# How and/or where do US citizens learn that the USA is the best country in the world etc? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 26, 2026, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943 "2026-07-26T22:32:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/81 "2026-07-29T17:21:53Z")
I think two (more) great quotes – both of which I’ve offered up here before – are germain and particularly relevant: _“We love America just as much as they do. But in a different way. You see, they love America like a 4-year-old loves his mommy. Liberals love America like grown-ups. To a 4-year-old, everything Mommy does is wonderful and anyone who criticizes Mommy is bad. Grown-up love means actually understanding what you love, taking the good with the bad and helping your loved one grow.”_ ― Al Franken _“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.”_ –Lyndon B. Johnson In other words, it’s simply Demagoguery 101. The people who are constantly assailing us with these messages seek wealth and power. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/82 "2026-07-29T18:10:02Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I would phrase it as… if we’re to say there was a period when the US was mostly the “best” across the board, it would be the post WW2 decades when it was the last big country with a functioning economy, whose industrial capacity had been massively ramped up during the war, and it used this headstart to terrific effect. Okay, I can buy that. ---
**Author:** ![Newtonian67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Newtonian67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtonian67)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/83 "2026-07-31T17:56:36Z")
This “Best Country” thing started to evolve seriously in the 19th century when authors penned stories of the Founding Fathers and early USA with extreme embellishments such as George Washington’s “cutting down the cherry tree” fable, and grew from there. Then, in the post-bellum period, you had religious leaders pushing patriotism to the youth, such as the Pledge of Allegiance, which was recited every day by every child in every school in the country. Poems, songs, stories … “we’re the good guys and our flag is a sacred symbol.” To get an idea of where it was just before WWI, look at the book, “_A Complete Holiday Program for First Grade_” from 1911 (available in Wikimedia Commons). Song after song on page after page of happy propaganda. Search the word “flag”. It appears more than 100 times. On page 204 (!) there is a ditty that starts “_There are many flags in many lands, There are flags of every hue, But there is no flag, however grand, Like our own red, white, and blue._” Kids rehearsed this and ate it up because, well, my teacher says this is true. “In God We Trust” is on all of the money. By inference, God must be on our side. We must be something special. My European business acquaintances are baffled by all of the American flags everywhere, all the time. As the USA crashes and burns now, revisionist historians are already digging out the truths about the beastly behaviours of early European “Americans” and down through the ages to the horrors of the CIA secret involvements and business interests’ (United Fruit et al.) machinations, worldwide. It may have been great in some ways, once upon a time, but if it was the “greatest” ever, that is highly doubtful. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/84 "2026-07-31T18:57:10Z")
> [@Newtonian67](#): > > “In God We Trust” is on all of the money. By inference, God must be on our side. We must be something special. The Germans used “Gott Mit Uns” means the same, some other militaries had similar, IIRC. > [@Newtonian67](#): > > My European business acquaintances are baffled by all of the American flags everywhere, all the time. You know, other than official building and on Independence Day etc, i dont see many US flags. And it seems that Turkey, Denmark, Switzerland and Austria also like to display their national flags. And in the UK, while flags are not as common, the Union Jack is on a lot of stuff. So, where do your European business acquaintances come from? The British Anthem is _God Save the King._ > [@Newtonian67](#): > > It may have been great in some ways, once upon a time, but if it was the “greatest” ever, that is highly doubtful. A lot of people seem to agree that in the 1950s the USA was indeed- great. ---
**Author:** ![Newtonian67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Newtonian67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtonian67)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/85 "2026-07-31T22:28:29Z")
I’m not positive but I don’t think Gott Mit Uns was on the German money. It was on some army belt buckles. The Europeans who actually spoke out were from UK and Holland. You think the USA was “the greatest” in the 1950s? You might want to read up on Operation Ajax, Operation PBSuccess, the several operations in Indonesia, Project FF in Egypt, and the broad violations of USPS mail by the CIA. Domestically there are the horrors of what United Fruit was doing among the southern neighbors. They were already the monsters that murdered thousands of fruit peasant-workers throughout the first half of the 20th century … but that was amateur hour. There were the Magnificent Dulles Brothers, one Secretary of State, the other head of the CIA (no conflict of interest there (snark), both with deep managerial and financial ties with United Fruit, and they headed part of Operation PBSuccess resulting the 1954 coup of Guatamala President Arbenz which destablized the country and its neighbors9 for decades, Yeah, I don’t think that’s the “Greatest”. After the 50s, the soft crimes of the USA cover pages and pages, all buried under ruthless control of oil. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/86 "2026-08-01T00:48:12Z")
