# America is the greatest country on Earth? Delusional **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 26, 2019, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542 "2019-03-26T02:27:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/81 "2019-03-26T19:26:47Z")
I’m no jingoist, but if one were to tout some country as GREATEST — whatever that means — how could you pick any country besides the U.S.A.? It’s not the happiest, but it’s high on that list. It’s not the most prosperous, but it’s high on that list. It’s economy is larger than the rest of the G-8 added together. It’s ranked #22 in non-corruption, almost as high as France or Japan. The American dollar is the world’s currency. The U.S. has the best universities, the best military, the best scientists. It’s still the world leader in computer, financial and entertainment industries. Overall, it has had fairly good governance until recently. If not the U.S., then who? China? Denmark??? _Sure the U.S. is sadly lagging in some important ways — it would be an impossible goalpost to say the “greatest” country has to be #1 in every category — so calling the U.S. “greatest” should be as much in challenge as in pride._ For many decades, America was the unquestioned beacon of hope; people all around the world would agree that the U.S. is “greatest.” In the last few years, American prestige has fallen markedly. :o Its reign may come to an end, but as of now it can still fairly be called “greatest.” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/82 "2019-03-26T19:36:41Z")
America isn’t the greatest country on Earth. But PITTSBURGH is the greatest CITY on Earth, and it’s in America. That’s gotta count for something? > [@BobLibDem](#): > > If you’re one to chant “U-S-A! U-S-A!”, you’re an asshole. To be fair, that chant IS generally associated with [sports](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-S-A!). Ain’t no way you can watch the 1980 Olympics footage without getting the urge to yell along. **Leaffan** , dude, you know I love you to bits, but surely you know we’re not all a bunch of loud-mouthed rednecks screaming “'MERICA FUCK YEAH!!!” Just like not all Canadians\* are jingoistic fucksticks like Don Cherry. Seriously though, I don’t think there IS such a thing as “greatest country on Earth”. But I’m happy here in my country, and I don’t think it’s a sin to say, “Hey, I do love America, even though we have problems that definitely need to be solved.” It’s because I love my country that I hate Trump so much. \*You did give us Mario Lemieux. We owe you for that. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/83 "2019-03-26T19:40:32Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > … I don’t think any Prime Minister has ever called Canada the greatest country in the world, … Well yeah, with your climate who’s gonna say that? :)😛 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/84 "2019-03-26T19:43:08Z")
Well, Sid ain’t chopped liver either. 😃 ETA: Directed at Guin ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/85 "2019-03-26T20:01:32Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Well, Sid ain’t chopped liver either. 😃 > > ETA: Directed at Guin Naturally, but if I listed every Penguin great, I’d probably use up another page. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/86 "2019-03-26T20:52:45Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > while the leader of the country has repeatedly tried to eliminate the Affordable Care Act Well, I didn’t vote for 'im. Everything you write is true, of course, so I’ll just add that the aspects of America which are great are generally orthogonal to our flawed aspects. That is to say, Silicon Valley would still exist if America had true single-payer health care. Hollywood would still exist if we had decent public transit. And so on. In fact, these places would do even better if we had better backstops in place for those that aren’t as lucky. America could afford this stuff even if it _were_ more expensive (which it isn’t). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/87 "2019-03-26T21:09:11Z")
> [@pool](#): > > Well for America being so shitty there sure are a lot of motherfuckers clamoring and spilling through our borders risking death and the deaths of their children to come here, I guess it’s easy to mock our country when you’ve grown up in our excess and hedonism, wonder what they’re having for dinner tonight in Venezuela. > > To be real, maybe we’re not the best but America is a long way from the bottom. > [@scr4](#): > > We’re the greatest because we’re better than Venezuela? What kind of logic is that? The kind where Venezuela is the SECOND greatest country on Earth. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/88 "2019-03-26T23:28:34Z")
