when people say america is the greatest country in the world, on what do they base this opinion?

Question

it certainly isn't education. americans ***** about immigrants and having to press 1 for english, when in most other industrialized nations english isn't they're native tongue, and they learn it as a second language starting in kindergarten.
it isn't they're products. nothing is made by americans except cigarettes, alchohol, weapons, and a flag. no one else can even buy american cars because of its retarded environmental standards...not even china! so...
it isn't its environmental standards
it isn't health care. most americans don't have it
it isn't its currency. the dollar is dropping while the euro and yen are rising. not to mention america dropped its gold standard in the 70's. everyone knows it lives on a credit card where other countries are left with the bill
it isn't democracy. most other nations are democracies also. not to mention america's judicial coup in the 2000 presidential election. then there is america's policy to torture its prisoners
so what makes it great?

Answer 1

a lot of people like to say it is our freedom but practically most european countries enjoy equal or greater freedom than we do. (e.g. The Netherlands and Canada) not to mention the repeal of many of America's original great freedoms by the ironically named "Patriot Act" and the repeal of Habbeus Corpus.

The real reason is that the statement is an opinion based on nationalism.

Answer 2

Having travelled all over the world I can honestly tell you I'm glad that I was born and raised in the USA.

1. We are a melting-pot of other nationalities. English is our "unofficial" language and many generations of foreigners that have immigrated here learned our "unofficial" language so they could communicate. Recently, however, foreign immigrants want the US to cater to their needs because english is not the official language of the U.S. I don't know about you, but when I'm doing business in a foreign country I try to learn some of their language even though I usually have an interpreter. It's called consideration.

2. While it's true that we currently import far more products than we export, we do lead the world in technological achievements. Most of our imports come from countries with very cheap labor rates. A person in the U.S. could not afford to feed their family on the average wage a worker in China or India makes. In a sense we are helping to raise the standard of living throughout the world.

3. As for environmental standards I'd say we lead the world. When I was in Cairo, Egypt I stayed 12-miles from the great pyramids, but could not see them due to all the smog in the air. In Dehli, India I never saw the sun due to the smog. As a contrast the air pollution in most of our major cities has decreased exponentially since the 1970's when the Clean Air Act was introduced.

4. Most Americans do have healthcare. It is not free, but offered through employers. For those that do not have any healthcare coverage we have a Medicare system. Unfortunately most Americans do not think about healthcare until they get sick.

5. Actually the dollar has been fairly stable in the world market over the last couple years. What really hurts us economically is when we loan billions and billions of dollars to foreign countries then later, when they cannot afford to pay us back, we pardon them from their debt.

6. I doubt there will ever be a true democracy anywhere in the world, but we come darn close. Is our system perfect? No, it has it's flaws, but we are not a dictatorship.

7. Torturing prisoners? Are you talking about U.S. citizens currently imprisoned because they were found guilty of committing a crime? Lets see free clothing, shelter, 3-squares, healthcare, entertainment, education, etc. Is that what you call torture? Maybe you're talking about prisoners of war. When was the last time you saw video of a U.S. soldier beheading an Islamic-Fascist? That's right, NEVER!

Answer 3

I totally disagree with your anti-American rant

1. Education - How many other counties have put a man on the moon? Where were computers and Internet invented? Who leads the world in ingenuity? English happens to be the language here so, if you want to drag your sorry butt here, take few minutes and learn the language, or don't and suffer the consequences of your lazy attitude.

2. America manufactures far more than the 4 items you quote, and if you don't mind polluting the atmosphere and yourself, keep buying cars from those great industrial giants like the former soviet states. I see the Yugo was a great success.

3. I don't know too many people who don't have health care and it's available to everyone. Pardon us if we decline to have a huge costly government bureaucracy that can be corrupted, like many of the foreign countries have.

4. Yeah, invest in Euros. go right ahead, and when the Muslims overtake your governments and they aren't worth toilet paper, don't cry about it because you've been warned.

5. America is a Republic. There are no true democracies because they are costly to run and cumbersome to operate.

6. Judicial coup my @$$. The votes were recounted twice and the results were the same so go spin that lie to someone who's gullible enough to believe it.

7. What makes it great is that we are the most giving people this world has ever seen. Unlike Europe where 1,500 years of debouchery and inbreeding have turned everyone into mush heads, Americans still retain some of the pioneer spirit that we started with. If America were to suddenly stop giving to foreign nations, most of them would collapse under their own weight.

Answer 4

Let me answer these in sequence if I may:
1) Education should be privatized; if you send your kid to public school, you should go to jail for child abuse.
2) Our country's best "products" are not manufactured, they are "services". Most of our nation's jobs are in finance, computers, consulting, management, etc.
3) We do as much or more than other countries each year with respect to taking care of the environment.
4) Health care is not a right, it is an earned privilege. If the government would lessen it's restrictions, the free market could offer better quality care and more availability. It should not be the federal government's responsibility to give out health care at the expense of the tax payers. It is the responsibility of the individual to use the freedom and opportunities of this country to take care of himself.
5) The US dollar is the world's currency. By the way, if you were smart, you could make a few bucks (or yen) on currency fluctuations.
6) We do not live in a democracy, we live in a Republic. If you do not know the difference, you should educate yourself. Be glad we don't live in a democracy - it's mob rule.
7) I would rather be interrogated by the US military than any other military in the world...are you saying that Iran treats its prisoners like out of town guests?

Finally, it is NOT the American Federal Government that makes America the greatest country in the world, it is its PEOPLE!
There is not a country in the world that has more generous, tolerant, and productive people.

