why do people say the united states of America is the greatest country?

Question

im just curious.. because there are countries whose governments have been around for hundreds more years then ours.. who have learned more..who don't pick wars over oil.... just because we throw more money away does not mean we are the greatest country.. DO YOU think someone from germany or france does not think that same thing about their own country? and do you think other countries couldn't be as wealthy.. i guess if they built their laws around corporations and cared more for their money then their citizens, they could be just as wealthy..

we have the most freedom?? last time i checked, most european countries have the same freedoms... and lesser punishments for stupid crimes..

i bet most of you have never been to another country and stayed there for a few years, have you..??

eric b, i agree.. maybe back in the days of george washington..

yeah nettle, i guess our government improves our lives so much.. i mean, they blow people up for oil, ignoring the problems in darfur.. i would love to watch the white house explode.. if i was one of those rich arabs, i would pay someone to do it, unfortunaltey those rich arabs are working with our government so they can all gain money...

he chaotic whatever lady.. have you been to europe?? i guess not... or you would no the riots do not happen as often as you think. also they are smart, when their goverment does something stupid.. they riot.. they don't just sit around on their asses ignoring everything thats happening...

my camo has nothing to do with how i feel about this nation.. its a picture... if my beliefs were represented by pictures.. oh my, you should see my bedroom

aussieblonde, red rooster, and gry w.. YOU HAVE MADE MY NIGHT!.. at least some people here are not so closed minded as to think their country is the greatest. i would hope my mind is open enough to except the different ways in which countries are considered great, and what i define as great.. there are aspects of america that are great, but nowhere near the greatest.. we have only been a country for a couple hundred plus years.. we have so much more to learn..

DOOT, IF YOU GET YOUR ANSWERS FROM THE NEWS.. YOUR ARE BEING BRAINWASHED...

LIFELOOM, yeah they are so jealous.. i mean, just look at the way they live. if they wanted the same things we wanted, they would be greedier. they would start wars over nothing, like we do.. if mexico was next to china, they would be sneaking in there to.. they would just be more obvious

Answer 1

Only people who say that are Americans, mainly because they dont know any other countries.

As for the "freedom" statement provided in almost every answer you have, Independence is not freedom!!! and most European and Southern hemisphere countries are a democracy as well......
Plus America has huge problems like housing 86% of the worlds serial killers, 48.9 million diagnosed mental disorders rising by 50,000+ a year, 194 million registered guns and 52,000+ gun related deaths a year, in LA alone there is over 80,000 registered sex offenders, compared to The UK, OZ and China the US has the lowest educated military force, Americas world policing styles have put many countries at risk now of a terrorist act..... ( not sounding so great now is it?)

As for wealth, well many countries are extreemely wealthy, UK Russia, China, Oz, Germany, France etc etc and the Dollar still is crap against the pound..........

As for Doot (below) hun this aussie is a she not a he and those stats are care of the US bureau of stat's......open your eyes close your USA USA mouth and read

Answer 2

We have the most freedom. We have the least turmoil. In Europe there are riots and many other violent terroristic things. We don't have as many.

Who else is going to save the world's a**. We all know France isn't going to because they wouldn't let us just fly over them. We are the peacekeepers.

Capitalism, honey, is about the money and works better than socialism. Socialism is just a less advanced form of Communism which also doesn't work. Capitalism isn't perfect, but it has completely bombed yet.

If we built our laws around the corporation, we would all be slaves. We would have no health care. There would be no EPA or anything of the sort, and the world would be much more polluted than it already is.

I'm not saying other countries aren't better in some aspects, but overall our country is the best.

I'd like to state I was just like you, but what other country could have pulled together after 9-11 like we did? We all agreed with the war, not the way it was handled, but the war itself.

Don't knock this country until you see all the turmoil these other nations are going through.

Answer 3

People in the US say that the USA is the "greatest country" because it is part of the propaganda fed to us by our government since we are children through the sociological process (schools, TV and other media, parents who repeat this to their children, government officials, etc). It doesn't necessarily mean we actually are because really "greatest" implies perspective. What I might think of as "greatest" might not be shared by someone else. Now unless people want to write up a whole list of requirements for determining such things (thereby creating a "perspective") then we could start going through the 192 nations of the world and figure out who ranks #1 and who ranks #192.

