Greatest country in the world

[Hatman 🍁]

To those who think the US is the greatest country in the world, please indicate why your country is better than the following countries:

A) Canada
B) UK
C) France
D) Denmark
E) Norway
F) The Netherlands
G) Australia
H) New Zealand

Thank you.

[Hatman 🍁]

To those who think the US is the greatest country in the world, please indicate why your country is better than the following countries:

A) Canada
B) UK
C) France
D) Denmark
E) Norway
F) The Netherlands
G) Australia
H) New Zealand

Thank you.

More of a role in the past century to advance freedom...

OK, that's all well and good (not to mention, debatable, but let's ignore that for now), but that's only a small aspect of greatness. And, in the case of the US, as been negated more often than not. Now, you're going to say "nobodies perfect", well, yeah, but if it's your sole basis for why your country is better than everyone else, you should come up with a better reason than something that is flawed.

I'm NOT saying we are better than them, but here is two things...checked the Soviets (admittedly with the help of the above) and put a bunch of men on the moon, got them back again.

Putting a man on the moon was a truly awesome feat, for sure. And perhaps that argument would have had better sway if this were 1969. But, it's 2012, and the US can't afford that anymore.

And, wasn't the Soviet Union going to crumble under its own weight anyways? I know Americans (and I guess many Canadians too) and especially Republicans like to think they had a hand in it, just because Reagan told Gobachev to tear down the Berlin wall. But like I said, that's ancient history.

I'm not saying there wasn't a time where the US may have had a legitimate shot at being considered the greatest country in the world. Perhaps the same is true, today. However, what bugs me are those that claim they know this for certain. It is quite arrogant and jingoistic, and appears to be backed up by Cold War nostalgia.

[Hatman 🍁]

I'd say the answer is probably Canada which is basically the US with most of the bad things about it greatly toned down (not entirely eliminated of course as Stephen Harper's majority currently proves), and no particular bad things about it that stand out (like the xenophobia in a lot of European countries, censorship-happiness in Australia, nanny statism in Scandinavia, etc.)

New Zealand kind of fits that bill too but it's too geographically isolated for me. (OK from what I've heard the anti-Maori racism can be kind of bad, but not necessarily any worse than the treatment of minorities in the US.)

While I'm honoured you would say Canada, I think our time in the sun has past, much like our American neighbours. I would argue that Canada was the greatest country in the world back in the 1990s. At least, the UN thought we were.

I'd say the answer is probably Canada which is basically the US with most of the bad things about it greatly toned down (not entirely eliminated of course as Stephen Harper's majority currently proves), and no particular bad things about it that stand out (like the xenophobia in a lot of European countries, censorship-happiness in Australia, nanny statism in Scandinavia, etc.)

New Zealand kind of fits that bill too but it's too geographically isolated for me. (OK from what I've heard the anti-Maori racism can be kind of bad, but not necessarily any worse than the treatment of minorities in the US.)

Sorry, but Canada is much too minor a country in world history to be considered the greatest.

Where we lack in history, we gain in geography. Both are only small parts of what makes a country great, however.

Indeed....Canada might not have a long list of bad/horrible things...but what have they done for the world community outside of giving us Alan Thike and Celine Dion?

Plenty of things. But they don't teach that in American schools.

[Hatman 🍁]

Plenty of things. But they don't teach that in American schools.

Agreed.  So, huh, what are some of those things?  Fight my ignorance.

Well, here's a list of inventions, for starters: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_inventions
Here's a background of our military history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_military_history
I'm especially proud of our often ignored, but significant contribution during WW2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Canada_during_World_War_II Our most notable WW2 achievement was liberating Holland. To this day, the Dutch love us, and send us tulips every year.

But I don't have to defend Canada, it isn't in my opinion the greatest country in the world. It is however, one of them.

[Hatman 🍁]

Alberta is a bad example, dead0man. The $$$'s good there. Although, I'm sure Madison, WI is a fine place to live. Not sure about Omaha, though.

Canadian cities regularly outrank American cities, for example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_most_livable_cities (I know you can't access Wikipedia, but that first chart shows Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver in the top 10 in the world). No US city makes the top 10 in any chart.

Interestingly, Maclean's magazine ranks neither of those cities as the best city to live in Canada, which apparently is my city, Ottawa http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/03/20/government-jobs-help-ottawa-earn-best-place-to-live-ranking/ (although, Hashemite have something to say about that)

Here's another list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_of_Living_Survey

4) Vancouver
14) Ottawa
16) Toronto
21) Montreal
28) Calgary
31) Honolulu (top US city)