> [@Newtonian67](#): > > I’m not positive but I don’t think Gott Mit Uns was on the German money. It was on some army belt buckles. > **[Gott mit uns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gott_mit_uns)** > > Gott mit uns ('God \[is\] with us') is a phrase commonly used in heraldry in Prussia (from 1701) and later by the German military during the periods spanning the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945) and until the 1970s on the belt buckles of the West German police forces. Matthew 1:23 refers to the prophecy written in Isaiah 7:14, rendering the name Immanuel (Emmanuel, .mw-parser-output .script-hebrew,.mw-parser-output .script-Hebr{font-family:"Ezra SIL SR","Ezra SIL","SBL Hebre... > Imperial German 3 and 5 [mark silver](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_mark_(1871)#Silver_coins "German mark (1871)") and 20 [mark gold](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_mark_(1871)#Gold_coins "German mark (1871)") coins had _Gott mit uns_ inscribed on their edge. > [@Newtonian67](#): > > You might want to read up on Oh puleeze. Every major nation was doing some bad stuff. > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I would phrase it as… if we’re to say there was a period when the US was mostly the “best” across the board, it would be the post WW2 decades when it was the last big country with a functioning economy, whose industrial capacity had been massively ramped up during the war, and it used this headstart to terrific effect. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/87 "2026-08-01T00:49:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Oh puleeze. Every major nation was doing some bad stuff. While that’s true, it raises the question, which is greater: the middling nation that doesn’t do bad stuff, or the wealthier and more powerful nation that does? I would say the former, though I think most would choose the latter. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/88 "2026-08-01T01:25:20Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > I would love to know, by what objective measure, the US is freer than Canada or many/most western European countries. It isn’t. Exactly where the US ranks on a global freedom index depends of course on what criteria you choose, but on any reasonable and broad set of criteria, the US doesn’t rate particularly well, and especially not in recent years. **[According to Freedom House](https://freedomhouse.org/country/scores?sort=fiw&sort_order=desc&type=all)**, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden are at the top (in that order) with almost identical scores, with Canada slightly behind at #6, while the US is down somewhere around #80 and shown as declining. Freedom House compiles a detailed report on each country. The abstract for the one on the US reads as follows: > The United States is a federal republic with a strong rule-of-law tradition and robust formal protections for freedoms of expression and religious belief, along with a wide array of other civil liberties. In recent years, a number of factors—including political polarization, the growing role of money in politics, and discrimination, among others—have contributed to new infringements on fundamental rights and significantly hampered the ability of federal institutions to fulfill their core responsibilities with respect to budgeting, oversight, and governance. Indices of freedom and general happiness took a major dip with the re-election of Trump, and this is not a mere transient phenomenon. The effects will be long-lasting and hard to undo, and reflects a deep national divide and the rise of autocratic sentiments. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/89 "2026-08-01T01:36:07Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > It isn’t. Exactly where the US ranks on a global freedom index depends of course on what criteria you choose, > **[Freedom Index by Country 2026](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/freedom-index-by-country)** > > Switzerland has the highest freedom score at 9.15. The US ranks as having the 15th most freedom globally. Compare freedom index scores across 165 countries. Canada 8.74 (higher is better), US= 8.71, UK 8.6, France 8.18, Sweden 8.74, Switzerland ranks top at 9.15. So the USA is right in there with Canada and many Euro nations. But it is NOT the most free- it is just “pretty good” or “better than many”. Russia is 4.86. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/90 "2026-08-01T01:41:20Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > So the USA is right in there with Canada and many Euro nations. How do you reconcile that belief with the fact that the current regime has been threatening the broadcasting licenses of television networks that dare to criticize the regime, trying to sue print media who do likewise, and not only banning journalists critical of the president from access to him, but personally threatening them? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/91 "2026-08-01T01:42:47Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > How do you reconcile that belief… I used my cite. It is right there. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/92 "2026-08-01T01:47:40Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I used my cite. The site you used is a secondary aggregator, so its information is necessarily dated and may not reflect sufficiently recent or sufficiently detailed criteria. IOW, it doesn’t answer the questions I asked and its assessment seems inconsistent with those facts. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/93 "2026-08-01T02:22:09Z")
