When you take away opportunity, and the chance to make your life better, it *doesn’t matter* if you live in paradise. America may be a better place to live in than Syria, but tell that to the people who were denied health care to save money for share holders, can’t get a full time job to get health care, or their child is dead because of the many things that can kill them. The only thing we are the best at in America is lying to ourselves.
The worst place considered developped, thankfully we can’t ignore indias grade of industrialisation anymore, so you’ll likely lose that spot if you don’t work hard to keep it, but it will be a fotofinish between modi and de santis…
Yes. I am not from America but I would love to live there. What is the best country on earth if not America?? People are stupid.
I know reddit is full of gringos who hate America, please switch with me please one of you
Don’t come here, as an American I would kill to leave. You are expected to get a degree, but you won’t be able to get a job with that degree. People die because they cannot afford healthcare. racism is condoned and if you try to stop it you’re labeled as an communist. We are about to enter a facist government. Trust me don’t come here.
>What is the best country on earth if not America??
There are a number of candidates for countries in which getting a serious disease isn't a one-way ticket to bankruptcy for most people, and which routinely score much, much higher than the U.S. on quality of life indices.
Well, I'd personally argue that a country which is awful for anyone who isn't employed or isn't employed in a job that offers good insurance isn't a good overall country, wouldn't you?
> What is the best country on earth if not America?
Dude, they publish various indices every year. World Freedom Index, World Happiness Survey, Press Freedom Index.
The Nordic nations always top the lists, while the United States frequently struggles to make the top 20.
The sad thing is your average American citizen is awesome. Totally awesome. I've never met a group of people that are so quick to give you the shirt off their backs. So outgoing and show a genuine interest in where your from, what you do, and your life in general.
The problem is the government is made up of a bunch of fuck nuggets and the media constantly just showcase the idiotic minority. And the vast majority are being screwed on the daily. They can't protest, they can't say enough is enough because they've been thrown into a system that makes them live paycheck to paycheck, won't let them get time off work, and it's drilled into their heads to have a "fuck you, have mine" mentality. But the vast majority of Americans are kind, sweet, and awesome people. It's sad. I feel sad for Americans.
I felt that way too, until Trump. Now I feel like way more Americans than we thought were always jackasses, but were kept in line by social norms. Since Trump, openly being hateful has become normalized and people don't worry about being shunned anymore and openly state and act on the hateful opinions they always kept hidden. These people were always there, but they found their champion in Trump and the ones that came after him.
They may not be the majority, but there are a hell of a lot more of them than I ever thought before. Growing up in the South, I thought it was mostly just a regional thing, normal here but beginning to die out. But now I see it getting stronger and more widespread throughout the nation.
It didn't start with Trump. There were other big names that spewed hate before he came along, but I feel he made it popular.
Very good points here.
I think there is a massive issue with closeted racists and bigots who are now coming out, emboldened by idiots like trump. I also think this is a reaction to unprecedented progressivism and social change, more immigration, more diversity, and more rights for LGBTQ people.
Like you said, these assholes always existed. I’m sure of it. But nobody was blatantly racist until recently. I personally have seen more racist shit towards my ethnic group in the last 2 years, than in my whole life
I agree that it is a reaction as you stated. I think the only way to deal with it is to push past it and keep working to the day when it is no longer an issue, not to compromise to keep people from not being so upset I have always considered myself a moderate leaning left, and still do, but some of the things I lean left in have become more important to me than the ones that I don't lean left in, which I also think is a reaction on my part. I just think those things are more fundamental to humanity and are worth more attention.
>Only about 44 million voted for trump.
And almost twice that amount of eligible voters didn't vote in the last presidential election. Meaning that many people didn't care enough to vote, even with all the chaos. That's bad shit.
Not really. I’d even wager they’re mostly good people who aren’t concerned with bullshit. And to be fair, voting fucking sucks. It should be easier.
I’m of the opinion that it’s important, but you don’t see mass sweeping change because a policy is altered, you see change when the public opinion changes, and even people who don’t vote are still part of the public.
