# Why Is The USA Exceptional Among First World Countries? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 21, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007 "2010-08-21T22:15:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/21 "2010-08-22T01:02:48Z")
> [@adhay](#): > > > [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > > > Gold-plated cynic that I am, I think I’ll try the OP’s question one more time: > > > > The USA is exceptional among First World countries because we understand that our well-being as a nation, a political power, and an economy does not have jack shit to do with our well-being as a society. In fact, it often comes into direct conflict with our well-being as a society. > > Thread Winner! > > Now then, what to do about it? > > After all, I’m a Native Amerikan born in Brooklyn, NY in 1941. I’ve surfed life the past 70 years on cheap oil, my good name and somewhat limited credit. > > Doing the best that I can. Promise. Simple answer: Do nothing about it. All life is competition; all humanization is pussification. Now tell me, are you really a Native American from Brooklyn? Are your people [Kahnawake](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/659/why-do-so-many-native-americans-work-on-skyscrapers), perchance? ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/22 "2010-08-22T01:16:33Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > > [@adhay](#): > > > > Thread Winner! > > > > Now then, what to do about it? > > > > After all, I’m a Native Amerikan born in Brooklyn, NY in 1941. I’ve surfed life the past 70 years on cheap oil, my good name and somewhat limited credit. > > > > Doing the best that I can. Promise. > > Simple answer: Do nothing about it. All life is competition; all humanization is pussification. > > Now tell me, are you really a Native American from Brooklyn? Are your people [Kahnawake](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/659/why-do-so-many-native-americans-work-on-skyscrapers), perchance? Pussy, imo. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/23 "2010-08-22T01:27:45Z")
Whatever this mess might be, it is not a debate with an actual thesis and a point to the discussion. You can try it out in IMHO for a while. [/Modding] ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/24 "2010-08-22T01:31:14Z")
> [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](#): > > > [@adhay](#): > > > > Compared with Europe and the rest of the world’s arms exporters, the USA _is_ exceptional. > > > > Unburdened of all that socialist bullshit that our allies abroad have to fund, healthcare, etc, we rock. Our 5% of the world’s population consumes 35% of the world’s resources and we have the SUVs to prove it. Envy of the world. > > We are not the envy of Western Europe or the British Commonwealth. Nearly everyone who migrates here comes from the Third World. Granted. > [@](#): > > The United States is a great country to be rich in. Otherwise, I cannot think of anything that is exceptionally desirable about this country. In many respects people in other first world countries live better than we do. They have less poverty, lower crime rates, and better health. Communist China out competes us economically while buying up our national debt. > > In the nineteenth century and early twentieth century the United States took the lead in extending public education to everyone and in extending voting rights to populations that could not yet vote in Europe. Since the end of the Second World War we have lagged behind in public health care, guaranteed vacations, pensions, and so on. i could not agree with you more! (upright smiley) Call me Lame. On the scene, from the trenches. BOOM! ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/25 "2010-08-22T01:36:07Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Whatever this mess might be, it is not a debate with an actual thesis and a point to the discussion. > > You can try it out in IMHO for a while. > > [/Modding] You have a point. A very good one in fact. Notwithstanding that, fuck fuck fuckity fuck fuck. ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/26 "2010-08-22T01:53:30Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > > [@tomndebb](#): > > > > Whatever this mess might be, it is not a debate with an actual thesis and a point to the discussion. > > > > You can try it out in IMHO for a while. > > > > [/Modding] > > You have a point. A very good one in fact. Notwithstanding that, fuck fuck fuckity fuck fuck. That could apply to me, if my name were **t** \*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/27 "2010-08-22T02:50:04Z")
> [@adhay](#): > > > [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > > > You have a point. A very good one in fact. Notwithstanding that, fuck fuck fuckity fuck fuck. > > That could apply to me, if my name were **t** \*\*\* That rhymes, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/28 "2010-08-22T02:59:02Z")
Imho, it’s because that the US is just about the only country in the world where individual effort is rewarded, in the absence of social, political, religious or parental control. ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/29 "2010-08-22T03:10:07Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Imho, it’s because that the US is just about the only country in the world where individual effort is rewarded, in the absence of social, political, religious or parental control. Yep. Money talks. Everybody listens. What do we hear? A little bit of nothing for each of you. Spend it wisely. It’s the American Way. Back to work, all of you. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/30 "2010-08-22T04:42:30Z")
I’m not sure I understand your main point. Canada and Australia were also thousands of miles away from Britain, but they seem to have more in common with western Europe than the US does. I think our history of racial tension plays a role in why our society is different. Racially homogenous areas of the US like New England or the northern midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc) tend to be more liberal, whereas the racially mixed areas like the south tend to be more authoritarian. At least generally. Racially homogenous areas like the northwest (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming) are extremely conservative while somewhat racially diverse areas like IL and NY are more liberal. But I do wonder what our history of racial tension does to our society and plays in how our society has run its course. Racial tension seems like a strong motivator to avoid both social welfare and libertarianism. Fear of an uprising by the minorities and fear of breakdown of the social order (which is based on submission and segregation) leads to authoritarianism and fear that ‘our’ money will be taxed and given to ‘them’ is used to stop social programs whether they be universal health care, universal education, welfare, unemployment insurance, etc. I really don’t know where our arrogance comes from. Did we have the “USA #1” attitude before WW2? I also don’t know why/if the US values material goods over leisure or a work/life balance than most other wealthy countries. I get the impression we do, we care more about wealth than vacation days. Not sure where that came from. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/31 "2010-08-22T05:13:55Z")
