from all walks of life and nationalities can move here and be seen and considered as an American.

   The same can’t be said about other countries where no matter how long you’ve lived there, studied the language, or immersed yourself in the culture, the populace will always consider you an outsider and foreigner.

3. It’s not the greatest country in the world, professor, that’s my answer.

   there is absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we’re the greatest country in the world. We’re seventh in literacy, twenty-seventh in math, twenty-second in science, forty-ninth in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, third in median household income, number four in labor force, and number four in exports. We lead the world in only three categories: number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real, and defense spending,
   where we spend more than the next twenty-six countries combined, twenty-five of whom are
   allies. None of this is the fault of a 20-year-old college student, but you, nonetheless, are
   without a doubt, a member of the WORST-period-GENERATION-period-EVER-period, so
   when you ask what makes us the greatest country in the world, I don’t know what the hell
   you’re talking about?!

   We sure used to be. We stood up for what was right! We fought for moral reasons, we passed
   and struck down laws for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not poor people. We
   sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors, we put our money where our mouths were, and we
   never beat our chest. We built great big things, made ungodly technological advances,
   explored the universe, cured diseases, and cultivated the world’s greatest artists and the
   world’s greatest economy. We reached for the stars, and we acted like men. We aspired to
   intelligence; we didn’t belittle it; it didn’t make us feel inferior. We didn’t identify ourselves by
   who we voted for in the last election, and we didn’t scare so easy. And we were able to be all
   these things and do all these things because we were informed. By great men, men who were
   revered. The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one—America is not the
   greatest country in the world anymore.

   Enough?

4. It’s definitely not “the greatest” and never has been, for the majority of people. Especially indigenous people and those enslaved.

5. Revolutionary War, WWI, WWII, Industrial Revolution, land of opportunity, the American Dream.

6. So many people are willing to risk their life to come here. Why?

7. If a country’s greatness is defined as being distinguished or eminent then the US definitely checks the box – it is the foremost economic and military power in the world and its culture is dominant.

   Now, is America the “best” country – in almost any single category the answer is no.

8. it’s not

   america does some things better than other countries, and not other things

   the whole exceptionalism #1 thing is jingoistic nonsense

   we all have things to work on and everyone has something we can learn from

9. I work in IT so I’m always around immigrants….they all consistently say how great the US is, so I go off what they say since they have a comparison

10. No such thing as the greatest. We’re pretty good though.

11. It’s not.

12. It isn’t.

13. American exceptionalism has long been boiled down to the basic concepts of freedom and unparalleled economic and military might.

    But actually being “the greatest” is a hugely subjective idea. What makes a country great? The US doesn’t have a monopoly on personal freedom. Academically we’re fairly average, though we have a *ton* of the world’s most sought after colleges and universities. Wages are generally higher in the US than anywhere else in the western world, and our tax burden is relatively low. But millions of people still live below the poverty line and the cost of living has been outpacing income for decades. Our healthcare system is abusive and cumbersome, and for many of us it limits our job mobility. Is that freedom? For some, sure. For others, no.

    The one thing that truly sets the US apart from the rest of the world is that under our laws and in the eyes of (most) of our citizens, if you’re here and you’re building a life for yourself and are a part of your community, then you’re an American. There’s an entirely separate discussion to be had about our immigration laws and requirements, but in general anybody *can* be an American. You don’t have to be born here, or be of a certain ethnicity or background, to qualify. Ideally you would come here through the proper channels, but once you do, congrats! You’re an American.

14. A majority of Americans believe nothing is stopping them from being the next Bill Gates, or Donald Trump, and I don’t really think you see that in any other country.