for non americans?

Question

where are you from?
we have freedom of religion do you?
we have freedom of press do you?
we chose our own leaders do you?
we have freedom of speech do you?
we have the right to hate our leaders do you?
we have the right to bear arms do you?
all people have the right to an education do you?
we have racial equality do you?
we have gender equality do you?
we have the right to make something better out of ourselves do you?
we have the right to a jury trial do you?
we have the right to persue life, life, liberty, and happiness do you?

if you say no to at least one of these how can you say your country is better than ours?

i am not saying that the us is better than any other coubtry, what i am asking is how a country like ours is being critized when we have these rights and yes i mean RIGHTS. the US is also host to 35 million migrants which is 20% of the world population. if they aren't coming for our freedoms what are they coming for?

Answer 1

It's right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. We don't get to pursue life or liberty because we already have it.

In the country I staying in now, they have all of those things, plus...

Zero threat of terrorist act and no country in the world dislikes them.

They can safely say that their country is at least on par with the USA, everyone has healthcare, the standard of living is higher than in the USA. And 6 weeks of paid vacation is standard.

Cheeseburgers are virtually non-existant though, which is a HUGE negative. :p

Answer 2

Just would like to say that "tehabwa" response is one of the best one's I have ever read here.

I am german. I've lived in four different countries (including the US). And I have never in my entire life made the experience that I or anyone I knew has suffered from a limited amount of freedom, happiness, satisfaction, etc. although these listed rights might not have been present in all of these countries. I have, however, made the experience that especially young people were very well educated about international politics and open to learning about positive and negative events happening all over the world. This I can unfortunately not say about many of the Americans I've met, and therefore some of the stereotypes, judgements and prejudices made by americans towards other countries seriously piss me off more than anything else.

Answer 3

Lots of countries have the same rights we (in the USA) have.

Lots of countries choose their own leaders (which, lately, we haven't).

We do NOT have racial or gender equality here.

The rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are not legal rights here, the Declaration of Independence is not legally binding in this country. I maintain that we don't in fact have these rights, as our government restricts our liberty in many, many, many ways, and takes people's lives.

I hope a lot of people from all over the world respond to your question; perhaps you will understand that we are not the ONLY free(ish) people in the world.

I fear, however, that people, appalled by your ignorance of the world, will simply pass your question by.

Answer 4

You are ridiculous. Instead of answering from a non-American perspective and answering about my native country, I'm going to tell you why your questions aren't even true.

1. How much freedom of religion do you really have? Do you respect Mormons and their belief in polygamy? Is that protected by law?

2. Freedom of press. Is everything in the U.S. covered by the press? Is the press allowed to walk into the Oval Office and report every detail that happens every day? Are reporters allowed to report on military secrets, military experiments, and the like? Without that, is that really freedom of press?

3. What do you know of the electoral process? Other countries pick their leaders too. The U.S. populace doesn't in fact select the President. Instead, the electoral college selects the President. How can you say that "WE" choose the leader if the popular vote doesn't determine the presidency? Often, a candidate wins the vote of the populace, but loses the election. Is that fair?

4. You really don't have as much freedom of speech as you think. Every country has freedom of speech in non-official settings. So true freedom of speech is measured in what you can say to your leaders and your superiors. How many people are fired because they said the wrong thing to their boss? How many people recently have been laid off because of what they wrote in blogs? How many people can walk up to Bush and give him a piece of their mind?

5. "Right to hate our leaders"? What's that even mean? Every country has a right to hate their leaders - just not to speak out against them to their face. News flash! Same thing here.

6. Again, what does "right to bear arms" have to do with having a good country? And as of now, I don't think everyone has a right to bear arms. Talk to prison convicts, talk to people who have been arrested for having a gun in their homes. In many countries, the government doesn't even check to see if you have a gun in your possession. In some countries, you have to carry a gun to survive. That's true "right to bear arms." Not the American system.

7. There have never been any laws in other countries that restrict people from a right to education - they merely do not have the resources to learn. Are you talking government education? State-funded education? There are no restrictions on a person's curiosity and their want to learn. That's education too.

8. The U.S. does not have racial equality. Tell that to the millions of African-Americans who are racially profiled every day. Tell that to the African-Americans in prison - the ones that constitute over 70% of the entire prison population. Tell that to the victims of affirmative action - yeah, the Caucasians who weren't accepted because a certain college wanted more minorities. Tell that to all the minorities who can't find jobs. Ask them if there's racial equality here.

9. Same thing with gender equality. Tell that to the women complaining about lower wages than men. Tell that to the "glass ceiling" that still exists in companies. Tell that to the transgendered. Tell that to female athletes who earn less than half of what their male counterparts earn. No way does the U.S. have gender equality.

10. The "right to make something better out of ourselves?" That's not even a right. That's a personal goal. And billions of people around the world have that personal goal. No government restricts people from making "something better out of themselves" - that would be plain dumb.

11. Many other countries nowadays have the right to a jury trial. And even if they don't, you can't say that the U.S. is better just because of the trial by jury system. There has been no substantive proof that juries are completely fair, and in fact, juries may not be completely reliable. Take a look at the people who were wrongly convicted by the jury because of false evidence. Juries are people, people can be manipulated.

12. This is the most ridiculous of all. You really need to look up the definition of a right because nowhere has anyone said that only Americans have the "right to pursue life, life [what's this second life mean?], liberty, and happiness." If that were a right, no government would have any reason to suspend it. And is that even true in the U.S.? Is everyone completely free (see above)? Is everyone completely happy (why do people get divorced and change jobs)? People everywhere pursue the things you mention - and it's not even a right.

Enough said. So if I just said NO to every question of yours in that list about America, then does that mean America isn't better than any country out there? Take your dumb questions elsewhere.

Answer 5

When I hear questions like this, I feel some in my country (USA), really think USA is the center of the universe? I am living in USA and I ask you please go to other countries and get an education.....

Of course we enjoy those things, lets never take them for granted.....One thing you failed to mention is quality life....We rank on the very bottom in that category, you know why? We are so caught up in our own materialism, we miss the quality of life, which for me is the most important.....

If you think USA is the best country in the world, that's great, but is it really a competition?

Answer 6

I'm from Egypt
and My ancestors had all these rights but thanks to your government who support the dictators in other nation to ensure these rights for you.
I have nothing to do with you ... enjoy your freedom but your government is helping our rulers to steel our freedom.
And our country isn't better than yours but I hope someday I make it better without wars and without invading your borders.