USA vs. North Korea- why do people compare the two so that they can say USA is the greatest country?

Question

MYTH 1: The US was founded on Christian principles.

TRUTH: This is incorrect.

The Constitution never once mentions a deity, because the Founding Fathers wanted to keep their new country "religion-neutral." Our Founding Fathers were an eclectic collection of Atheists, Deists, Christians, Freemasons and Agnostics.

George Washington, the Father of our country, and John Adams (Second President of the USA) CLEARLY stated in the 1796 Treaty of Tripoli: "The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian Religion.”

G.W. rarely attended church and instead followed a popular 18th century philosophy called Deism—a Star Wars-esque philosophy that believed in a cosmic energy or big-*** universal "Force." The dictionary says that Deism is "a system of thought advocating natural religion based on human reason rather than revelation," that had nothing to do with Christian principles.

James Madison, original mastermind of our Constitution, was an Atheist to the core who loved skewering Christianity. In 1785 he wrote, "What have been [Christianity’s] fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution.”

Thomas Jefferson, who sat down and authored The Declaration of Independence, rarely missed an opportunity to laugh at Christianity. In a letter to John Adams in 1823, he wrote: "The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus…will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter."

More ammo: In 1814, Tommy J. wrote about the Bible's Old and New Testaments, "The whole history of these books is so defective and doubtful -- evidence that parts have proceeded from an extraordinary man; and that other parts are of the fabric of very inferior minds.”

In fact, it was President Jefferson himself who first wrote (to a Baptist church group in 1802), "The First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between Church and State." Therefore, when Jefferson talked about “Nature’s God,” the “Creator” and “divine Providence ” in the Declaration that he wrote, he was being a hippie and referring to a general cosmic energy-- not the Christian God.

America is not a Christian nation. Period. Our Constitution derived from the post-Christian Enlightenment values of reason and truth...never from the paranoid yammerings of that otherwise compassionate cult leader who ******* died in the Middle Eastern desert 3000 years ago.

MYTH 2. The US doesn’t need improvement compared to other countries; it is the greatest country in the world.
TRUTH: Wrong again. I'll only cite the statistics here.

OECD USA Ranking on Healthcare Quality Index: #37 (#1 France and #2 Italy)-

World Health Organization 2003 USA Ranking of Student Reading Ability: #12 (#1 Finland and #2 South Korea)-

OECD PISA 2003 USA Ranking of Student Problem Solving Ability: #26 (#1 South Korea and #2 Finland)-

OECD PISA 2003 USA Ranking on Student Mathematics Ability: # 24 (#1 Hong Kong and #2 Finland)-

OECD PISA 2003 USA Ranking on Women's Rights Scale: #17 (#1 Sweden and #2 Norway)-

World Economic Forum Report USA Position on Timeline of Gay Rights Progress: # 6 (1997) (#1 Sweden 1987 and #2 Norway 1993)-

Vexen USA Ranking on Life Expectancy: #29 (#1 Japan and #2 Hong Kong)-

UN Human Development Report 2005 USA Ranking on Journalistic Press Freedom Index: #32 (#1 Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands tied)-

Reporters Without Borders 2005 USA Ranking on Political Corruption Index: #17 (#1 Iceland and #2 Finland)-

Transparency International 2005 USA Ranking on Quality of Life Survey: #13 (#1 Ireland and #2 Switzerland)-

USA Ranking on Environmental Sustainability Index: #45 (#1 Finland and #2 Norway)-

Yale University ESI 2005 USA Ranking on Overall Currency Strength: #3 (US Dollar) (#1 UK pound sterling and #2 European Union euro)-

USA Ranking on Infant Mortality Rate: #32 (#1 Sweden and #2 Finland)-

Save the Children Report 2006 USA Ranking on Human Development Index (GDP, education, etc.): #10 (#1 Norway and #2 Iceland)-

So much for those "socialist" Europeans and those "backward" Asians, hm? We can do better than this.

MYTH 3: The US government loves to help other countries.
TRUTH: This is a myth. The US government tends to be motivated by interests, not humanitarian principles.

