"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Let me know when a country comes up with a better idea.
We had slavery for almost half of our existence, we’re only just barely removed from segregation, and we’re tilting like a jenga tower into authoritarianism. We’ve had our moments, but I think the idea of American Exceptionalism was only ever an idea.
"It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force. If there be any truth in the remark, the crisis at which we are arrived may with propriety be regarded as the era in which that decision is to be made; and a wrong election of the part we shall act may, in this view, deserve to be considered as the general misfortune of mankind." -- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Papers #1
These statements are true. But the problem with many of them is that the US is very diverse and very large compared to the countries against which it is competing. Compare the US against the Netherlands and it doesn't do so well. Compare it against Europe and it's a very different story. It is much more interesting to divide the US into its individual states and compare certain of them against these countries instead. I recall someone finding that several US states are better in many of these measures than every single country in the world (and of course several are ... not).
Dude still compared to Europe even with clunkers like the Balkans thrown in, it's still pretty far down the list on many many metrics. No where in Europe do kids regularly get killed in schools, or live under the threat of homelessness.
These comparisons are at best useless at worst harmful.
It doesn't matter if a country is better than others, it matters if it's good considered on its own.
I'd rather feel good than feel better than others or best of all, because that can still mean I'm miserable.
I see that the article lists a number of metrics, none of which is topped by US. Got it. But the greatness should be holistic measure of all the metrics.
So the question is: Is there any other country that overall ranks better than US. If not, then US remains greatest. Isn’t it?
Greatness should be independent of comparison to others.
Would you rather get shot, stabbed or be kicked in the nuts?
Your choice would be the personal best of the options but I doubt you would call it a great choice.
It might be easier to narrow down to a city. I visited 20+ countries. From natural beauty perspective, Costa Rica, Hawaii (US), and Switzerland are top of my list.
I suppose that's why the entire world is trying to get here, they want to experience the awfulness. I came 20+ years ago and although Canada is a nice place to visit, fuck ever trying to live there again.
Looking at one stat:
“ But the percentage of people living in poverty puts America at number 127 out of 172.”
However:
“ Definitions of poverty vary considerably among nations. For example, rich nations generally employ more generous standards of poverty than poor nations.”
So I wonder how meaningful a lot of the comparisons are.
I'm not sure either. What makes it even harder, is that in the poorer countries, people often eat locally grown organic food. This tends to be unaffordable to poor Americans.
Perhaps I'm reading too far between the lines but I get a sense this list is written with a bit too much schadenfreude. I still see America as the best place in the world to live - there is nowhere more free and flush with opportunity. I see the items on this list as tragic and hope that the US is able to climb in those metrics as well.
From my perspective people in Norway, Denmark, Germany are for more free than Americans. They are from for fear of financial ruin in case of a medical emergency. They are free from fear of arbitrary firing. They are mostly free from fear of homelessness and hunger. At least, they have less fear of these things. From my experience in Europe people just live better overall there. Everything is more walkable.
In terms of life quality I can’t think of an area where America is clearly better than these countries.
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[ 5.2 ms ] story [ 22.1 ms ] threadLet me know when a country comes up with a better idea.
And by ‘men’, they certainly didn’t mean to include women.
"It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force. If there be any truth in the remark, the crisis at which we are arrived may with propriety be regarded as the era in which that decision is to be made; and a wrong election of the part we shall act may, in this view, deserve to be considered as the general misfortune of mankind." -- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Papers #1
BTW The dignity of man is inviolable.
https://www.google.com/search?q=child+homelessness+in+europe
I'd rather feel good than feel better than others or best of all, because that can still mean I'm miserable.
So the question is: Is there any other country that overall ranks better than US. If not, then US remains greatest. Isn’t it?
Would you rather get shot, stabbed or be kicked in the nuts? Your choice would be the personal best of the options but I doubt you would call it a great choice.
I'd like to move there.
Canadian Expat.
However:
“ Definitions of poverty vary considerably among nations. For example, rich nations generally employ more generous standards of poverty than poor nations.”
So I wonder how meaningful a lot of the comparisons are.
In terms of life quality I can’t think of an area where America is clearly better than these countries.