The US is the best country for _me_ because all my family and most of my friends live here. I speak the language, have a job, and own a house here. I’m familiar with the laws and customs. But it’s crazy to think it’s the best nation in some objective sense. I don’t think i ever believed it was. Maybe I’m just socially out of it, and didn’t realize i was supposed to believe the US was the best place in the world. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/95 "2026-08-01T09:39:21Z")
I grew up in a religion the explicitly taught that America was God’s chosen land. The religion was founded in 1830 and reflects the popular belief at the time. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/96 "2026-08-01T09:53:05Z")
> [@AngelsSoul](#): > > Many people from other countries come to the United States, and Americans hear their feedback. Apparently, they most often say that the United States is better than their home country, and Americans draw corresponding conclusions from this.   There may be some truth to that in terms of popular consciousness, but what conclusions can one draw from the fact that probably no one has ever said “I really wish I was back in Azerbaijan”? Is this a meaningful scientific assessment? No selection bias there at all? How many people saying that are from advanced western democracies that rank higher than the US on freedom and happiness indices? ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/97 "2026-08-01T10:27:34Z")
> [@AngelsSoul](#): > > Many people from other countries come to the United States, and Americans hear their feedback. Apparently, they most often say that the United States is better than their home country, and Americans draw corresponding conclusions from this. The people who want to emigrate typically have issues with their country of origin, that’s true everywhere. Here in the UK I’ve met multiple emigrants from the US who will happily tell me things that are better here, but I’m sure you have emigrants from the UK who will happily talk about how things are better there. It’s also not generally considered a good plan to move to another country then complain about said country in front of a citizen, especially if you’re not sure how they’ll react. I have loads of overseas friends- as a mature PhD student, the other mature students are disproportionately international- when I first met most of them, they were all saying how great things are here, but once they’ve heard me complain about bureaucracy and infrastructure issues and costs and how I wish we’d adopt some system I’ve come across elsewhere, then all the issues they have about the country start showin’ up. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/98 "2026-08-01T10:42:50Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > But it’s crazy to think it’s the best nation in some objective sense. I don’t think i ever believed it was. I was definitely a true believer. 65 years if that helps to place the generation. I grew up in a neighborhood that was mainly blue collar, but a substantial minority of white collar, northwest section of Philly. I don’t recall anyone ever sitting us down and explaining it. It was just _known_. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/99 "2026-08-01T12:47:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > [Freedom Index by Country 2026](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/freedom-index-by-country) From the cite [bolding mine]: > [@](#): > > What Is the Human Freedom Index? The Human Freedom Index is an annual report that measures personal and economic freedom across 165 countries using 86 indicators. It is published by the Cato Institute, Fraser Institute, and Liberales Institut, and **the most recent report reflects data from roughly two years prior because the index takes time to compile.** “… and BINGO was his name-o.” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/100 "2026-08-01T12:56:49Z")
And… The Cato institute? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943/101 "2026-08-01T13:04:52Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > The Cato institute I can’t claim any particular expertise in this one, but they’re a putative Libertarian-cum-Conservative think tank for whom ‘liberty’ is Job One: > **[Cato Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_Institute)** > > The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.\[nb 1\] Cato was established to focus on public advocacy, media exposure, and societal influence. Cato advocates for a limited governmental role in domestic and foreign affairs and strong protection of civil liberties, including support for lowering or abolishing most ... To the extent that they _do_ hew to their mission, they’re not _that_ odd a choice to participate in this kind of ranking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-and-or-where-do-us-citizens-learn-that-the-usa-is-the-best-country-in-the-world-etc/1031943.md?page=6)