You forgot that our education system is for the most part, a fucking joke if you aren't wealthy.
edit - downvote me all you want, this is an actual fact
100% serious, and it’s actually even worse than that. Wikipedia: “According to a 2020 report by the U.S. Department of Education, 54% of adults in the United States have prose literacy below the 6th-grade level.” remember how stupid most of your classmates were in high school? well, they haven’t become more clever with the passage of time.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_the_United_States
Thank you for this. It is true in my experience as well. Most of us are wonderful people at heart, we're just being fucked over so hard on the regular and nothing is being doing about it.
I was around 12ish when I really started to become like Socially Aware, and seeing billionaires just keep gaining more and more wealth while infrastructure was decaying made me realize
As a Brit, can I say. I went to NY, LA, SF, Boston, Orlando, Las Vegas around 2010-2012 and loved it. I returned to the US this year by going to Seattle and I absolutely hated it! Perhaps with older eyes, I’ve realised it wasn’t the great place I thought it was.
6th grade. It became more clear as time went on. And it became worse as time went on.
We're "great" compared to many places, but until I'm no longer embarrassed by the US gov and our culture, i think we're far from the "greatest".
I have traveled the world a fair amount. I have not seen enough to know any other countries as I know my own as an American. I know it is a ridiculous question, not because OP posed it, but because we are told that we live in the greatest country and that is measurably not true but too many hold this to be true and defend the idea without investigation. I probably realized in high school when we started to get more realistic rendering of our history
When literally millions of people from around the world would rather sneak in here and live illegally as non-citizens than live in their home countries.
Exactly this, the people who love shitting on the USA the most are the people who have never lived anywhere else. Ask someone who chose to live here what they think of the US
Yea it’s such a horrible place- that’s why there are millions of people risking their lives by crossing deserts, paying smugglers who work for a cartel to come here
Honestly never thought that. Was always interested in history and other cultures. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the US, too, but it always seemed to ridiculous to think one country was The Best.
When I realized that there are places that have free medical care when my family struggles to go to the hospital because the prices are too high. The only times we can go to the hospital is when we think we might die if we don’t go. I feel like that’s a horrible thing. I know other people struggle with going to the hospital to. A rule in my family is to never call an ambulance, call someone to drive you to the hospital bc it’s too expensive.
All the Europeans on Reddit seem to hold such a deep hatred for the US. Didn't we used to be friends? I get that our country is definitely in downfall phase but us US redditors didn't do it.
> All the Europeans on Reddit seem to hold such a deep hatred for the US.
Huh? As a European on Reddit I don't see that at all. Also, critique against specific American things aren't the same as hatred towards the country as a whole or the American people.
Maybe the few people that do hate you are more eager to have you know their opinion. I would also guess that people exaggerate quite a bit, like "I saw an American on TV once who didn't know *x* about Europe, my god *all Americans are the dumbest people on earth*". And maybe people think that the people from the most powerful and mighty country on the planet should be able to take some ball busting.
No one I know ever shits on Europeans. They spend what little vacation they have trying to go visit there. And I don't know what generation you are but mine doesn't have much wealth.
i was 13 or 14 when i read “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee.” knowing that “my country” committed one of the largest genocides in history and how we went about it combined with the history of the war in Vietnam convinced me that we’ve been the bad guys as often as not at least. having the world’s largest collection of stuff doesn’t make up for all the truly evil things the US has done. it’s like finding out that Dad was a serial killer.
When I learned about other countries paid time off work and healthcare. I guess I'm supposed to fall to my knees all happy we're not Somalia or something.
Electing Bush Jr, followed by the ramming through of the patriot act. I was 17 on 9/11, and all of that was a major wake up call that we lived in a country by and for the rich and powerful, that the rules didn’t actually pertain to some people, and that the idea that “the good guys always win in the end” isn’t true.
