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Is America the greatest nation on earth?

Is America the greatest country on earth?

  • Yes

    Votes: 45 45.9%

  • No

    Votes: 53 54.1%
  • Total voters
    98
Peter Grimm said:
- We don't have stupid royalty or aristocracies. America is the only country on earth where going rags to riches is truly seen as possible.
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Get out of your time machine. Nobody feels that way anymore.
 
Fenton said:
Its interesting to see how different National cultures shape the vehicles they drive

Australians drive around those funky half trucks called " Utes "

That style doesn't appeal to me personally ( or anyone I know and have ever met ) but Australians apparently love them.
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I loathe them in the aesthetic sense (and they also attract a certain 'bogan' demographic,) but I expect utilities have their uses. As a choice for purely personal transport (which is the case in the majority of owners,) I think they suck. But Australians appear to have had a taste for unsophisticated, American-inspired, vehicles since the advent of the 'Australian' car - the Holden (which was a down-sized Chevrolet of incredibly basic design, manufactured at Fisherman's Bend in Victoria).

Happily, apart from the hardship of lost jobs, GM has found it cannot make the obscene amount of profit it once did, and has pulled the plug on production (as has Ford with its locally produced Falcon). The archetypical Aussie car is no more in a couple of years (and fewer and fewer Australians buy those cumbersome, inefficient dinosaurs now, anyway.)
 
braindrain said:
The fact that a certain demographic likes a specific type of product has absolutely zero bearing on if that product is any good or not. The main reason that wealthy folks in America buy European cars is because they are expensive and this a status symbol. Nothing more.
The US automakers could very easily build a car that matched every single capability of a European car but it would still not have that status attached to it as a euro car does.
Your argument is not a good one.
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LOL, and "We could do it if we wanted to - but we are happy to eschew an enormous world-wide market, so we will continue producing mediocre, gas-guzzling and cumbersome vehicles?" is a good argument? Like commercial organisations think that way?

And do you not think that automotive status is not dictated by price alone. In Australia, a top of the range Lexus sells for slightly more than a five series BMW or a Mercedes E-class. The sales of said Lexus are miniscule compared to those of BMW and Mercedes. Why, because while it is carefully made, reasonably reliable, and well-equipped with creature comforts, it has less dynamic magic than a Toyota Camry - and wealthy Australians stay away in droves. Prestige is gained by what a vehicle does, not what it costs, or how many things that open and shut it offers. Anyone who ascribes prestige by monetary cost is a parvenu.

If GM or Ford produced a car that bettered the European/Japanese opposition (in every price range) do you not think they would command a better share of the market across the world? It is not simply expensive American designed and manufactured cars which are shunned worldwide, they all are, and it is not simply because they are American. American owned motor manufacturers, such as Ford (GB) and Opel in Germany, produce vehicles which more than compete with the Japanese, Koreans, and other Europeans in the low to medium price ranges. But these are designed and produced by Europeans, who draw upon their engineering heritage.

But look, this is not an indictment of the USA. Some societies do some things better than others, and we all have our strengths and weaknesses. I think your society does enough important things well not to have to depend upon fantasies of being pre-eminent in all things. And I reiterate that the only reason I addressed this matter was the claim by some unrealistically patriotic soul, that the the internal combustion engine was invented in the USA. :)
 
Tucker Case said:
You're just wrong there. The computer was not invented by Americans
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I feel like you're playing a little game here... It's really cool knowing the history and diversity of inventors around the world, but you also shouldn't take away from how massively the US had it's place in developing/perfecting/producing every one of those inventions over everyone else...

give credit it's due.... but don't pretend that the US doesn't beat every other country in this aspect completely out of the water.
 
StillBallin75 said:
We're diverse, but also segregated. Freedom and opportunity (which I see as going hand in hand)...eh, not really, and it's getting worse. I guess you could say that some Americans are more free and have more opportunity than others.
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I am interested in knowing what country you think is less segregated and better off... every country in the world has it's diversity issues... and America's is much better off with it's freedom of speech, it's not kept in the closet and hidden.
 