Answer 5

Education -- granted the American education system is pimped out to the federal gov't and needs a lot of improvement to be more effective, but what other country educates ILLEGAL immigrants FOR FREE? So what if we only speak English? We're the leaders of the free world and most of the world has wisely learned to speak English just because we have all the power! I am proud and grateful that I was born in the greatest nation on earth ....AMERICA!

Don't think America makes great products or has clean air? Tell me, who funds all those "made in China trinkets" you get at the duty free shop on your way back to God knows where? THose are AMERICAN companies! Also, try eating the produce, drinking the water and breathing the air in any part of China (which has recently been widely reported to have very poor environmental standards and suffers horrid pollution). Gee, I wonder which one is cleaner?

*Most* Americans do have healthcare. What many don't have is *insurance*. However, I'd rather be uninsured in an American hospital than be a ward of the state in Canada, England, or, God forbid, Cuba, any day of the week. People come from all over the world just to see my American doctor. I thank the God Lord I only have to drive an hour to see him. He's one of the best in the world in his field and I just spend a little gas money and make a copayment to see him.

I really don't know enough to argue economics with you but it's funny to me that lilterally millions of people all over the world come her annually to earn that worthless American dollar and send back to their home countries. If the dollar is so weak, I don't know why they bother.

America is NOT a democracy, you dolt. She's a republic. And I for one am proud of her. Our form of representative democracy may not be perfect but she is the best thing going by a long shot.

Answer 6

It's pride. It is belief in the ideal. When every you have to talk about America you have to remember that we are not so much a Nation as an Affirmation. Other countries are based on their own ethnic groupings (and those that have more then one ethnic group almost always have problems weather it is Iraq or immigrants in my beloved Ireland). America is based on an ideal
"That all men are created equal that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights and that among these rights is life liberty and the pursuit of happiness" America is the greatest country in the world because of that simple idea. Because every day we get up and start again the journey begun two hundred years ago. Because we have vast natural and intellectual resources. Because in all the world we are where people look. We are the country that immigrants want to come to.

Why because we are an Affirmation. "WE the People" not we the king, not we the french, not we the imams or the holy men

We the People.

By our affirmation we create the greatest nation on earth

Answer 7

You really do not know what you are talking about, do you? Do you honestly believe that our environmental standards are below those of China? China is the biggest polluter in the world!

Our education could use an overhaul, but it is still not at all bad.

Our products may not be made here, but most of them were invented here. Most of them still belong to us as well.

Most Americans do have healthcare. The number without insurance of some sort is around 40 million. Considering that there are 300 million Americans, I think your idea of "most" is a bit off.

The value of the dollar as well as the value of money elsewhere in the world are in constant fluctuation. I dare you to find a single, economically powerful nation in the world that still uses the gold standard. The value of a nation's money is usually based on the amount of trade it conducts. You obviously have no knowledge of this area.

There was no "judicial coup" in 2000. Please understand what happened in Bush v. Gore before commenting on it.

What I think makes America so great is that idiots such as yourself are still allowed to make comments like the one you just made.

Answer 8

The USA is considered the greatest nation by many for numerous reasons, here are a few you can chew on;
- Life expectancy, 77.85 years, vs. China-72.58, India-64.71, Russia-67.08, says something about our healthcare, and by the way most Americans do have health insurance, and those who don't get free treatment at any hospital compliments of the tax payers.
- Freedom of religion, The US was the first to embrace it.
- Literacy is 99%
- The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $43,500
- Total GDP, $12.98 trillion, compared to Russia-$1.723 trill, China-$10 trill
- Unemployment rate, 4.3% compared to France-9.1%, India-7.8%, Germany-7.1%, Russia-6.6%
- Military might, no one will argue that the US is not the most powerful and technologically advanced superpower in world history, and we don't import our weaponry, it is made in the USA.
- Entertainment, Hollywood is where the most succesful, most well known movies, studios and actors hail from, like them or not.
- English is spoken widely around the world, not because of the UK, but because of the US influence on the world.
- Products, THE most recognizable names in the world are American; CocaCola, McDonalds, Disney, Budwieser, IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Motorola, General Electric, you get the picture.

The USA is the gold standard of the world for many reasons, who would you argue should be considered the greatest nation, and why?

Answer 9

It must be obvious to you what the answer is. If someone says America is the greatest, (and by the way so do I) is because they come from another nation that is not as free as we are here in America. Read our Constitution and read our citizen rights, then try and find another place in the whole world that can match us.

America Is The Greatest

Answer 10

Hmm what makes America? Here's my answer, it's the best place to live on planet. It's not perfect, but has the most opportunity even an immigrant can become a governor here.

As for wealth, I pay $3.50 for a gallon of gas, in Europe they pay 10$. I get a pair of Blue jeans from Kohl's for $15.00 then send them to my relatives in the Ukraine and they sell them for $50. We have higher wages then a bowl of rice a day. You can earn as much money as you want to apply yourself to earn here in the US. You aren't held back by anything except yourself.

Europe and Asia would be Nazis's and Japaneese if it weren't for the US saving thier asses in WWII. Oh and I believe it was the US in WWI as well that saved the day.

We beat the Soviet Union by bankrupting them into submission without ever firing one nuclear missle at them, we won.

Does America suck, absolutly at times and in ways it does. Is it the BEST at anything, probably not, but America is good at everything and better at some things, It is the only place i would want to live, and I came here by choice not by birth.

English is our language. you come here you should speak in my language to me, If I go there and you want my money, then speak my language, as most places do anyway.

Adding Spanish to our country just means that those people that came here and do not speak our language are too lazy to aquire the survival skills necessary.

When immigrants came to this country in the early 1900's they learned our language and they worked thier way up to become successfull people, there was no welfare, there was no handouts for them, they worked and they earned thier rights.

`Mitch
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