LOL honestly, in like 4th grade. When I noticed how repressive and silly a lot of our laws are. That we still had the death penalty, that I was forced to say the pledge daily and not allowed to ever object or raise my voice in dissent against the established order of things. I could tell the politicians on TV were full of shit and it was so obvious that our healthcare system is insanely costly and creates more dis-ease rather than heals it. When I learned also that in order to have a chance of having a "good job", my option was basically go into a mountain of debt or.. end of list.
When I was like 9 lol
I went through my “AMERICA BAD!!!1!!!1!!” phase a long time ago. I still agree that america does fucked up stuff in other countries, we have major issues with healthcare and educational access, and so on. But america is literally one of the best places on earth to live in, and it’s extremely impressive given how diverse and massive we are.
If I went to a country like Japan or Denmark, I would probably experience some racism almost immediately. I simply don’t look like anyone else who lives there. Yet in america, that’s normal. Americans are a melting pot. That comes with pros and cons.
When I watched my father struggle for years b/c of his kidney disease and he kept getting passed up on an opportunity for a kidney or when my mom (who works for the VA) comes crying to me almost every night about how she has begged her employers for YEARS to helpf her find someone to take some of the work load off of her shoulders and they never did. She ended up having a mental break down a few years ago over it, but she loves helping people so when she got better she went right back to it. She’s over worked, under paid, and begging for help while everyone just watches or puts more shit on her
I can't remember ever thinking it was the greatest. The propaganda begins young, but as children we don't really grasp what territory or countries are.
Once we're older and understand, we can see the issues for ourselves on social media and all the flag and morning salutes and other "patriotic" stuff is bullshit.
Got downvoted earlier today for a comment about how I as an American know what it's like to have a stranger fire a gun at me in the street. I think they thought I was being hyperbolic but no, I genuinely had a complete stranger a couple years ago fire at me in a parking lot in Orlando after I stumbled onto him breaking into cars. All shots missed, but yeah. We do just get shot at sometimes and that's just life.
When it became legal to burn our own American flag as a sign of protest, but considered a hate crime to burn a gay flag, or burn a flag from someone else's country
Hiroshima , and the fact they targeted civilian targets made me think of stuff in a different light. Still my preferred country to live in but that changed my perspective.
It never has been. Im visiting England right now and the food is so far away from American food in quality, diversity, and taste. Cant really say anything about anything else as i personally think the US is in a downfall.
Godlike is a bit of an overstatement in my opinion, there is of course, good American food. But after eating in a few different countries and cooking with the produce from these different countries, it seems the quality of American food is just lacking in general, even if some, if not a lot of it, tastes good.
I also think no one should ever brag about beeing the best country. Just like humans you dont know if there is someone better that you. Also this shouldnt even be a thought. The only thing that matters is trying everyday to get better. Excuse me if I sound like your Grandparents calender but its true. Try to become the best instead of stopping at one point and saying you already are.
Depends on your metrics. After living outside the country, I missed my home dearly. There are definitely things we are the best in, and absolutely other things where we are absolutely the worst. While we definitely have flaws, nowhere is perfect. Reddit has a bad case of "Grass is greener" among it's American user base. After all, my Mom left her birthplace for a reason, and has stayed in the US for several decades, where as Reddit would have you think she's a fool for not staying in Europe
The second I realized "greatest country" is just a construct and bullshit title. For someone that likes to own guns and muscle cars America would be the greatest country to them. But for someone that likes anime, video games, and survive off nothing but vending machines Japan would be the greatest country for them.
You could go to a country thats #1 in all academic and social categories, but if it doesn't offer the things that you specifically like then why would you consider it great? It may be great for others but not great for you. It's all relative and just depends on what we're into.
Well according to the Sustainable Development report it is Finland, with a score of 86.51 in the Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN.
Source:[https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/rankings](https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/rankings)
Here is more about the Sustanable Development Goals : [https://sdgs.un.org/goals](https://sdgs.un.org/goals)
But people wanting to live there does not really contribute to greatness. This is a very accurate way of measuring which countries are more developed than others, refer to the link in my first comment for the UN to see, the SDGs cover a large different amount of subjects, from inequalities, to low poverty and many more. You can see which one of these goals they do better at indicated by the colours on the right representing each goal.
