What do you think the US does well?

[TNF]

1. Civil libertarianism. What other country allows anywhere near the amount of 'offensive', 'profane', 'blasphemous', or 'pornographic' content to regularly be published and widely accessible? What other country doesn't lock you up for saying the wrong words or thinking the wrong thoughts (mostly looking at European social democracies here, what with your 'hate speech' laws and all)? What other country has the kind of sustained, civil libertarian ethos that the United States has had since perhaps its foundation? I love the fact that in America there are organizations and people that will go to bat for you on any perceived slight of your rights. America is truly unique in this aspect, as its always been kind of the loud, irreverent stepchild of bourgeois civilization.

Meanwhile, European televisions can show nipples and use curse words.

Yeah, that's one area where we're certainly deficient. But at least we don't lock people up for saying that the Holocaust didn't happen.

[H. Ross Peron]

1. Civil libertarianism. What other country allows anywhere near the amount of 'offensive', 'profane', 'blasphemous', or 'pornographic' content to regularly be published and widely accessible? What other country doesn't lock you up for saying the wrong words or thinking the wrong thoughts (mostly looking at European social democracies here, what with your 'hate speech' laws and all)? What other country has the kind of sustained, civil libertarian ethos that the United States has had since perhaps its foundation? I love the fact that in America there are organizations and people that will go to bat for you on any perceived slight of your rights. America is truly unique in this aspect, as its always been kind of the loud, irreverent stepchild of bourgeois civilization.

Meanwhile, European televisions can show nipples and use curse words.

Yeah, that's one area where we're certainly deficient. But at least we don't lock people up for saying that the Holocaust didn't happen.

I thought you were in favour of the suppression of far-right/fascistic political groups? Or does that only apply in a revolutionary situation?

[Franzl]

1. Civil libertarianism. What other country allows anywhere near the amount of 'offensive', 'profane', 'blasphemous', or 'pornographic' content to regularly be published and widely accessible? What other country doesn't lock you up for saying the wrong words or thinking the wrong thoughts (mostly looking at European social democracies here, what with your 'hate speech' laws and all)? What other country has the kind of sustained, civil libertarian ethos that the United States has had since perhaps its foundation? I love the fact that in America there are organizations and people that will go to bat for you on any perceived slight of your rights. America is truly unique in this aspect, as its always been kind of the loud, irreverent stepchild of bourgeois civilization.

Meanwhile, European televisions can show nipples and use curse words.

Yeah, that's one area where we're certainly deficient. But at least we don't lock people up for saying that the Holocaust didn't happen.

While I agree that should be decriminalized, America finds lots of other reasons to lock up an extremely high amount of people.

[Franzl]

And the best answer to the original question is, paradoxically, beer. Yeah America has some of the crappiest in the world, but it also has the very best.

[TNF]

1. Civil libertarianism. What other country allows anywhere near the amount of 'offensive', 'profane', 'blasphemous', or 'pornographic' content to regularly be published and widely accessible? What other country doesn't lock you up for saying the wrong words or thinking the wrong thoughts (mostly looking at European social democracies here, what with your 'hate speech' laws and all)? What other country has the kind of sustained, civil libertarian ethos that the United States has had since perhaps its foundation? I love the fact that in America there are organizations and people that will go to bat for you on any perceived slight of your rights. America is truly unique in this aspect, as its always been kind of the loud, irreverent stepchild of bourgeois civilization.

Meanwhile, European televisions can show nipples and use curse words.

Yeah, that's one area where we're certainly deficient. But at least we don't lock people up for saying that the Holocaust didn't happen.

I thought you were in favour of the suppression of far-right/fascistic political groups? Or does that only apply in a revolutionary situation?

Correct.

[Deus Naturae]

As has already been stated, (some aspects of) civil liberties, music, food, guns, and a general understanding that there are some things that government just shouldn't do. Also, the US has more PAWG's than any other country in the world.

[RINO Tom]

As others have echoed, it's really the *spirit* of America that's great.  At the end of the day, I don't think nitpicked statistics are nearly as important as the broader picture, and from my experiences people outside of the US certainly have a very basic respect for our country - how it formed and how that shaped our attitudes.  Like every country, we've made mistakes, but we've provided the world with a lot of good, and I'm proud of that.

As for very, very specific things, I'd say:

- Comfort of living ... some people might not even like this, but comparing American business, streets and homes with those outside our country, we have wider spaces, nicer layouts and just generally more comfortable living space, even in big cities.  Though I've absolutely LOVED my trips outside of America, there's something I love (that's very hard to describe) about getting back to American infrastructure.  I realize this sounds incoherent, so I'll move on.

- We have everything you'd ever want to buy, eat, drink or do at least somewhere.  I doubt the shopping, entertainment or activity is better - as a whole - in any other country in the world.

- Our entertainment industry absolutely blows the rest of the world away.

- Say what you want about our politics and how annoying gridlock is, but since our foundation - sometimes for better and sometimes for worse - we've been "careful" about radical change.  In instances like civil rights, we've been wrong, but I think the basic sentiment we all have of majority-rule/at least TRYING to carry out the will of our people is an admirable starting point.

- Sports.  Yes, the rest of the world blows us away with football/soccer, and I'm jealous of that, but I have met so many foreigners who compliment how cool our other sports leagues are.  I mean, Canada's baseball and hockey teams play here, for God's sake.

- The Fourth of July.  I did a bunch of research last year into other countries' versions of "Independence Day," and I think the Fourth of July stands head and shoulders above the rest.  Maybe we all remember again for that one day the great way this country was founded, but it really is a special day as an American, IMO.

- Our universities are the class of the world, and our "second tier" universities are much better than their counterparts across the world.

There's a reason we have so many immigrants.  Sure, some are escaping poverty, but I'm thinking about people I met in college from Asia, a Slovakian surgeon my dad knows, a Danish professor I met, etc.  They love and miss their home countries, but they came here for a reason.  As has been the case for many, many years, America has the best opportunity in the world.  We're not perfect, and we might even be "bad" in several individual categories, but I don't see another country in the world that has a better end product when you combine everything together.