By the way, the UN does routinely hire independent international agencies/organizations to monitor certain "perspectives" and rank nations. For example: in a recent report finished last year by the UN (started in 2001-2005) on the subject of "Religious Freedom" and the organizations/agencies involved had a list of criteria they were to look for the #1 spot went to Canada, #2 was the United States. But unless you like to follow such reports and read them (they are kind of boring at times I'll admit), and unless you like to read obscure news articles from the AP, Reuters, BBC, etc that occasionally show up on certain websites (like websites devoted to Religious Tolerance & Freedom) then you probably had even heard about this report or any of the others (and you can visit the UN website as well and it has them listed as well).

So "greatest" depends on your perspective. I'm a US citizen and I have never lived in another nation except the US (and have only visited one other nation and that's Mexico) so for me, without going into that "the grass is always greener on the other side" sort of thinking, the US does seem like the "greatest". Then again, I live in the State of Oklahoma and have never lived in another State and while I have family that does live in other States, again without going into that "the grass is always geener on the other side" sort of thinking, Oklahoma seems like the "greatest" State to me. I can say, however, that my hometown of Enid (where I was born, went to high school, and lived there until I was 25) isn't the "greatest" city. I've since moved to Norman and would say that it is a lot better than Enid ever was and so I'd say it's the "greatest" city....atleast as far as perspective goes. I'm sure that when I move somewhere else that my perspective will change. I'll either think it's "worse" than places I have lived or "better" (thus it would be said to be "the worst" or "the greatest" when speaking I suppose). :)

Peace be with you.

Answer 4

Quite a few countries are wealthier on a per capita basis but overall every dog has his day and America has had a pretty long run at the top since output overtook Germany's and The British Empire's in 1888. The next 10 years will probably see China being hailed and fated as the next superpower but who knows for how long.
If you check the Internet you'll find there is actually a huge exodus of Americans emigrating currently.

Answer 5

Becasue we admit our faults we exploit our faults (just watch the news) by doing this we can become better, We learn from this. We the USA is the youngest country in the world. But we are much more advanced economically & technologically because of the Freedom people(Americans) have to choose, think on their own,speak etc.. The Greatest reason is that America is an ideaology, it's a belief practriced by all Creeds, Color, Religions in the USA. Our Government is not perfect but it works to benefit those who live in USA so they can prosper if they work hard at being a productive American.

Answer 6

Because that is what they've been told all of their lives's. You are probably right about other countries learning more about picking wars. If our elective officials were honest and truthful... not influenced by big business and special interest groups, oh not to mention lobbyists we could have been the best country ever and could have been around much longer. I am afraid we are headed for destruction because we think we are so macho. We have idiots running this country and they have sold us out. I feel very sad for our youth.

Answer 7

Don't you read at all? If it weren't for the United States, Germany would be Nazi and France would be Franco (or something). We have accomplished more in just over 200 years than all those other countries, in thousands of years. Gravy! don't you know that no one in America goes hungry - if they have the energy and gumption to get down to the food stamp store, or to the Salvation Army, or to one of a thousand churches. Don't you know that anyone in this country can go to school and even to college if they've got the brawn and brain. Don't you even know that we are the most charitable nation on this old earth? You don't know what is good, because you've never had it bad!

Answer 8

it is an illusion ....this country is only known that way by the people who live in it ..greatness is not measured by strengh or intellect .but i believe the amount of understanding and compassion you share with those who do not share your point of view...also people tend to regard greatness as a form of wealth ...i e. were rich so were great ,just ask all the rich people in this country and im sure they will agree ,but ask the working man ,and im sure he will have a few more things to say on that subject ,respect ,honor,and truth are the building blocks of greatness ,and if the world opinion means anything ,we are lacking in all three ,especially truth

Answer 9

We think it's the greatest country because those of us that have lived elsewhere have found other countries lacking in many respects. Of course French people who have never left there may think their country is the best, but a hell of a lot of them come here compared to the ones from USA who go there.

As to the claim that there is a great exodus of people from America at the moment, there's no credible evidence to support that. There is anecdotal evidence that stem cell researchers are moving to Singapore because of Bush (and yes, he's not one of our assets), and others are moving to other areas of opportunity, but Americans have almost always done that - we come from an explorer background.

Are we justified in thinking our country is the greatest? Maybe, maybe not. That wasn't the initial question, and it seems the questioner forgot to add that part, yet is still pissed by not getting it answered.

Answer 10

The fact that you can ask that question goes a long way toward answering it. In terms of economic power, social influence, and military power we are the unquestioned world leader. I know there are lots of other countries with good things to offer but the combination of our strengths, freedoms, and natural resources has made the US the place people want to come to, not leave.