Declan said:
Unless your last name is Walton, Gates, Jobs, or Zuckerberger, you might want to double check your online banking balance.



Hardly true. Our best and brightest university professors also often originate from outside the US.



Modern society as I know it was perfected by the Japanese, Sony in particular, revolutionizing personal electronics.



Who would be our contemporaries?



You go--ranch dressing kicks french dressing's ass with or without gloves.


Hardly true at all.


Nothing screams American superiority like us not even being able to put a man into orbit without paying the Russians 50 years later.



Kween Kim Kardashian might have you drawn in Kwuartered.



:lamo Bashar al Assad remaining in power certainly proves your point there :ind:



Got a link for that from a source other than Fox News?




with a five yard penalty and a repeat of first down.
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1. As far as purchasing power of the individual American citizen, our cheap land, labor, and goods... we are better off than most everyone else. The dirt poor in America are better off than most of the world with access to clean water, hundreds of thousands of charities, government safety nets and opertunities... you can earn six figures in America just begging on the street...
you are absurd to believe we are not the richest country in the world.... andddddd its great, for US.

2. We do have the best universities in the world, and we do have the best and brightest of people from other countries too!... that's still in America though, haha, not anywhere else , here you are failing flat on your face.

3. The Japanese did their part, but we obviously did too... America eventually won in that regard. IBM, Microsoft, Apple, the list goes on and on. It is a good point and would make an excellent thesis on how much the Japanese contributed to modern technology, but America did more... Reagan played a huge part in keeping the Japanese down making sure America won the electronic technology boom race. Again, you are bringing up things that are half truths... but they fall

4. Do you deny America doesn't have the most powerful military in the world? thats silly...

5. The US landed rovers on Mars and NASA has plans to land people on Mars by 2035... you fail once again. I agree that it is depressing of the discontinuation of the shuttle programs, but stop not making no sense...
We also have spaceX and more satellites than anyone else and better satellite technology.

6. I'd take Kim Kardashian anyday over a tradition of people who are literally born superior having a divine right to govern men....sex tape fame, although stupid, is a product of aa free society.

7. I agree that the claim "if America wants something done, such as a treaty, it gets done." is a little sillt and easy to retort.... but there is no denying we do not dominate the global political scene

8. We provide billions of dollars in aid and military protection. Without America.... North Korea, China, and Russia would be off their leashes...
 
celticwar17 said:
1. As far as purchasing power of the individual American citizen, our cheap land, labor, and goods... we are better off than most everyone else. The dirt poor in America are better off than most of the world with access to clean water, hundreds of thousands of charities, government safety nets and opertunities... you can earn six figures in America just begging on the street...
you are absurd to believe we are not the richest country in the world.... andddddd its great, for US.

2. We do have the best universities in the world, and we do have the best and brightest of people from other countries too!... that's still in America though, haha, not anywhere else , here you are failing flat on your face.

3. The Japanese did their part, but we obviously did too... America eventually won in that regard. IBM, Microsoft, Apple, the list goes on and on. It is a good point and would make an excellent thesis on how much the Japanese contributed to modern technology, but America did more... Reagan played a huge part in keeping the Japanese down making sure America won the electronic technology boom race. Again, you are bringing up things that are half truths... but they fall

4. Do you deny America doesn't have the most powerful military in the world? thats silly...

5. The US landed rovers on Mars and NASA has plans to land people on Mars by 2035... you fail once again. I agree that it is depressing of the discontinuation of the shuttle programs, but stop not making no sense...
We also have spaceX and more satellites than anyone else and better satellite technology.

6. I'd take Kim Kardashian anyday over a tradition of people who are literally born superior having a divine right to govern men....sex tape fame, although stupid, is a product of aa free society.

7. I agree that the claim "if America wants something done, such as a treaty, it gets done." is a little sillt and easy to retort.... but there is no denying we do not dominate the global political scene

8. We provide billions of dollars in aid and military protection. Without America.... North Korea, China, and Russia would be off their leashes...
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This is a wise and rational assessment.
 