Denmark gives the most amount of its GDP (1.01%) to developing countries; Norway gives 0.91%; the Netherlands give 0.79% and so on until the end of list, where the USA sits. Yes, America ranks DEAD LAST in foreign aid at a pathetic 0.1% of its GDP, compared to the other 21 nations listed as developed nations. The idea that the US government is a heroic bunch that runs around the world helping the poor and the disempowered is not backed up by the evidence. We have one of the stingiest governments on earth.

Most Americans believe the US spends 24% of its budget on aid to poor countries; the actual amount is well under a quarter of 1%. Our country also ranks #5 on asylum-seeker acceptance rates (#1 is Denmark and #2 is Canada).

Another interesting fact: Conservative Red states have a divorce rate 27% higher than the liberal Blue states, the per capita rate of violent crime in Red states is 49 per 100,000 higher than in Blue states, the top 5 states with the highest rates of alcohol abuse are Red states, and the per capita rate of gonorrhea in Red states was 41 per 100,000 higher than in the Blue states. Time to unshelf the antibiotics for our "ethical," "God-fearing" conservative friends with their "traditional family values."

yes g, they are not answering becuz they are unable to think critically about the world becuz unfortunately this government doesn't do a good job at providing its citizens with quality education...in a few words...they keep 'em dumb on purpose..like a flock of sheep...the dumber they are, the easier to control.

what do i think? I think the US government should get rid of privatized healthcare, and offer it for free, just like in many many other countries. Also, the government should offer free education, again, as in many other countries. This would help reduce the social segregation that exists, poverty, and create some sort of chance at income equality between the different "classes" . There are huge gaps of income between the classes, the middle class is shrinking and no party of the government cares.
How could this country do this? well, instead of meddling in other countries when their is no proof of weapons of mass destruction or of grave terroristic activities and using BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of dollars on war, they could "fix" these problems. The problem is, THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT CITIZENS. they care about MONEY POWER.
So, i think that the "rich" should be taxed even more.
Also the president of the country shouldn't own anything of great value, because this causes a conflict of interest

and I am from the US too and grew up here, so no i am not an illegal citizen or a foreigner. I can be as negative as I want.....everyone says this country is the BEST IN THE WORLD becuz of FREEDOM OF SPEECH, religious freedom, AND THEN WHEN SOMEONE SAYS WHAT THE FEEL, POSTS SOME DISTURBING STATS, YOU FREAK OUT AND OSTRICIZE THEM....yes WOW, YOU REALLY DO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM, dont you????
And these are not rambles....read the statistics..these are INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL RESEARCH STATS...to see where each country stands on important issues, the quality of life, quality of healthcare, and freedom of the press.

yes answer man, everything that doesn't conform to your ideas, which are probably shaped by propaganda (you eat it all up don't you?) is some crazy liberal/socialist tactic. You sound like a paranoid conservative.....arrest all the commies!!! the world is coming to an end!! hahahaha....ridiculous.

and I don't hate this country, i am from here...as i have already written...you prolly don't really read everything before you comment.
I just like to try to think critically, instead of bashing everything that isn't MAINSTREAM propaganda.

also answer man, you are the one that doesn't GET IT....I am not the one comparing the US to N. Korea....other people are, which is absurd....that is why i brought it up. Easy to compare two extremes so that the USA can come out of the comparison all glorious. BS! Compare it to more similar countries to see how the US is REALLY doing. Do you understand when you read? can you put 2 and 2 together...jeez.

and slicktop80: i don't see you offering any solutions even though you are disturbed yourself. Always waiting for others to make the move huh? whatever. At least i am bringing these "disturbing" stats up, since most people have no clue and never dare to dream about comparing the US to other countries in a research study.

Answer 1

well... they seem to all be either not answering... or just using silly emotional responses when they answer...

the thing I don't get is... they are always talking about how they love America... but seem to rarely do anything to make it better... nothing is ever perfect...

ANSWER MAN: what do you base your opinion on? Facts are clearly verbal diarrhea to you... I thought you Republicans liked facts?

Answer 2

Ok before you call North Korea evil try doing some research to find out why they think the way the do. Because right now North Korea is calling us evil and saying we need to be destroyed. If you did any research you would know that the war was piling up bodies on all sides before the cease fire. Now both country's have nukes and WMDs so we know right off the bat this isn't going to be a "normal" war. Its going to come down to which side can slaughter the most people and I don't think that's what Kim Jong or Obama want to be known for starting in the history books.

