America, the greatest

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24 Comments

As an American, I can't stand when people say things like "we're the greatest country in the world" or "there's no better country than this one." For one thing, that's a very self-righteous thing to say, and this kind of mentality is partially to blame for our obnoxious foreign policy.

But, on a second note, SUPERIORITY is a subjective thing, and unless you're looking at specific facts or data, it's rather inaccurate to rank countries on one, overall note. Besides, on many individual rankings, the US is not at the top of list.

Sadly, people from all walks of life, as well as BOTH sides of the political spectrum, seem to espouse this kind of attitude, and it drives me crazy! Am I the only citizen who DOESN'T have a "we're #1" mentality?

Voting Results
87% Normal
Based on 45 votes (39 yes)
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Comments ( 24 )
  • Ummitsstillme
    5 years ago

    I love the irony, or paradox? Of your ability to speek freely about wanting to take away speech.

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  • Ummitsstillme
    5 years ago

    Fact check? Hate speech being protected? God damn right speech better be protected. How dare you want to destroy free speech. There is no such think as hate speech to be honest. Take your censorship ideas away from a democracy.

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  • sillygirl77
    5 years ago

    I love this post and I agree with you OP

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  • Boojum
    5 years ago

    So, what question do you want responses to?

    Is "America, the greatest?" or, "Am I the only citizen who DOESN'T have a 'we're #1' mentality?"

    They're kinda mutually exclusive, although I'm sure there's lots of gun-totting nuts who grunt, "USA, number one!" at the drop of a MAGA cap who believe there are lots of traitorous American citizens who believe the USA isn't as great as many prefer to believe.

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  • IrishPotato
    5 years ago

    USA is garbage.

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    • raisinbran
      5 years ago

      It's not the best, not the worst.

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  • pinkcookie26
    5 years ago

    I love this topic. I was going to post something similar

    I’m glad you’re not as close minded
    I’ve met so many Americans still living in the 1400’s views of the rest of the world. Thinking everyone is poor, a certain race in a country, etc. If I tell them I’m European they’ll laugh, lie to me about America, and such. As if I don’t have family there, or never been there. In my experience they’ve done this.

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  • bigbudchonga
    5 years ago

    You cucktard tard cuck! America is number 1 you gaybo!

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    • lordofopinions
      5 years ago

      You're part of the problem.

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      • bigbudchonga
        5 years ago

        Am a patriot!

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  • Ummitsstillme
    5 years ago

    What is hate speech? Your hate is another's love.. free speech is all that matters.

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  • factcheck
    5 years ago

    "Almost everyone..." isn't any better.

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  • rayb12
    5 years ago

    Countries are a weird way to think about things. The concept of a country is primarily an excuse for torture and murder

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    • DoujinMySchool101
      5 years ago

      We should all just be part of a gigantic state that includes the whole world, without leaders.

      Sounds like a good time to try communism again.

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      • lordofopinions
        5 years ago

        A planetary community would be great but there are a lot of countries who would believe THEIR way of life and country is the best.

        Some may think I am crazy but I believe we are being watched by at least one alien race but they won't contact us as they think we are too primitive as a species to be contacted. Sort of like the Star Trek scenario.

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        • DoujinMySchool101
          5 years ago

          Niel DeGrasse Tyson agrees with you

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  • Anonnet
    5 years ago

    I don't really think patriotism is a problem, unless it's taken to extremes. I live here, and it's been pretty good to me, so I'm not likely to get mad when someone says it's "the greatest country in the world". For us, it is. That includes people that haven't lived anywhere else, but it also includes immigrants and travelers that simply enjoy America more than other countries for one reason or another.

    Remember, it's not based on actual statistics, it's based on that person's satisfaction with his living standards and him having seen or heard of other countries that aren't doing as well. We may not literally be #1, but we're good enough, and our system lets us believe that things can improve.

    It can lead to a screwy foreign policy but you probably don't want to live in a country where most of the citizens believe that it isn't the best in some regard. You don't have to believe it yourself, but that "we're #1" attitude is what keeps the country moving along and usually in the right direction.

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  • cinderfloof
    5 years ago

    I don't think its always harmful. I feel like America is the best. Its where my family was born, where I met the love of my life, where all of my fondest memories exist. It's the best because it's /my/ home. My feelings are akin to a child with a childhood bear. Is that bear objectively better than any other? Probably not. It is the best to them, though, because they have so many emotions attached. I reckon I'd feel the same if I was from anywhere else on the planet.

