Bonus point: At the end of the article is an interactive Christmas tree alongside a Sarah Palin as the nutcracker.
Go on, give it a try. It’s fun!!
ETA: Looking back at the article, I don’t think she’s supposed to be the nutcracker, she’s just got a weird blocky face.
Holy crap! I started clicking at the top of the tree, got about halfway down, and had to close that page out!! I promise, from now on, I will do my part in helping to usher in her absence. Nevermore will I click to invoke! Be gone!!
Yes, referring to the United States as one of the world’s oldest nations is pretty stupid even by her standards. Even Palin must have some dim awareness of European history and while she probably couldn’t tell you anything about them, I’m going to assume she’s aware of the existence of places like China, India, Japan, and Iran.
Well, I have heard others point out that the US has one of the oldest constitutions in the world. So if you’re only dating countries from when their current constitution was established, the US is actually older than most.
That’s a very convenient benchmark to use. I say we measure the age of nations based on when they first acquired a president as head-of-state.
My favorite of the quotes:
“Atheism’s track record makes the Spanish Inquisition seem like Disneyland by comparison.”
“So are you ready for some good, old-fashioned words? Here are some: work, honesty, courage, justice, thrift, perseverance.”
“I bet Charles Darwin never understood this: If the world could be described as truly survival-of-the-fittest, why would people collectively be stricken with the spirit of
generosity in December?”
“Yet we can’t print enough currency, or food stamps, or free Obamaphone vouchers to compensate for failing families.”
“Sadly, there are no Chick-fil-A restaurants in Alaska.”
If we don’t review her books or don’t click on reviews of her books, she’ll go away faster.
But the soundboard is pretty hilarious. If we want to keep her around just to point and laugh…i can see the value in that. And the more influence she has among conservatives, the less serious anyone takes them. So I’m OK with her hanging around.
How many countries are actually older than America? None in the Americas, I don’t think. None in Africa, with the exception of Ethiopia. Nothing in the former Ottoman or Soviet or Austro-Hungarian empires can be counted, except maybe Russia and Turkey. The USA isn’t the oldest, but it’s in the top 10% or so. One of the oldest, you might say.
It’s a tough question obviously. It depends of what you consider the existence of a country. Take Ireland, for example. Did it exist as a country before 1922? That’s when it became a sovereign nation but most people would accept the idea that there was a thing called Ireland that already existed before that.
For me, this is wrong. The word “country” has many possible meanings, but I’d say the country of Egypt is about 5000 years old. On the other hand the modern nation of Egypt is only 60-something.
My own country, Norway, is a thousand years old; but the modern nation is barely 100, or just short of 200, depending on definitions.
The US has one of the oldest continuous government systems in the world. I’d stick to saying that, to avoid insulting almost everyone.