If the U.S.A. is not the greatest country on the globe, which one is?

hmm i quit agree with you but if i may ask does that means you are the greates? on that issue i totaly disagree cos if you look at the germans,japans,chines,e.t.c you will see they all claim what americas are sayin base on who is the greatest,well to me i would say my own country too is the greates ,how about that?

haha... I don't mean to put anyone down but I don't think any country is the greatest. We all contribute equally...

bigridge, I would like to share two quotes here. Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both. -- Abraham Flexner Being an American is such a rich environment, because there's so many people from other countries and cultures, and through that you're able to see other people's experiences. -- Rick Yune

I don't think the US is the greatest county on the globe. Yes, it a good place to live, but, there are also other countries that are good too. You mention the US gives more money in financial aid to foreign countries, but, that is in a monetary amount not percentage wise, giving way less than 1% of the GDP. Denmark, Sweden, Netherland and Norway to name just a few give far more compared to their GDP. The reason the US appears to give so much is that the population is very high. As to immigration. One could argue that the reason millions of illegals are here is a testement to how bad the US policy on Immigration is or how bad/corrupt the system is to allow so many to be earning un-taxed wages? Also, many of the neighbors to the South are basically 3rd World countries, who care little of nothing about their working class citizens. As to who else? I don't think one country is better is ALL aspects, some have more charitible citizens, some have less crime, some have better governments, some have more natural resources, some have better education and so on. To recap; The US is a great country and a good place to live, but, it is not without it's own problems, some of which are huge.

I absolutely agree with you (but I think you knew that!) I do believe that our government is lacking in a lot of ways, but it's the best we have to work with. I believe one of the things we need to focus on the most is the illegal immigrant problem. I'm all for immigration if it's within the confines of established law, but those here illegally are taking away from so many and leaving a bad taste in the mouthes of many Americans on the entire subject of immigration.

The US also refuses to cancel foreign debt - which is really necessary in some countries from them to be able to develop. And the US keep these countries indebted to them in order to force-trade. If these countries were encouraged to trade with one another (referring to African and South American countries mainly...) they could help each other's economies out for themselves without as much need for foreign aid. I am not slating the US, I just found some of your reasonings a little too nicey nicey when we all have to admit our countries aren't perfect (unless of course they are). Mine (England) for one of course is not perfect by any means.

I find it ironic that you list all the wonderful things America does for people from other nations but not a single thing that it does for Americans! I think that says a great deal, don't you? We have the greatest health care in the world as far as having terrific doctors and first class hospitals and equipment but we have over 40 million Americans who don't have access to it so what good does it do them? We have homeless veterans living on the streets, we have kids graduating from high school unable to read, we have children going to bed hungry every night, we have senior citizens who have to choose between heating their homes and taking their medicine. Sure, the United States of America is a great country in many ways and the rights we enjoy here that people from many other countries don't have are certainly worth fighting for; however, there are many ways in which it could be improved and ways in which we're far from the greatest. One of the ways in which we are the greatest is in that we can say it's not the greatest and work to make it so it is! Annie

There is no doubt that we are leaders and the best at giving and forgiving. What we lack is the sense that many other countries have. I lived in Switzerland for 4 year and witnessed how a country prevents the illegal immigration problem, homeless problem, crime, lack of adequate affordable medical care, and poverty. The system they have had in place for hundreds of years works perfectly. It seems as if the US is unwilling or unable to learn from other countries. Maybe our pride of being the greatest nation keeps us from learning and implementing ways that we could deal with and treat these issues? What I saw there would work perfectly for our country and yet we stick to our old ways that do not work. Change is not only normal but necessary.