# Is America the greatest country on Earth, and why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 30, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836 "2012-06-30T19:01:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/21 "2012-06-30T21:33:40Z")
> [@XT](#): > > As far as I know, the vast majority of Americans don’t worry about it…nor, do they ever consider that we aren’t. What you have in threads like this is some Americans expending energy for their own reasons to ‘prove’ that the US ISN’T the greatest, plus some folks from other countries who want to prove that, no, the US isn’t so great and really their country is. The trouble comes in defining what ‘the greatest country on Earth’ actually means, since it’s going to vary wildly from person to person. I find these threads hilarious, generally. There are a lot of right wingers (in the US) who keep insisting that the US is the greatest or insist that the US has lost its greatness because of kowtowing by the left or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/22 "2012-06-30T21:48:12Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] So in other words you have absolutely nothing to add except a personal insult to me, a deliberate misrepresentation of the OP, a so-far completely erroneous prediction and stereotyping of who will participate, and a needily blatant self affirmation of your own keen insight with a sneering condescension chaser. Thank you for stopping by, this added much. [/QUOTE] 😛 Getting your panties in a twist because this OP has been asked and answered in various different ways in dozens of threads? Sorry for being brutally honest, but the reality is most Americans DON’T think about whether they are ‘the greatest country on Earth’. They KNOW they are. Just like most French don’t really think about it either because they know it…and most Brits…and certainly most German I know and Japanese. It’s a stupid question because everyone is going to have different definitions of what ‘greatest’ actually means. But, far be it from me to snark and run…let me answer the OP, since I’m sure you are dying to know what my thoughts are on this (and it’s not like I’ve answered this exact same question dozens of times before in dozens of other threads just like this one, or anything). > [@](#): > > Not having seen the show I don’t know who the character’s are, but in the set up a college aged girl asks a panel of three people what makes America the greatest country on Earth. One panelist answers “diversity and opportunity”, a second answers “freedom, freedom, and freedom”, and a third, played by Jeff Daniels, goes into a mini-rant that begins with “we’re not”. He backs his statement by saying that most First World (and many non First World) countries have as much freedom, that America trails other nations educationally and financially, that we lead the world in the percent/number of incarcerated people, etc.. So, here you see why it’s a silly question. My take? We are the greatest country on earth because, by far, we have the greatest impact, socially, culturally, militarily, economically, politically and maybe a few more words that end in ‘y’. This isn’t even in dispute. Is MY definition of ‘greatest’ the only one? Hardly. Folks are going to parse that phrase based on their own political worldview. As Der Trihs if he thinks the US is ‘the greatest country on Earth’ and he’s going to spew out that we’re the greatest EVIL on earth, etc etc. > [@](#): > > I can’t say I’m proud to be an American since I had very little to do with it, but I can definitely say I’m glad to be one, that I was born here instead of in Mexico or the Soviet Union (I know, but it was still alive and kicking when I was born) or any of many places that are a lot more violent and a lot less fed. That said, America is simply not what it once was even in my lifetime; the sense of entitlement is nauseating, and I’m not talking about welfare/food stamps entitlement but the “we can have it all and as much as we want and it’s our right!” sense that led us to a fourteen-figure national debt, the Internet seems to have given steroids to ignorance rather than fixed it, and any politician who says “We have got to cut spending and raise taxes to fix this” is not going to get re/elected because fiscal responsibility simply does not exist in either party. And while there has always been a ridiculous degree of chauvinism in the American DNA (I can’t say how it compares to most other nations because I don’t know and haven’t researched the matter) it is now out of control: the words treason and UnAmerican are now just openers to “debate” that is really just masturbatory namecalling, and while this has always existed the Internet and cable have taken it from the occasional argument at the dinner table or the hardware store to a 24/7 and 360 degree screaming match that is not only unavoidable but completely unproductive. So, what you seem to dislike is that Americans feel they are the greatest and take exception when someone says they aren’t, and then the name calling starts. Right after you got all hurt that I made a joke about your OP. 😛 Do you see any connection here? As an exercise, go on a foreign message board that has the majority of it’s members from another country and start a thread about how that country sucks because of X, Y and Z reasons and see what sort of response you get. My guess is you are going to be called some names, so try not to get hurt if someone does that, or makes fun of you. > [@](#): > > But I am neither an economist nor a political scientist and know just enought about both to make my ignorance apparent, and I have never lived overseas, so I would like to hear what others think. Is the U.S.A. the greatest nation in the world, and why or why not? By my definition of ‘greatest’ its hard for me to even see a debate here. Clearly we are and have been for several decades now (since at least before the fall of the Soviet Union) the greatest nation on earth. We have the most influence and most impact of any nation on the planet. That doesn’t mean that in every category and aspect it’s superior to every other place on earth. Nor does it mean that folks living in other countries (or, obviously, even in THIS country) agree with that assertion or that this is the true or right measure of ‘greatest’. I can say that just about every place I’ve traveled to has plenty of folks who think THEIR country is the ‘greatest’, and will bend your ear off telling you why, in loving detail. I remember going to Cuba once and having plenty of people tell me why it was the greatest country on Earth and far superior to the US in every way possible. Different strokes and all that. -XT ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/23 "2012-06-30T21:49:56Z")
