Is America the greatest country on Earth?

[TuffaloDeac10]

By that logic, Lincoln, Neb., is a greater city than New York City because its people on average have a greater measure of well-being. Clearly New York City can't be the greatest.

That survey basically had a top 10 of all college towns. There's something to that. But people also move from city to city throughout their lifecycle more than they do from country to country. So if there were an entire country of college towns, I'd hesitate to use self-reported life satisfaction because that wouldn't be apples-to-apples. But I think cross-country comparisons should be free of that problem.

 

[HuskyDeac]

one of the things that makes America is great is the diversity of the cities. the differences between New York, Chicago, San Fran, LA, Miami, DC, etc. are pretty broad.

You could counter that living in a country like Germany is awesome because you can take an overnight train to any of Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, Prague, Rome, Krakow, etc.

 

[TuffaloDeac10]

And, how is this reported? I can say I am happier than anybody in those countries, so there is that.

http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/life-satisfaction/

You could say that you are happier than a pig in shit, but unless we can hear from the pig in shit about how happy the pig in shit is, I can't take your word for it.

 

[Say Hey Deac]

I haven't been to Sydney, but you don't think there are any cities in America that are comparable?

Comparable? Of course. What I liked about Sydney though was it sort of combined the best elements of a few US cities I like -- NYC and San Francisco, mostly.

 

[DeacdeTejas]

Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, Canada, Australia, Israel, Finland, Sweden, and New Zealand all report higher life satisfaction than us. So that, to me, seems to be an argument for each and all of those countries over the USA. What component of national greatness would fail to show up in citizens' subjective well-being? Do we want national greatness that doesn't improve the perceived well-being of the nation's citizens?

One of those places is not like the other

But seriously, it is interesting Israel is on that list.

 

[TuffaloDeac10]

I haven't been to Sydney, but you don't think there are any cities in America that are comparable?

Sydney is out-of-this-world amazing. There could absolutely not have been a cooler place for me to do 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades and I don't think my parents had a bad time there, either.

 

[bigdoublezero]

You could counter that living in a country like Germany is awesome because you can take an overnight train to any of Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, Prague, Rome, Krakow, etc.

That's like saying Hartford is awesome because you can make it to Boston or New York in under two hours.

(Which was, in fact, the best part about living in Hartford.)

If everyone wants to make this a "there are cool places to live outside America" thread, it's going to be pretty hard to argue against that, because the world is filled with cool places to live. That's not really the original question posed, though. :shrug:

 

[HuskyDeac]

That's like saying Hartford is awesome because you can make it to Boston or New York in under two hours.

(Which was, in fact, the best part about living in Hartford.)

If everyone wants to make this a "there are cool places to live outside America" thread, it's going to be pretty hard to argue against that, because the world is filled with cool places to live. That's not really the original question posed, though. :shrug:

I wouldn't try to argue a specific country is greater than the US, because it's pointless, as it all depends on the individual. I guarantee what I love about Colombia or Bosnia aren't reciprocated by most Americans. The above comment was just a counter to there being a ton of places to see in the US. It's just as easy to see a bunch of awesome places in other smaller countries.

And no, being between Boston and New York does not make Hartford great. In fact, it's quite awful. But it is a positive feature of Hartford.

 

[buckets]

That's like saying Hartford is awesome because you can make it to Boston or New York in under two hours.

(Which was, in fact, the best part about living in Hartford.)

If everyone wants to make this a "there are cool places to live outside America" thread, it's going to be pretty hard to argue against that, because the world is filled with cool places to live. That's not really the original question posed, though. :shrug:

This is actually how the whole state of Connecticut justifies its existence

 

[WFU03]

No they don't. They look to see what we are going to do. I agree this speaks just to our power, which is a large part of the equation.

I have been to roughly 70 countries and to a one, the citizens all try to emulate us...as in US. That to me says we must be doing something right. Sure we have our flaws, as does everbody. But when you put together the whole recipe, nobody even comes close. Not remotely.

You're trolling here, right? If not, do you ever leave the Marriott?

 

[denverpacker]

You're trolling here, right? If not, do you ever leave the Marriott?

Not trolling and I have spent more time in remote areas hanging with the locals than I can remember. This thread is opinion based and I stand by mine. And I still have seen nothing on here to make a compelling case that we are not the best. I will say that Australia and Great Britain are right there with us.

 

[bigdoublezero]

I will say that Australia and Great Britain are right there with us.

Why undermine your point like this?

 

[GoDeacsGo]

I was really expecting this thread to be more like this:

 

[denverpacker]

Why undermine your point like this?

Not undermining my point at all. Just acknowledging their status. Best trip of my life was to Australia. I also admire their no bullshit politics. Great Britain gets props for standing in there in two WW's, Churchill, Thatcher and the SAS. I will throw in the Falklands also.

 

[denverpacker]

I was really expecting this thread to be more like this:

You just closed the deal. Nice post.

 

[DeaconBrews]

I don't know if you want to use American women as your argument...

I'll let guess who say it for me:

 

[seventwofour]

One thought exercise: imagine you are going to be a random person in a country. Which country would you choose? Might be tempting to pick a place with a pretty small lower class. It's pretty easy for people like us - highly educated, financially successful people - to argue that the US is great. Might be a different story if you live in the hood or Appalachia, for example. As the population of people who most benefit by America's "greatness", I'm not sure how qualified we are to have this discussion.

 

[jhmd2000]

One thought exercise: imagine you are going to be a random person in a country. Which country would you choose? Might be tempting to pick a place with a pretty small lower class. It's pretty easy for people like us - highly educated, financially successful people - to argue that the US is great. Might be a different story if you live in the hood or Appalachia, for example. As the population of people who most benefit by America's "greatness", I'm not sure how qualified we are to have this discussion.

I can't speak for anyone in the hood, but living in Appalachia has potential. Financial prosperity is a heck of lot to many people, but it's not everything. It would be kind of cool to not have to work a regular job, farm your family's food and distill your own fun. Reminds me of the old parable of the know-it-all vacationing American businessman who lectures the local population in Mexico about the lack of efficiencies in their fruit stand. At the end of the day, all most of us want is to be left alone with our friends and family to hang out and do what you want. Sure, you could waste the best years of your life climbing the corporate ladder for the chance to take life easy if you live to 70....or you could take life easy starting at age 18.

Be careful not to be the know-it-all vacationing American businessman; you can learn a lot from people who you suspect don't know very much.

 

[tintinisahottie]

I don't know if you want to use American women as your argument...

I'll let guess who say it for me:

Yes, a CANADIAN band talking down about American women, credible

 

[avalon]

Australia seems pretty cool, but the wildlife tries to kill you.

Mom awoken by cat finds python wrapped around 2-year-old daughter

"The snake [had] not in any way, shape or form intended to eat the baby," Tex Tillis, who runs Tex's Snake Removals, told the Daily Telegraph. "It was trying to have a group hug."