    Of course, this doesn't mean that I blindly accept whatever America becomes. If we pull anything near Japanese Internment camps again I'll be the first to call us on our bullshit and protest it. Hell, I already have a problem with our current detention centers. I absolutely will not swear fealty to any leader just because they're our leader, and I recognize America's racist, sexist, homophobic and all around destructive history. However, at the same time, I would gladly join the military as a combat nurse if we're ever invaded because this is my damn home.

    I guess I've just always seen myself as a patriot. I love my country, and when you TRULY love something you strive for it to do better and recognize its flaws. I feel like American zealots don't truly love America at all. They idolize it.

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  • TheBlindInquisitor
    5 years ago

    America is all I know so I cant really make a judgement without sounding bias.

    but I will say even though it has many many flaws I don't really want to go anywhere else.

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  • bubbleteabrigade
    5 years ago

    This is far from true. Although admittedly more than half of the people in the world would love and appreciate their country to different extents, there are people who hold very mixed opinions with components of love and hate towards their own country. I know people who have lost faith in their country completely and want to emigrate. Then there are more people who think for the wellbeing of their own country and the people but are dissatisfied with the current state of their government (think of Venezuela or Libya in the past). Then there are even more people who can appreciate their own country and yet do not think that they are superior to other fellow human beings.

    Although blind patriotism exists and may comprise over half of the Earth's population, it is far from "almost everyone".

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  • xxLucifer
    5 years ago

    I believe America is a better place to live than any other country.

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    • raisinbran
      5 years ago

      Have you been to another country?

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      • xxLucifer
        5 years ago

        No, but if you are gonna use that logic to dispute my claim anybody can say any country is better. Someone could say that living in Saudi Arabia would be better and since you probably haven't been there how would you know, but any logical person would probably say it's not if you don't hold the same beliefs as the people living there.

        I believe America is the best place to live because we have true freedom of speech, unlike other countries where hate speech isn't protected. We are the only country to my knowledge that has a right to bear arms. Other countries you may not even have a right to lethal force for self defense let alone to own a firearm. We have one of the greatest if not the best military which dwarfs pretty much any other military besides Russia and China. We are one of the countries that contribute the most to medical research and development, while also having some of the best hospitals and doctors in the world.

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        • factcheck
          5 years ago

          Hate speech being protected isn't a good thing. There's a reason other countries don't allow it, because - as the US is finding out first hand under the current government - hate speech leads to hate crimes, leads to violence, leads to death, leads to genocide.

          Same with the right to bear arms. Owning a gun inevitably leads to that gun being used. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the time, guns aren't used for self defense. They're used to commit crimes(and, no, a good guy with a gun almost never stops a bad guy with a gun), or commit suicide(and, no, people who don't have access to guns wouldn't find another way to kill themselves, the rate of non-gun suicides is consistent across the country, no matter how easy guns are to get...where guns aren't available, the suicide rate drops), or accidentally kill somebody. None of these things happen in countries with reasonable gun control at nearly the rate they do in the US, and they don't have problems with the things guns are supposed to prevent either.

          Same for so much wasteful military spending. Having such a strong military will inevitably lead to that military being used. Hundreds of thousands of people have needlessly died in Iraq and throughout the middle east because the US wanted to prove they have a strong military. ISIS exists solely because the US has a strong military. The US could drastically reduce military spending, still have the ability to protect themselves and their allies, and spend that money on health care(more on that in a minute), education, homelessness, and all of the other problems the US has that other countries that spend less on the military do not.

          None of these are things to be proud of, they're the reasons other countries(rightfully) look down on the US.

          Contributing to medical research and development is great! Unfortunately, the US is quickly falling behind in those categories under the current government, which goes to great lengths discourage research, development, and education. Having some of the best hospitals and doctors in the world is fantastic! Unfortunately it goes to waste in a country that has one of the worst health care systems in the world, which leads to the US being one of the unhealthiest countries in the world because people can't access those hospitals and doctors.

          The US could be, hands down, the best country in the world. Unfortunately, the richest of the rich would rather keep getting richer at the expense of everybody else and they're dragging the entire country into the ground to build up their bank accounts.

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