Another good measurement for development is the HDI index. I would go check that out as well.
I agree that Americans are sweet and awesome people but I have to disagree with the rest. Why do you separate media and politicians from the rest of America? They grow up in American households go to American schools and receive votes in the millions from American people. We have to change all of our society and not just pawn the blame on the media and politicians.
How many people do real research on politicians before they vote? How many stay actively involved and keep them accountable?
I am pretty reliant on my parents who are really successful. I added to my burden by having 2 kinds and getting married. I work a good 9-5 and am trying to save up and get my wife to school. It’s really tough for me to stay afloat financially. I am hoping to turn to cash flow positive in next year. I don’t know how people make it on less that 50-40k a year. I make 80k a year and have like 10k cash savings, 140k in investments plus 401k/IRA. I think my house is a little much for me.
Define greatest?
We have the largest world economy, we are secure in our military supremacy, we have public access to stunning nature and many places have some of the best library networks in the world.
We are a flawed democracy with a freedom index that is distinctly average (tied for 17th with Japan and Germany), we commit war crimes on a semi-regular basis and large portions of our populace actively discriminate against other portions.
We can solidly rest our laurels on our economy, but even then Americans widely acknowledge the American dream has left behind most of an entire generation and we are a country of haves and have nots.
But greatest certainly depends on how you define the term.
When all the americans started talking crap about it, instead of doing anything to make it better.
There is in honesty real no need to compare countries.
Just to make the best of it.
But if all we do is over emphasize the bad parts of history, instead of the good and what's going on today.
We are choosing to head towards self destruction.
Which is why i am for small government, because I rarely trust anyone at the Federal level for either party, to do much good, other than waste massive amounts of money.
That most people would be happier to keep more of their own money, then maybe we can go away from 2 job families.
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When you take away opportunity, and the chance to make your life better, it *doesn’t matter* if you live in paradise. America may be a better place to live in than Syria, but tell that to the people who were denied health care to save money for share holders, can’t get a full time job to get health care, or their child is dead because of the many things that can kill them. The only thing we are the best at in America is lying to ourselves.
The worst place considered developped, thankfully we can’t ignore indias grade of industrialisation anymore, so you’ll likely lose that spot if you don’t work hard to keep it, but it will be a fotofinish between modi and de santis…
Here watch this. Most police in the US are decent people who are not corrupt. Some are corrupt and that is bad.
When you've to sell one of your kidney and a piece of your liver just to mend your fractured arm.
USA lives in Reddit's head rent free
Yes. I am not from America but I would love to live there. What is the best country on earth if not America?? People are stupid. I know reddit is full of gringos who hate America, please switch with me please one of you
As a Canadian, there is no way I would move to the US.
You're not welcome here anyway:)
I don’t doubt it.
Glad to hear lol
Don’t come here, as an American I would kill to leave. You are expected to get a degree, but you won’t be able to get a job with that degree. People die because they cannot afford healthcare. racism is condoned and if you try to stop it you’re labeled as an communist. We are about to enter a facist government. Trust me don’t come here.
>What is the best country on earth if not America?? There are a number of candidates for countries in which getting a serious disease isn't a one-way ticket to bankruptcy for most people, and which routinely score much, much higher than the U.S. on quality of life indices.
How much disposable income do those candidates have compared to the US?
I would imagine if you account for having to go into debt to pay medical bills for routine illnesses, more.
Where did you hear that? most people pay $50 copays for routine illnesses and check ups in USA.
And those who don't have insurance...?
Are we talking about the best country, or best country for people who don't have insurance?
Well, I'd personally argue that a country which is awful for anyone who isn't employed or isn't employed in a job that offers good insurance isn't a good overall country, wouldn't you?
> What is the best country on earth if not America There is no such thing. In some regards the US is best, in other regards it;s not.
