Is America the greatest country in the world?

[Indofred]

I believe that my country is the best country in the world. If I claimed that, everyone who believes the US is the greatest country would disagree. But how would you know if I was right, and my country was, in fact, the best country?

The US is not the greatest country on earth, far from it. It is not perfect and never has been. That said, I don't think Australia is perfect, either. We never have been and never will be, We are just the greatest country for the people who choose to live here.

The OP should have asked people whether they are US citizens or foreigners, to get an idea of whether outsiders believe the US to be the greatest country.

I think all our countries are special in their own way, but no country can ever be known as 'perfect'.

I don't think the OP was about "perfect."

By perfect, I mean greatest. Sorry for the confusion.

Serious question.

How many countries have you lived in?

 

[Noomi]

I don't think the OP was about "perfect."

By perfect, I mean greatest. Sorry for the confusion.

Serious question.

How many countries have you lived in?

Just one - my home country.

 

[there4eyeM]

Anyone who does not realize that the 'W' Bush induced hostilities in Iraq were and are illegal either does not know the meaning of the word or is simply in denial. "I love my country, so it is good and could not be capable of doing bad things." Very childish.
Any and all objective views of the situation agree, as they must, that the international law involved is clear.
As for adolescent name-calling in place of rational argument, well, it is its own indictment.

But keep chanting....

 

[there4eyeM]

And yes, Noomi, one is equally justified to regard one's homeland is the best in the same way these superficially 'America first' types do. Unfortunately, that simply continues the cult of nationhood, which has become the enemy of humankind.
We need to transcend 'nation' and gain 'consciousness'. Forgetting all this petty garbage about countries would be a great step forward for our race.

 

[Indofred]

By perfect, I mean greatest. Sorry for the confusion.

Serious question.

How many countries have you lived in?

Just one - my home country.

Interesting.
I come from a place called Barnsley in the North of England.
I great place, wonderful people and amazing scenery.
I thought it was the best place in the world until I wandered into other countries and found there was more to life than I knew before.

Take a wander, meet new people from different cultures and enjoy the learning experience.
I no longer know where the best place in the world is.

 

[Indofred]

Added.
The UK press is full of shit about Muslims. Frankly, when I took my first trip to Malaysia, I was worried.

A few days there told me the papers were talking crap.
The most violent thing a Muslim did was buy me lunch.
That's when I started to look at Islam and liked what I saw.

Malaysia, by the way, is a wonderful place. Give it a try.

 

[Noomi]

Serious question.

How many countries have you lived in?

Just one - my home country.

Interesting.
I come from a place called Barnsley in the North of England.
I great place, wonderful people and amazing scenery.
I thought it was the best place in the world until I wandered into other countries and found there was more to life than I knew before.

Take a wander, meet new people from different cultures and enjoy the learning experience.
I no longer know where the best place in the world is.

I do plan to travel some day, when I have the money. The Netherlands is number one on my list, and I would also like to visit Denmark and Finland.

 

[Indofred]

I do plan to travel some day, when I have the money. The Netherlands is number one on my list, and I would also like to visit Denmark and Finland.

Nice but not that far removed from your own culture.
Try a real wander.
I suggest Malaysia because the majority speak English so it's a soft start for a new tourist.
That and its interesting mix of cultures and history.
Great Chinatown in Kl, the Indian food is wonderful and you'll find out Muslims are actually just people like anyone else.
You have to try the street food. You'll wonder if its safe at first but, if you're willing to try, you'll eat nothing else but that for the rest of the holiday.
Add the ease of travel to other countries in the region because of the fantastic "Air Asia" and you have a great holiday.
Cheap as well. A clean but simple hotel will cost you about $31/night.

 

[Noomi]

I do plan to travel some day, when I have the money. The Netherlands is number one on my list, and I would also like to visit Denmark and Finland.

Nice but not that far removed from your own culture.
Try a real wander.
I suggest Malaysia because the majority speak English so it's a soft start for a new tourist.
That and its interesting mix of cultures and history.
Great Chinatown in Kl, the Indian food is wonderful and you'll find out Muslims are actually just people like anyone else.
You have to try the street food. You'll wonder if its safe at first but, if you're willing to try, you'll eat nothing else but that for the rest of the holiday.
Add the ease of travel to other countries in the region because of the fantastic "Air Asia" and you have a great holiday.
Cheap as well. A clean but simple hotel will cost you about $31/night.

I will keep that in mind. I see you are from Indonesia, and I have to say that I would not wish to visit Indonesia - not after what happened to Schapelle Corby!

My sister is going to Hong Kong in November - do you know anything about this country I could pass on to her?

 

[Indofred]

I will keep that in mind. I see you are from Indonesia, and I have to say that I would not wish to visit Indonesia - not after what happened to Schapelle Corby!

My sister is going to Hong Kong in November - do you know anything about this country I could pass on to her?

Corby was very foolish.
Drugs are really serious stuff out in most of SE Asia. Most countries here have serious sentences for importing the stuff.

Indonesia isn't as easy for a tourist. The majority don't speak English and here is a lot of con work going one that is aimed at tourists.
Other than that, it's safe and cheap.

My wife has been to HK, she says it's an interesting and safe country, full of life and loads of stuff for a tourist to do.
Seems it's quite easy to find an English speaker.

I suppose the usual safety rules apply as they would in any city.

I'd love to get over there with my camera. My hobby, such as it is, is to take photos of whatever I see and pop them onto forums.
The various threads have quite a following now.

This sort of thing.

 

[Ravi]

Another Foxfyre hatin' on America thread. Awesome!

 

[there4eyeM]

Another chanter?