[QUOTE=computergeek] There are a lot of right wingers (in the US) who keep insisting that the US is the greatest or insist that the US has lost its greatness because of kowtowing by the left or whatever. [/QUOTE] Yes, but then there are folks who think the earth if flat or that the Twin Towers were brought down by a cabal of mutant space rats, the US government and Elvis (or whatever the current Truther theory is). They are, what we generally call ‘wrong’, though the more technical term might be ‘deluded’ or ‘batshit insane’. 😉 -XT ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/24 "2012-06-30T21:51:56Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > So in other words you have absolutely nothing to add except a personal insult to me, a deliberate misrepresentation of the OP, a so-far completely erroneous prediction and stereotyping of who will participate, and a needily blatant self affirmation of your own keen insight with a sneering condescension chaser. Thank you for stopping by, this added much. I think you’re overreacting here. **Sampiro** , you’re one of my favorite posters here, but I gotta say that OP was, well, not one your best efforts. It would help if you narrowed things down a bit and at least put some sort of boundaries on what you are getting at. “Great” often means “big”. You have “Great Kings” you have “Great Powers” and you have “Great Britain” :). The US is “Great” in an important sense simply because of its [economic] size. The US projects itself around the world like no other power. If you mean “best”, then that’s a different story and is going to be extremely subjective. Maybe we just need to take a global poll to find out. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/25 "2012-06-30T22:02:05Z")
> [@computergeek](#): > > I guess when you’ve been considered the leader of the free world for a long time, you don’t want to lose that position. Has America been considered the “leader of the free world” anywhere but in its collective fantasies? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/26 "2012-06-30T22:07:08Z")
No, it’s not the greatest country on earth. The idea that such a thing exists is preposterous. It is, however, a rather good one. I’ve lived in a dozen countries, and this is where I chose to make my home. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/27 "2012-06-30T22:12:00Z")
Yeah, we are. Whiny ass liberals will say otherwise, but they’re wrong. We’re the most powerful nation on earth, with the finest military the world has ever known. We have freedom, bought and paid for with the blood of patriots for centuries now. We stopped Hitler, and Japan. Yes, we had help, but without us, the world today would be a very different place. We kept the Russian Bear at bay until it starved itself to death. We have a legal system with significant protections for individual rights. We have so many things that people take for granted, because they’ve never known anything else. We’re still the land of opportunity, where everyone has a chance to achieve their dreams. Outcomes are not guaranteed, but you can try…and if you’re good enough, lucky enough, and work hard enough, you can succeed. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/28 "2012-06-30T22:12:19Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Has America been considered the “leader of the free world” anywhere but in its collective fantasies? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/29 "2012-06-30T22:15:57Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Has America been considered the “leader of the free world” anywhere but in its collective fantasies? I think no. Regardless, the OP is a bit silly - I’m from Canada and don’t want to live anywhere else so in my opinion Canada is the greatest. I have former countrymates that couldn’t wait to move south of the boarder - to them the US is obviously #1. So, I guess the answer is ‘It depends.’ By many statistical measures the US barely makes the top 10 but I’m sure many people like it there and I’m not about to tell them they’re wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/30 "2012-06-30T22:17:16Z")
I love America and am damn glad I was born and raised here, and live here. But I like what Bill Maher said on a comedy tour a few years back: The people who are always saying that America is the greatest country in the world are the same people who’ve never been anywhere. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/31 "2012-06-30T22:18:08Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > We have freedom, bought and paid for with the blood of patriots for centuries now. And other places have as much or more freedom. > [@Oakminster](#): > > We kept the Russian Bear at bay until it starved itself to death. And in the process spread tyranny and death across the world; I see no evidence that our stopping them was in any way an improvement, except in Europe where they were strong (and white) enough that we didn’t impose our own dictatorships over the populace. Being tortured and killed by an American sponsored tyranny is no better than being tortured and killed by a Soviet sponsored one. > [@Oakminster](#): > > We’re still the land of opportunity, where everyone has a chance to achieve their dreams. Outcomes are not guaranteed, but you can try…and if you’re good enough, lucky enough, and work hard enough, you can succeed. Nonsense. America is one of the least socially mobile of the industrialized nations. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_From\_Here](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/2acd7d/32.png) [@Not\_From\_Here](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_From_Here)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/32 "2012-06-30T22:18:58Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Has America been considered the “leader of the free world” anywhere but in its collective fantasies? They have never been considered that here in latin america.Maybe it has something to do with all dictatorships that the U.S government has supported here in this region, including the one in my country.I laugh everytime an american says that.How can you be the leader of the free world and be the biggest ally of Saudi Arabia? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/33 "2012-06-30T22:19:20Z")