> [@adhay](#): > > What is the American Way all about? What is the secret of our success? > > Location, location, location. I think you’re right. Distance from enemy arnaments is convenient. (So convenient that America’s military “Central Command” refers to the center of Eurasia, not Center of America.) Vast virgin (once natives are disposed of) wilderness was also valuable. But don’t forget the famous American genes for genius! Charlie Chaplin was one of Hollywood’s most creative filmmakers; Wernher von Braun developed the world’s best rockets for us; Sergey Brin developed outstanding search software; and the list goes on… ---
**Author:** ![qpw3141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6bbea6/32.png) [@qpw3141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qpw3141)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/32 "2010-08-22T08:55:35Z")
> [@adhay](#): > > After all, I’m a Native Amerikan born in Brooklyn, NY in 1941. In the sense of someone born in America or in the sense of being descended from those who were here before Europeans came and set up the US? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/33 "2010-08-22T09:25:22Z")
> [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](#): > > We are not the envy of Western Europe or the British Commonwealth. Nearly everyone who migrates here comes from the Third World. Is that not because you restrict immigration from Europe? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/34 "2010-08-22T10:16:45Z")
Do most European countries restrict emigration? Wouldn’t that be a violation of the social contract? You have to be able to leave, or your government is actually authoritarian, not liberal as has been argued here. Imagine a church that wouldn’t let you leave: wouldn’t you call that a cult? ---
**Author:** ![qpw3141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6bbea6/32.png) [@qpw3141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qpw3141)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/35 "2010-08-22T16:06:25Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Do most European countries restrict emigration? No. Why would you imagine they might? Does the US? ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/36 "2010-08-22T22:45:17Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I’m not sure I understand your main point. Canada and Australia were also thousands of miles away from Britain, but they seem to have more in common with western Europe than the US does. Thanks for showing up. I guess I’m not on your ignore list. Simply put, Canada and Australia depended heavily on British imports. We, OTOH, were plopped down in a great location with a powerful beachhead and allied profiteers in Parliament. > [@](#): > > I think our history of racial tension plays a role in why our society is different. … Who could argue? Yet racial tension has been the human lot since time began and it does not differ here today. So, what’s the difference? [hijack] [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=12827895](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=12827895) [/hijack] I invite you and other interested parties to pick up our conversation about why the USA is exceptional there. IMHO, it is the conflating of ‘free marketer’ and Capitalist. A free marketer will shake your hand and leave you with it. That’s the difference. IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/37 "2010-08-22T23:31:52Z")
> [@adhay](#): > > Compared with Europe and the rest of the world’s arms exporters, the USA _is_ exceptional. Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/38 "2010-08-22T23:46:18Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > But don’t forget the famous American genes for genius! > Charlie Chaplin was one of Hollywood’s most creative filmmakers Who, that English citizen who quit the USA due to McCarthyism and was not permitted to return by Hoover? That Charlie Chaplin? Wiki: [Charlie Chaplin - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin#McCarthy_era) > [@](#): > > Although Chaplin had his major successes in the United States and was a resident from 1914 to 1953, he always maintained a neutral nationalistic stance. During the era of McCarthyism, Chaplin was accused of “un-American activities” as a suspected communist and J. Edgar Hoover, who had instructed the FBI to keep extensive secret files on him, tried to end his United States residency. FBI pressure on Chaplin grew after his 1942 campaign for a second European front in the war and reached a critical level in the late 1940s, when Congressional figures threatened to call him as a witness in hearings. This was never done, probably from fear of Chaplin’s ability to lampoon the investigators.[33] > > In 1952, Chaplin left the US for what was intended as a brief trip home to the United Kingdom for the London premiere of Limelight. Hoover learned of the trip and negotiated with the Immigration and Naturalization Service to revoke Chaplin’s re-entry permit, exiling Chaplin so he could not return for his alleged political leanings. Chaplin decided not to re-enter the United States, writing: “Since the end of the last world war, I have been the object of lies and propaganda by powerful reactionary groups who, by their influence and by the aid of America’s yellow press, have created an unhealthy atmosphere in which liberal-minded individuals can be singled out and persecuted. Under these conditions I find it virtually impossible to continue my motion-picture work, and I have therefore given up my residence in the United States.”[34] ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/39 "2010-08-23T00:36:38Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > > [@adhay](#): > > > > Unburdened of all that socialist bullshit that our allies abroad have to fund, healthcare, etc, we rock. Our 5% of the world’s population consumes 35% of the world’s resources and we have the SUVs to prove it. Envy of the world. > > What makes you think that we ARE the “envy of the world”? The whole reason other countries have that “socialist bullshit” is because people want it, you know. I think I’ve heard more people express horror than admiration about how life in America is like - people actually go bankrupt over healthcare here, after all. I’ll give you my irony meter. I’m not saying you need it but, really. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007/40 "2010-08-23T00:38:47Z")
> [@adhay](#): > > > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > > > What makes you think that we ARE the “envy of the world”? The whole reason other countries have that “socialist bullshit” is because people want it, you know. I think I’ve heard more people express horror than admiration about how life in America is like - people actually go bankrupt over healthcare here, after all. > > I’ll give you my irony meter. I’m not saying you need it but, really. That’s not actually a response to what he said, you know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-usa-exceptional-among-first-world-countries/551007.md?page=3)