 

[editec]

Is the USA the greatest country in the world?

Its has the greatest (and most expenisve) conventiaonal military.

 

[there4eyeM]

Totally prepared to fight the last war.
Totally unprepared for peace.

 

[Foxfyre]

Nonsense. The U.S. military is up to whatever it has to face. Ineffective use of the military or wrong choices do not change that in the least. And peace is impossible where it is not allowed unless a given dictatorship or totalitarian government can be in control. Admittedly many of our leaders have not quite grasped that concept.

But as far as this thread is concerned, the only relevant part of that is how we, as Americans, see what the proper utilization of our military to be. Most of you skipped over the issues of whether we should intervene to stop slaughter of thousands or milllions when we have the power to do so. Or is the proper use to be strong against any intended harm to our own people and otherwise mind our business no matter what is happening elsewhere? These are not easy questions.

And once again Ravi comes in to cast insults most likely due to her consistent reading dysfunction. It is especially emphasized if she thinks Foxfyre is hatin' on America ever.

 

[Foxfyre]

There4, your concept of one world without borders is interesting to think about. But how is that accomplished without losing the greatest single concept of all that make America great? That concept would be our unique recognition that humankind is born with unalienable rights given by God, if one is a believer, or natural rights if one is not. We are the only nation that has ever existed in all of world history in which the government does not assign us our rights.

Or at least that is what it is intended to be. Teaching and defending the concept is more difficult in modern times when so many are seeing virtue in more socialist, more authoritarian, more involved government and so many no longer seem to grasp a concept of unalienable rights.

 

[Foxfyre]

Gong back to a discussion Unkotare and I were having yesterday, this morning I was watching the news before getting out of bed. Included was an interview with a VFW commander in Minnesota. For the last eight years, the VFW have placed and taken care of American flags installed on major Minnesota bridges. The purpose was to symbolize love of country and support for the military in harm's way.

This week, after eight years, they were told they would have to take the flags down or they would be removed. Why? Because the flags themselves were not a problem but for safety reasons the authorities could not have people isntalling a lot of stuff on bridges, and if they allowed the American flag, they would have to allow an Iraqi flag if somebody wanted to fly one. The Commander said that was the specific analogy used for the explanation.

That, Unkotare, does tie into your 'liberal extremism' concept, but it also is born of the multiculturalism aspect of that which I encourage Americans to fight against.

 

[Swagger]

Nonsense. The U.S. military is up to whatever it has to face. Ineffective use of the military or wrong choices do not change that in the least. And peace is impossible where it is not allowed unless a given dictatorship or totalitarian government can be in control. Admittedly many of our leaders have not quite grasped that concept.

But as far as this thread is concerned, the only relevant part of that is how we, as Americans, see what the proper utilization of our military to be. Most of you skipped over the issues of whether we should intervene to stop slaughter of thousands or milllions when we have the power to do so. Or is the proper use to be strong against any intended harm to our own people and otherwise mind our business no matter what is happening elsewhere? These are not easy questions.

And once again Ravi comes in to cast insults most likely due to her consistent reading dysfunction. It is especially emphasized if she thinks Foxfyre is hatin' on America ever.

For what it's worth, Ravi is a perpetual antagonist who spends all day online seeking to elicit exactly that kind of reply. It says a lot about her upbringing.

Anyway, why should the United States (or anyone, for that matter) feel obliged to intervene whenever there's bloodshed elsewhere in the world? I think this rot you're alluding to took hold when the U.S. abandoned its policy of isolationism, in my opinion.

 

[Foxfyre]

Nonsense. The U.S. military is up to whatever it has to face. Ineffective use of the military or wrong choices do not change that in the least. And peace is impossible where it is not allowed unless a given dictatorship or totalitarian government can be in control. Admittedly many of our leaders have not quite grasped that concept.

But as far as this thread is concerned, the only relevant part of that is how we, as Americans, see what the proper utilization of our military to be. Most of you skipped over the issues of whether we should intervene to stop slaughter of thousands or milllions when we have the power to do so. Or is the proper use to be strong against any intended harm to our own people and otherwise mind our business no matter what is happening elsewhere? These are not easy questions.

And once again Ravi comes in to cast insults most likely due to her consistent reading dysfunction. It is especially emphasized if she thinks Foxfyre is hatin' on America ever.

For what it's worth, Ravi is a perpetual antagonist who spends all day online seeking to elicit exactly that kind of reply. It says a lot about her upbringing.

Anyway, why should the United States (or anyone, for that matter) feel obliged to intervene whenever there's bloodshed elsewhere in the world? I think this rot you're alluding to took hold when the U.S. abandoned its policy of isolationism, in my opinion.

If you were an American, Swagger, you'd be drafted into the Ron Paul or Gary Johnson campaigns. But you do raise a very valid point that I think should be in the national debate. Up until around the mid 20th Century, the USA did not see itself as the policeman of the world. We entered WWI reluctantly and did our damndest to stay out of WWII until Pearl Harbor dragged us into it. Since then, war has seemed easier to initiate and reasons for our involvement are much fuzzier with much room for speculation, reasonable or not. And many of us struggle with the morality of helping fund other people's wars even when we aren't furnishing our own blood and guns.

Minding our own business was our policy for most of our history.

Still, had we known that Hitler was murdering six million Jews, what is the morality of sitting on our hands and allowing that to happen?

All that I think has to factor in the debate of what a great nation does.

 

[Unkotare]

I don't think the OP was about "perfect."

By perfect, I mean greatest. Sorry for the confusion.

Serious question.

How many countries have you lived in?

What was the motivation behind that question?