[QUOTE=Fiddle Peghead] I love America and am damn glad I was born and raised here, and live here. But I like what Bill Maher said on a comedy tour a few years back: The people who are always saying that America is the greatest country in the world are the same people who’ve never been anywhere. [/QUOTE] And people who talk in ridiculous generalities are either idiots or comedians. 😛 -XT ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/34 "2012-06-30T22:23:36Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And in the process spread tyranny and death across the world; I see no evidence that our stopping them was in any way an improvement, except in Europe where they were strong (and white) enough that we didn’t impose our own dictatorships over the populace. Being tortured and killed by an American sponsored tyranny is no better than being tortured and killed by a Soviet sponsored one. Never forget that the reason people like you aren’t put against the nearest wall is because guys like me have served this nation and kept us free. You don’t believe it, you don’t appreciate it, and you’ve done nothing to earn it, but you’re welcome, anyway. I’d do it again, as would most veterans. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/35 "2012-06-30T22:24:24Z")
> [@XT](#): > > And people who talk in ridiculous generalities are either idiots or comedians. 😛 Of course, since that statement is a “ridiculous generalization”, you’ve just accused yourself of being either an idiot or a comedian. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/36 "2012-06-30T22:25:57Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] Of course, since that statement is a “ridiculous generalization”, you’ve just accused yourself of being either an idiot or a comedian. [/QUOTE] Exactly. 😛 -XT ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/37 "2012-06-30T22:28:19Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Never forget that the reason people like you aren’t put against the nearest wall is because guys like me have served this nation and kept us free. You don’t believe it, you don’t appreciate it, and you’ve done nothing to earn it, but you’re welcome, anyway. I’d do it again, as would most veterans. Yeah, suuure that’s why. Our wonderful military spends its time fighting for corporate profits, to impose tyranny across the world, and to slaughter brown people with the wrong religions. And if the government so ordered I’m quite sure you and your fellow veterans would have cheerfully lined me up against a wall and killed me. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/38 "2012-06-30T22:30:02Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Never forget that the reason people like you aren’t put against the nearest wall is because guys like me have served this nation and kept us free. I respect your service, but it doesn’t give you the right to throw it in peoples’ faces, especially since hardly anyone currently alive has fought against an actual threat to our freedom. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/39 "2012-06-30T22:40:13Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I respect your service, but it doesn’t give you the right to throw it in peoples’ faces, especially since hardly anyone currently alive has fought against an actual threat to our freedom. I agree with part of this and disagree with part of it. It’s not cool to throw your service in other peoples faces as sort of a fiat attempt at gaining the high moral ground…and, it’s especially annoying in these sorts of threads as it both fulfills the stereotype expectations of some and is obviously a lure to try and get others to have their heads explode (not going to name any names). However, simply because the average US serviceman hasn’t fought in some desperate battle against and existential threat to freedom and the American way is pretty meaningless too. Their service and the might of the US military is pretty much what protects that freedom. Personally, I joined the service to see the world, get paid, learn a trade, get laid (this part didn’t work out perfectly, sad to say), and, oh yeah, protect the country and give back a little for the opportunities this country has given my family. Plus, my dad thought I should, and I didn’t have anything better to do for a couple of years, so what the hell?? 😛 -XT ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836/40 "2012-06-30T22:46:06Z")
> [@Not\_From\_Here](#): > > I feel that americans don’t understand that to america be the greatest,others have to be worse in comparision .I want the whole world to be the greatest, no just my country. You’re right that that’s the logical conclusion to the thought process, but I don’t think anyone really thinks it out that far. [American exceptionalism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism) has been a big part of the American identity for a long time, and that hasn’t changed even as other countries have taken on attributes that were supposed to be “exceptional” to the US. It’s an article of faith. Another supposedly unique aspect of American nationalism has been that it is “forward facing”, expecting things to just get better and better (as opposed to other countries like China whose nationalism is oriented around a past Golden Age). I think that this suggests that once America clearly enters a decline there’s going to be a lot of recrimination. It won’t be viewed as a natural event; someone will be expected to take the blame. As to the OP’s question, sure, I think the US is the greatest country on Earth. But then, I’m an American and that shapes my criteria. I lived abroad for 8 years and know that others would have different criteria. A lot of the things the Japanese prize in their society/country are things that I feel are terrible. Similarly, there are plenty of things that few of us would willingly give up about the US that the Japanese would not want. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-the-greatest-country-on-earth-and-why/626836.md?page=3)