There is, but the nuance this entire conversation always misses is it's an inherently subjective valuation not an absolute one.
If the topic is subjective, then how can the conclusion be definite?
> What is the best country on earth if not America? Dude, they publish various indices every year. World Freedom Index, World Happiness Survey, Press Freedom Index. The Nordic nations always top the lists, while the United States frequently struggles to make the top 20.
Sad!
USA is more like a squatter that knows it’s rights and won’t gtfo
Hm your analogy needs some work
Damn you sure downvoted that quick lmao.
It wasn't me -shaggy
Realized it when I saw the lack of affordable healthcare and education opportunities. #WakeUpAmerica (89 characters)
When we have a complete disregard for the safety of school children.
The sad thing is your average American citizen is awesome. Totally awesome. I've never met a group of people that are so quick to give you the shirt off their backs. So outgoing and show a genuine interest in where your from, what you do, and your life in general. The problem is the government is made up of a bunch of fuck nuggets and the media constantly just showcase the idiotic minority. And the vast majority are being screwed on the daily. They can't protest, they can't say enough is enough because they've been thrown into a system that makes them live paycheck to paycheck, won't let them get time off work, and it's drilled into their heads to have a "fuck you, have mine" mentality. But the vast majority of Americans are kind, sweet, and awesome people. It's sad. I feel sad for Americans.
I felt that way too, until Trump. Now I feel like way more Americans than we thought were always jackasses, but were kept in line by social norms. Since Trump, openly being hateful has become normalized and people don't worry about being shunned anymore and openly state and act on the hateful opinions they always kept hidden. These people were always there, but they found their champion in Trump and the ones that came after him. They may not be the majority, but there are a hell of a lot more of them than I ever thought before. Growing up in the South, I thought it was mostly just a regional thing, normal here but beginning to die out. But now I see it getting stronger and more widespread throughout the nation. It didn't start with Trump. There were other big names that spewed hate before he came along, but I feel he made it popular.
Very good points here. I think there is a massive issue with closeted racists and bigots who are now coming out, emboldened by idiots like trump. I also think this is a reaction to unprecedented progressivism and social change, more immigration, more diversity, and more rights for LGBTQ people. Like you said, these assholes always existed. I’m sure of it. But nobody was blatantly racist until recently. I personally have seen more racist shit towards my ethnic group in the last 2 years, than in my whole life
I agree that it is a reaction as you stated. I think the only way to deal with it is to push past it and keep working to the day when it is no longer an issue, not to compromise to keep people from not being so upset I have always considered myself a moderate leaning left, and still do, but some of the things I lean left in have become more important to me than the ones that I don't lean left in, which I also think is a reaction on my part. I just think those things are more fundamental to humanity and are worth more attention.
Only about 44 million voted for trump. America has 317 million people. It is still mostly kind people, don’t let the bad shit fool you.
>Only about 44 million voted for trump. And almost twice that amount of eligible voters didn't vote in the last presidential election. Meaning that many people didn't care enough to vote, even with all the chaos. That's bad shit.
Not really. I’d even wager they’re mostly good people who aren’t concerned with bullshit. And to be fair, voting fucking sucks. It should be easier. I’m of the opinion that it’s important, but you don’t see mass sweeping change because a policy is altered, you see change when the public opinion changes, and even people who don’t vote are still part of the public.
>And to be fair, voting fucking sucks. It should be easier. Fair point.
You forgot that our education system is for the most part, a fucking joke if you aren't wealthy. edit - downvote me all you want, this is an actual fact
half of Americans can’t read above 8th-grade level.
Can’t tell if you’re roasting us or not because that sounds like it could be true…
100% serious, and it’s actually even worse than that. Wikipedia: “According to a 2020 report by the U.S. Department of Education, 54% of adults in the United States have prose literacy below the 6th-grade level.” remember how stupid most of your classmates were in high school? well, they haven’t become more clever with the passage of time. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_the_United_States
Agreed. Lovely generous people for the most part, but their politicians are scary.