Answer 3

Those are difficult and disturbing statistics. I do believe that we have begun to slide into decay in what was once one of history's greatest societies. We imprison a higher percentage of our population here in American than any other nation on the planet, probably due to the fact that we have more laws on the books regulating our lives. No, we were not founded on overtly Christian principles, but our laws were loosely based on Judeo-Christian tradition. I guess I have to begrudgingly agree with you. I don't like the overall anti-American tone of your post. This is my home. I gave up 6 years of my life to protect it. I live here, and intend to die here, and in the interim do anything I can to make it a better place. It has huge, glaring faults. Anyone who can't see that it does is a fool. There are a lot of things to be angry about in this nation. My question is " Where do we go from here"? I am confident that the answer to our nations future is not to be found in the Republican party, and it DAMN sure won't come from the Democrats and their confused don't really stand for anything status. You put a lot of effort into posting all sorts of negative information about the US, but, as always seems to be the case, put no effort into what could be done about it. The ability to quote research and studies and all sorts of facts is without any real value if you can't put it all together and then offer at least some ideas for solutions to the problems we face. Sniping from the sidelines is safe, and we can't afford people who want to point out all our problems and not participate in a resolution. That just makes you another pissed off copy and paste malcontent with no real original thoughts of your own, no matter how impressive all that information appears. What do YOU think? In your own words. Not trying to start a war, just a dialogue. You seem to be the type who appreciates directness.

Your last post in reply to my comments proved my point about you better than I ever could have myself.

Answer 4

This is all verbal diarrhea.

Why do you have to do it in public?

G: Those are not facts they are the rants of an idiot.

bytheway: Get a clue. When you post here you ask a question and make a few points that back up your premise. You have not done that.

The premise of your question was the comparison of the US and North Korea, remember? What does this lame brain idea of yours that the US was not founded on Christian principles have to do with a comparison of the US and North Korea? Nothing.

Even your argument is wrong. The US was not founded on Christian principles it was founded on the idea of religious freedom. Now, compare that to North Korea where they are not allowed to even talk about religion. People who are reported for ministering to others in North Korea are taken from their homes in black government vehicles and are never heard from again.

The second argument that you make is also specious. What does your supposition that the living standards in the US are not as high as other countries have to do with the comparison of the US and North Korea? Nothing.

You don't seriously think that the standard of living in North Korea compares with the US do you? The Kim Jong Il government is letting their people starve while they divert what little money they have into arms procurement.

Of course, here too your arguments are all wrong. You are using of the rankings of the standard of living in the US that are put out by fringe Socialist groups and the UN. They are not facts. They are the opinions of a bunch of left wing socialists.

The OECD in particular is group of effete left wing intellectuals that are out to prove at all costs that socialism is a viable form of government. The sole purpose of the OECD is to put out these phony reports that make living standards in the socialized European countries look better than they really are.

A fact would be that the growth rate of real gross domestic product in this country over the last 20 years has been twice the rate of growth in Western Europe. The reason that our economy has been growing twice as fast as Europe is that we have been successful in voting the Socialists out of office in this country.

Your third argument also has nothing to do with the comparison of the US and North Korea. This argument, that the US some how does not give our fair share in foreign aid, is false. Actually, the US by far gives the most in foreign aid in total dollars. The figures that you give here are left wing propaganda and do not include private donations which are several times the amount that the federal government gives. Private donations coming from Europe are almost nonexistent.

Also, they do not include the money we pay to provide military assistance to defend other counties. We are spending a ton of money in South Korea to keep them free and it is money well spent. If the world had to wait for Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands to defend their freedoms there would be a lot more despots like Kim Jong Il in power.

In short, your diatribe on why you hate this country is not backed up by your own arguments and is completely off the topic of your own question. It’s a waist of my time explaining these things to you because I’m sure you won’t get it.

Answer 5

You have satified yourself with a rhetorical question. It was not be meant to be answered but only to spout off.

Answer 6

This reminds me of poopy? Its smell sorta like poopy? Poopy has a point and this doesn't? What the heck.....change your diapers.

Your some piece of work. Not much of any real useful knowledge though.

Answer 7

This is great,, wow I am very impressed,, I attempt, in a lame way, I admit to share knowledge on Answers,,, your work is really good, and I hope to see you on here again, thanks for enlightening me,, please continue to educate those who have much need of your perspective.......