> [@Stranger on a Train](#): > > Well, it’s a good monologue up until the point where he says, “It sure used to be…”, after which he commits the same sins of glorifying and whitewashing that he has just criticized. As a nation, the United States has done some great things like advancing science, making universal literacy a priority, and fighting against fascism. Of course, it has also done some horrific things, like repeatedly forcibly relocating minority groups into reservations or concentration camps, embarking on unprovoked unilateral wars resulting in the deaths of millions of non-combatants, and spying on its own citizens. The Founding Fathers enshrined personal liberty into the Constitution (for landed white men), but they simultaneously built protections for the institution of human slavery into the core principles of election and representation, so one can be excused for not celebrating the Constitution as the most perfect political instrument ever drafted. > > Stranger Agreed. But c’mon, it’s still well written :o ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/89 "2019-03-26T23:31:50Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Our country seems more ignorant than when we started the fight. That’s 'cause for us it’s a hobby ; the other side has mercenaries. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/90 "2019-03-26T23:33:15Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > That would be uncouth. But stating that calling the US the greatest country is delusional, is wrong. > You can be tired of hearing this being said, sure. Is it getting a bit much and a little thick at times? I sure think so. **But it isn’t factually wrong, or at least not clearly and obviously so**. Yes it is. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/91 "2019-03-26T23:35:54Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Yes it is. No it isn’t, because “greatest” is so ill-defined. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/92 "2019-03-26T23:50:49Z")
America has all my stuff in it, so it’s better than other countries that don’t have my stuff in them, because I wouldn’t want to be in a country without my stuff. Among other thing’s it’d probably get pretty cold and I’d be arrested for indecent exposure. So by that metric America is the best country. Other metrics, well… ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/93 "2019-03-27T00:02:48Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Sorry. But I’m really tired of this rhetoric. Canadians. Always sorry for something.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/94 "2019-03-27T00:17:07Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > For many decades, America was the unquestioned beacon of hope; people all around the world would agree that the U.S. is “greatest.” In the last few years, American prestige has fallen markedly. :o Its reign may come to an end, but as of now it can still fairly be called “greatest.” Yeah, but which country can you say is legitimately “greater” than the USA? China is comparable in GDP and has a larger population, but they are a lot more totalitarian and lack the cultural diversity of the USA. Similarly, countries like Japan, India, Brazil, Mexico and Russia have their plusses, but none of them really have the global influence of the USA. Britain kind of lost their place with the whole Brexit thing and it’s difficult to think of any European country being “great” outside of the context of the EU. There are a lot of really nice countries like Switzerland or the Netherlands, but they are also very small and culturally homogenous. Kind of like evaluating the USA from, I don’t know, only looking at the Hamptons. So while the USA may not be the top country in terms of most of all the metrics we use to evaluate countries, when compared to other countries, I don’t think there is another one of similar population with the combined economic, cultural, and political influence of the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/95 "2019-03-27T00:22:25Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > _cough_ Afghanistan…_cough_ What the hell does that mean? We not at war with Afghanistan, and they are not more powerful than us militarily. He said the US is an unmatched superpower. Are you suggesting that Afghanistan challenges the status of the US as the #1 military super power in the world? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/96 "2019-03-27T00:25:21Z")
“World’s best coffee” my ass! ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/97 "2019-03-27T02:38:24Z")
Well, Puerto Rico _ **is** _ in US jurisdiction so we do make a claim on the best coffee (or at least we will again once the farms recover) > [@Quartz](#): > > [Bill Clinton](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton%27s_second_inaugural_address) called America the ‘world’s indispensible nation’ and ‘the world’s mightiest power’. Well, it IS the country where both Bill Clinton and I have wielded our mighty power and it was great… er… wait, um… THAT is not what he meant? Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/98 "2019-03-27T03:01:36Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Ummm, we don’t do metric, so there! Nice. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/99 "2019-03-27T06:13:29Z")
> [@bump](#): > > And for such a powerful country, the US has been extraordinarily benign in a historical sense. Ha ha ha ha. Oh, wait, you’re serious… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542/100 "2019-03-27T06:16:41Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > What the hell does that mean? It means … how “great” can your military actually be, if it can’t conquer Afghanistan? Oh, sure, you could nuke them if you wanted to. So could frigging France… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-the-greatest-country-on-earth-delusional/831542.md?page=6)