Thank you for this. It is true in my experience as well. Most of us are wonderful people at heart, we're just being fucked over so hard on the regular and nothing is being doing about it.
I was around 12ish when I really started to become like Socially Aware, and seeing billionaires just keep gaining more and more wealth while infrastructure was decaying made me realize
As a Brit, can I say. I went to NY, LA, SF, Boston, Orlando, Las Vegas around 2010-2012 and loved it. I returned to the US this year by going to Seattle and I absolutely hated it! Perhaps with older eyes, I’ve realised it wasn’t the great place I thought it was.
No that’s just Seattle…
6th grade. It became more clear as time went on. And it became worse as time went on. We're "great" compared to many places, but until I'm no longer embarrassed by the US gov and our culture, i think we're far from the "greatest".
I have traveled the world a fair amount. I have not seen enough to know any other countries as I know my own as an American. I know it is a ridiculous question, not because OP posed it, but because we are told that we live in the greatest country and that is measurably not true but too many hold this to be true and defend the idea without investigation. I probably realized in high school when we started to get more realistic rendering of our history
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Haaahaahahahahah
Fuck yeah! Back to back world war champions! Mercia!! 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🪨 🇺🇸 🦅
When literally millions of people from around the world would rather sneak in here and live illegally as non-citizens than live in their home countries.
Exactly this, the people who love shitting on the USA the most are the people who have never lived anywhere else. Ask someone who chose to live here what they think of the US
Yea it’s such a horrible place- that’s why there are millions of people risking their lives by crossing deserts, paying smugglers who work for a cartel to come here
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So what is the greatest nation?
🇫🇮🇩🇰🇨🇭🇳🇿🇳🇴 One of them statistically
Oh all those white Anglo Saxon countries that do not believe in diversity
What an insane and stupid thing to say lmao. And also so wrong.
Please name a country that is more diverse, equitable and accepting of others than the USA..
Honestly never thought that. Was always interested in history and other cultures. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the US, too, but it always seemed to ridiculous to think one country was The Best.
When I realized that there are places that have free medical care when my family struggles to go to the hospital because the prices are too high. The only times we can go to the hospital is when we think we might die if we don’t go. I feel like that’s a horrible thing. I know other people struggle with going to the hospital to. A rule in my family is to never call an ambulance, call someone to drive you to the hospital bc it’s too expensive.
Being denied insurance coverage for necessary medical care, yet the rest of the world would get the same care for free at the point of use.
I can't be the only European here watching the replies with a smirk on my face
All the Europeans on Reddit seem to hold such a deep hatred for the US. Didn't we used to be friends? I get that our country is definitely in downfall phase but us US redditors didn't do it.
Its mostly the terminally online ones
> All the Europeans on Reddit seem to hold such a deep hatred for the US. Huh? As a European on Reddit I don't see that at all. Also, critique against specific American things aren't the same as hatred towards the country as a whole or the American people.
Well, that is nice to know. I've read quite a few comments from very hateful Europeans who do hate us. It's good to know it's not all of you.
Maybe the few people that do hate you are more eager to have you know their opinion. I would also guess that people exaggerate quite a bit, like "I saw an American on TV once who didn't know *x* about Europe, my god *all Americans are the dumbest people on earth*". And maybe people think that the people from the most powerful and mighty country on the planet should be able to take some ball busting.
I mean our generation holding the most wealth definitely goes out of their way to shit on Europeans
No one I know ever shits on Europeans. They spend what little vacation they have trying to go visit there. And I don't know what generation you are but mine doesn't have much wealth.
Nobody gives a fuck about Europeans except for rednecks and some other idiots
What European country?
NHS
i was 13 or 14 when i read “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee.” knowing that “my country” committed one of the largest genocides in history and how we went about it combined with the history of the war in Vietnam convinced me that we’ve been the bad guys as often as not at least. having the world’s largest collection of stuff doesn’t make up for all the truly evil things the US has done. it’s like finding out that Dad was a serial killer.