US Conservative said:
Superior to your nation. Not perfect. That said, Im fine with water boarding.
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People who 'think' like you are just one of the reasons why the USA isn't the great country that it could be and certainly isn't the 'greatest nation on Earth', no matter what a few, far-right, extreme nationalists might think. :roll:

But keep believing whatever you want to believe, that will have zero effect on reality.

Since you say that you're fine with water boarding I hope that some day you have the chance to go though it a few hundred times.

What you wish on others can happen to you. The clock is ticking.




"The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen." ~ Tommy Smothers
 
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shrubnose said:
People who 'think' like you are just one of the reasons why the USA isn't the great country it could be and certainly isn't the 'greatest nation on Earth', no matter what a few, far-right, extreme nationalists might think. :roll:

But keep believing whatever you want to believe, that will have zero effect on reality.

Since you say that you're fine with water boarding I hope that some day you have the chance to go though it a few hundred times.

What you wish on others can happen to you.




"The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen." ~ Tommy Smothers
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I'd choke a terrorist in each fist if I could. Your little country is of no consequence.
 
US Conservative said:
I'd choke a terrorist in each fist if I could.
Your little country is of no consequence.
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Lots of people would do a lot of things if they could.

My country happens to be the USA and I'm a U.S. military vet. :lamo

You're a joke, but I'm not laughing.




"What goes around,comes around."
 
shrubnose said:
Lots of people would do a lot of things if they could.

My country happens to be the USA and I'm a U.S. military vet. :lamo

You're a joke, but I'm not laughing.




"What goes around,comes around."
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Of course, I think all people would do a lot of things if they could-thats why they are coming to America.
 
Peter Grimm said:
This is seen as nearly axiomatic in some circles. In others, it's seen as misguided arrogance.

I want to know whether the maxim rings true with you, and your reasoning.


Focus specifically on these areas, if at all possible...... 1.) Freedom 2.) Diversity 3.) Opportunity
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Hmmm, I once thought Canada was a pretty cool and diverse nation, all their brothels, opened arms to draft deserters, freedom to come and go as you please, but, that was when I was very young, and didn't know **** about what real freedom and diversity meant. I found Canada is a cool place to visit, but I didn't want to live there.
 
Peter Grimm said:
My thoughts: Yes, this is the greatest nation on earth. Below are some of the reasons....

- We're the richest. We have more money than any other nation on earth and it ain't close.
- We're the smartest. We have something like over half of the world's Nobel Prize winners. Our universities are the top ranked in the world.
- We're the most industrial. Modern industry as you know it was invented and perfected in the US of A.
- We kick ass. Most powerful military in the history of human civilization relative to our contemporaries
- We're not sissies - looking at you, France
- We innovate. We invented pretty much everything in existence in the modern world, and that trend is continuing.
- We sent a man to the moon for christ's sake. That was 50 years ago. No other nation has yet to be able to do it, even today.
- We don't have stupid royalty or aristocracies. America is the only country on earth where going rags to riches is truly seen as possible.
- We dominate the global political scene. If America wants something done, such as a treaty, it gets done.
- Other nations need us more than we need them.
- We utterly dominate popular culture and the arts - Hollywood baby. ALL the movies that seen by a broad audience are American. We invented rock and roll, the blues, rap, hip hop, and all the modern media. We invented television, and pretty much everything that goes on it.


I could go on, but that's a start.
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Peter Grimm said:
What's the latest and greatest technology today? Computers and the internet? Both American inventions, and America dominates both industries. We always have been and always will be leading the pack when it comes to driving the direction of technology.
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Peter Grimm said:
Who invented the airplane? AMERICA.

Who built the first nuclear reactor and who was the first to split the atom? AMERICA.


Boy I could go on and on.
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Beyond absurdity there is delusion. Beyond delusion there is insanity.

Beyond insanity there is Peter Grimm.

Holy ****ing ****, dude. lulz
 
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