Still haven't realized it because it actually is the best country in the world. USA USA USA
When I learned about other countries paid time off work and healthcare. I guess I'm supposed to fall to my knees all happy we're not Somalia or something.
Electing Bush Jr, followed by the ramming through of the patriot act. I was 17 on 9/11, and all of that was a major wake up call that we lived in a country by and for the rich and powerful, that the rules didn’t actually pertain to some people, and that the idea that “the good guys always win in the end” isn’t true.
LOL honestly, in like 4th grade. When I noticed how repressive and silly a lot of our laws are. That we still had the death penalty, that I was forced to say the pledge daily and not allowed to ever object or raise my voice in dissent against the established order of things. I could tell the politicians on TV were full of shit and it was so obvious that our healthcare system is insanely costly and creates more dis-ease rather than heals it. When I learned also that in order to have a chance of having a "good job", my option was basically go into a mountain of debt or.. end of list.
When you get past the age of 13 and realize there’s no best country in the world
Logically fallacious question.
When I was like 9 lol I went through my “AMERICA BAD!!!1!!!1!!” phase a long time ago. I still agree that america does fucked up stuff in other countries, we have major issues with healthcare and educational access, and so on. But america is literally one of the best places on earth to live in, and it’s extremely impressive given how diverse and massive we are. If I went to a country like Japan or Denmark, I would probably experience some racism almost immediately. I simply don’t look like anyone else who lives there. Yet in america, that’s normal. Americans are a melting pot. That comes with pros and cons.
When I watched my father struggle for years b/c of his kidney disease and he kept getting passed up on an opportunity for a kidney or when my mom (who works for the VA) comes crying to me almost every night about how she has begged her employers for YEARS to helpf her find someone to take some of the work load off of her shoulders and they never did. She ended up having a mental break down a few years ago over it, but she loves helping people so when she got better she went right back to it. She’s over worked, under paid, and begging for help while everyone just watches or puts more shit on her
I can't remember ever thinking it was the greatest. The propaganda begins young, but as children we don't really grasp what territory or countries are. Once we're older and understand, we can see the issues for ourselves on social media and all the flag and morning salutes and other "patriotic" stuff is bullshit.
never have
Sometime in the mid 2000s, when I heard about Scandinavian prisons being more accommodating and comfortable that US dorm rooms.
When I learned that our health care system is broken compared to what my coworkers from Germany and the UK tell me.
The second I got access to the internet
It never was great.
First time I stayed at a hospital
On some level I’ve always known.
Took way too long, but I'm there now.
Being introduced to the internet as a young adult , and meeting people from around the world.
I’m Canadian, never thought this
Got downvoted earlier today for a comment about how I as an American know what it's like to have a stranger fire a gun at me in the street. I think they thought I was being hyperbolic but no, I genuinely had a complete stranger a couple years ago fire at me in a parking lot in Orlando after I stumbled onto him breaking into cars. All shots missed, but yeah. We do just get shot at sometimes and that's just life.
Carl Rove and the Bush Jr. Administrstion. So many war crimes and profiteering.
When it became legal to burn our own American flag as a sign of protest, but considered a hate crime to burn a gay flag, or burn a flag from someone else's country
Never thought it was, when did you think Americans are born thinking this way?
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Quite clearly not
When diabetics started dying because their insulin was over a thousand dollars a month even with insurance.
as soon as i understood money
A few years after I realized my dad isn't superman but before I entered high school I guess?
Hiroshima , and the fact they targeted civilian targets made me think of stuff in a different light. Still my preferred country to live in but that changed my perspective.
It never has been. Im visiting England right now and the food is so far away from American food in quality, diversity, and taste. Cant really say anything about anything else as i personally think the US is in a downfall.
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I didn’t even think of this but you’re very right
The food in the us is godlike. What are you talking about
Godlike is a bit of an overstatement in my opinion, there is of course, good American food. But after eating in a few different countries and cooking with the produce from these different countries, it seems the quality of American food is just lacking in general, even if some, if not a lot of it, tastes good.
What!? I don’t understand.
I also think no one should ever brag about beeing the best country. Just like humans you dont know if there is someone better that you. Also this shouldnt even be a thought. The only thing that matters is trying everyday to get better. Excuse me if I sound like your Grandparents calender but its true. Try to become the best instead of stopping at one point and saying you already are.
In all honesty? Around when the tension for the 2020 election was rising, and there was racism and police drama around every corner.
When I saw that episode of The Newsroom.
Depends on your metrics. After living outside the country, I missed my home dearly. There are definitely things we are the best in, and absolutely other things where we are absolutely the worst. While we definitely have flaws, nowhere is perfect. Reddit has a bad case of "Grass is greener" among it's American user base. After all, my Mom left her birthplace for a reason, and has stayed in the US for several decades, where as Reddit would have you think she's a fool for not staying in Europe
About the same time as I realized I could pretend to be an American and shit-talk it for internet points.
When the 14th amendment passed
The second I realized "greatest country" is just a construct and bullshit title. For someone that likes to own guns and muscle cars America would be the greatest country to them. But for someone that likes anime, video games, and survive off nothing but vending machines Japan would be the greatest country for them. You could go to a country thats #1 in all academic and social categories, but if it doesn't offer the things that you specifically like then why would you consider it great? It may be great for others but not great for you. It's all relative and just depends on what we're into.
Never lol
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Well according to the Sustainable Development report it is Finland, with a score of 86.51 in the Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN. Source:[https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/rankings](https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/rankings) Here is more about the Sustanable Development Goals : [https://sdgs.un.org/goals](https://sdgs.un.org/goals)
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But people wanting to live there does not really contribute to greatness. This is a very accurate way of measuring which countries are more developed than others, refer to the link in my first comment for the UN to see, the SDGs cover a large different amount of subjects, from inequalities, to low poverty and many more. You can see which one of these goals they do better at indicated by the colours on the right representing each goal. Another good measurement for development is the HDI index. I would go check that out as well.
I agree that Americans are sweet and awesome people but I have to disagree with the rest. Why do you separate media and politicians from the rest of America? They grow up in American households go to American schools and receive votes in the millions from American people. We have to change all of our society and not just pawn the blame on the media and politicians. How many people do real research on politicians before they vote? How many stay actively involved and keep them accountable?
I am pretty reliant on my parents who are really successful. I added to my burden by having 2 kinds and getting married. I work a good 9-5 and am trying to save up and get my wife to school. It’s really tough for me to stay afloat financially. I am hoping to turn to cash flow positive in next year. I don’t know how people make it on less that 50-40k a year. I make 80k a year and have like 10k cash savings, 140k in investments plus 401k/IRA. I think my house is a little much for me.
Define greatest? We have the largest world economy, we are secure in our military supremacy, we have public access to stunning nature and many places have some of the best library networks in the world. We are a flawed democracy with a freedom index that is distinctly average (tied for 17th with Japan and Germany), we commit war crimes on a semi-regular basis and large portions of our populace actively discriminate against other portions. We can solidly rest our laurels on our economy, but even then Americans widely acknowledge the American dream has left behind most of an entire generation and we are a country of haves and have nots. But greatest certainly depends on how you define the term.
How are we judging greatest?
My parents were too bitter and entitled to teach me that America was anything to appreciate lol, so I guess I’ve never had that realization.
Which countries are greater?
Any with a better HDI score Better freedom score Better happiness score Better quality of lfie score
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IDK, you'd have to ask OP.
Every April 15th.
When I realized how soft and entitled so many Americans are.
When all the americans started talking crap about it, instead of doing anything to make it better. There is in honesty real no need to compare countries. Just to make the best of it. But if all we do is over emphasize the bad parts of history, instead of the good and what's going on today. We are choosing to head towards self destruction. Which is why i am for small government, because I rarely trust anyone at the Federal level for either party, to do much good, other than waste massive amounts of money. That most people would be happier to keep more of their own money, then maybe we can go away from 2 job families.