my country is The Best in the World

Well, they're both wrong, as MY country is the best in world! In everything! (except weather of course) And the UN says so too! So those poor misguided people aren't just wrong, they live in the wrong place ;-) (should I assume that those aforementioned poor misguided people won't take this as a joke, and let my red star wonder of together with yours?) Or are you talking about me? *looks around* But there's nearly only me here *paranoid stare* However, I know that the word "union" has a tendency to make us (Norwegians) maybe a bit too patriotic, and the so-called union called the 400 year long night ended nearly 200 years ago, so yes, I history can make a country more patriotic and/or resentful towards other countries. We like you though, also partly for historical reasons, and apparantly because of football.

Like someone mentioned it is really impossible to say which country is "the best" until a person has lived there, worked there and gone through the daily or weekly grind of shopping, keeping up with the job, with the children's schooling and paying the bills. However, I would like to state that I live in the best country in the world. I am lucky to be here and I am grateful every day. It is the size and diversity of my country which streches from sea to sea to shining sea that is so appealing. There are magnificent mountains, a mini desert, Northern rain forests, tundra and the high Arctic,maritime fishing villages and endless boreal forests, prairies with the sky so big and wide like you cannot imagine it, a lake with 30 000 islands and so much more. There is freedom of religion, we have churches temples and mosques. There is equality in the workplace, equal pay for equal work, at least in Government and large companies. We have universal health care with all its faults and a social safety net. No one needs to sleep on the streets on a bitter cold or blazing hot day unless they refuse a shelter. We have no conscription and are known as peace keepers in the world. Sadly we have been dragged into a war in Afghanistan due to our membership in Nato, a useless war that no one from the West can win. As for the other two countries on your list I have visited one of them many times, it is nice but a cruel place unless "you have made it". and can afford health insurance. The other one I have not visited. I am sure it is also beautiful but has a lot of frightening aspects. The dowry system still exists even though legally abolished. New brides still die "accidentally" by fire in their inlaws house. While there seem to be great riches as well and many new jobs in technology there seems to be abject poverty as well, poverty so bad that we in the West cannot imagine it. So enough of by bragging....

I'm don't have anything to contribute to this topic, but nice red, huh jb....

Hmmmm....Both country A and B sound like Americans. Maybe I should come back after much more coffee since I can't see any other country in the world like that other than the US

It's a government conspiracy by countries a and b to make there residents feel patriotic knowing that it will p!ss residents of our country [checks profile] off, making us as a nation feel belittled. Why else would it be that our country never gets to save the world in the movies when we are attacked by aliens, natural disasters or meteors!

Love your work! (if you lose that red star, I will do what I can to help you get it back...LOL) Of course we all know that my country is the best! (if you can ignore the government) I have lived in what I am assuming to be country 'B' and I enjoyed my time there, but as soon as I went across the border to the north into the country which I will call 'C', I felt much more relaxed and at home for some reason. I felt safer too. When I drove back into country 'B', I ended up in some not so nice areas by mistake and the calmness evaporated real quick!

This reminds me of people I know who always own the best. I think of a friend who thought Holden was the ONLY car and rubbished all other makes - until he bought a Ford and of course IT was the best. Now he owns a Hyundai and found out there is no other car can come anywhere near it: it is FAR superior to all others! Patriotism is a good thing, but blind acceptance is not. Faithfulness and loyalty are good things, but if we are truly loyal we will see errors; accept some and lovingly try to rectify those we can. I am English born and I am proud of my English heritage. I marvel at the greatness of Britain over the centuries. However, I came to Australia when I was 11 years old and I am a true-blue, fair-dinkum Aussie, proud of my country. Australia has long been called "The Lucky Country" and many people have found it to be so. Australia has many faults, but those faults are far outweighed by its benefits. I consider myself to be patriotic. I love Australia, but I do not see Australia as the ONLY "good" country. Every country has its good and bad points and I don't see that we are in a competition to live in the best, but for ME, Australia is my home.

These claims that you mention make me smile. As you know I come from UK and live in Italy. You might also know that my siter lives in US. We can both make comparisons between the three countries, something which many of those who are making their claims cannot do and until yuo have actually lived in a place you can only presume things but you have no real proof about what is being said or what you are reading about each place. Having said that if I had to claim that one place is better than another I honestly think it is impossible to do because each place has its pros and cons. If I had to choose where I would want to move to, well that's another thing altogether and my choice would be - a desrt island... except that there would be no internet and I would not be able to point out how great the place was and if I did, then everyone would want either to be there or would start bashing, just to make a few pennies

My country, 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing. Land where we have no queen Wearing that awful green Matching hats must be seen Let blue jeans rein. Ok, enough silly singing. I think it's a human thing, wanting to be first, be best, be right. It's not just countries, but religions, philosophies, etc. Everybody in our religion is going to heaven and YOU are going to hell. My way of thinking is right. And then people are taught that a certain way of thinking is the right way by their parents and other role models. Some people manage to escape anyway and learn to think for themselves. Many don't. As for me, if I disagree with something my country has done, I have no problem saying so. If I'm proud of something my country has done, same thing. But I have no delusions that we're better than anybody else or smarter than anybody else or that this superpower thing is going to last forever...

Dang, I must have missed that meeting! [Makes note to resent the wabbit's country] My opinion...some folks may be a bit intolerant of other ways of life and other forms of government. I do agree with the poster who said that, if you haven't lived in other countries, you really can't judge the pros and cons very well. However, MY country invented the Big Mac and the Double Whopper with Cheese so, really, HOW can anyone compete with that? Seriously, the U.S. has both her good and bad points but I left the "my [fill in the blank] is better than your's" mentality a long time ago. Don't fret about your star. I have my long rifle aimed at it and if anyone comes close, I'll take off a finger. Just one since I'm in a good mood this morning.

Why wouldn't someone(anyone) be patriotic? In most cases a country inwhich someone lives is their only experience. They know this place from a life time of dealing with its positives and negatives. They usually have no other experience of other countries by which to form an opinion even if they wanted to.

Ooohh, nice red star. I've got one too - it's on a badge. But I don't think it means the same thing... I have issues with most countries, but most especially with my own. I'm English, much as it pains me to admit it, and my country has f*cked the world over more times than I'd care to remember. I am not a patriot, and I tend to think that patriotism is just another excuse to divide people for arbitrary reasons...

people are always proud of their respective countries. but being proud of your country doesn't necessarily mean you are patriotic. it takes more than that to be so. being patriotic, in word and in deed, entails a lot of responsibilities. saying that you're proud of your country, but do not live it is just lip service.

In Chinese culture, no one can be the best, but every one can be better.

I think people are mainly patriotic about the country of their birth because of years of indocrination. Then the lucky ones get to travel and see and experience other countries and cultures. Opinions often change once one sees up close and first hand exactly how other societies are run. I'm an American and of course I believe my country is the best. In fact, I have traveled to a lot of other countries and still believe America is the best for me. However, I'm equally sure had I been born in Europe, or Asia I would feel the same way. Also, your satisfaction in life has a lot to do with your economic status. Even if one live in a third world nation, if they were a part of the elite class, they would also think their country was the best.

my country is not the best, my country is full of corrupted member from the president of this country and also the others. that's why we cannot take some good advantages in our country as of now. the lack of government funds , lack of funds in eduction , there is so many poor people here in my country . that's why i said this. my country is not the best for me and for many people who live in our country.

I think it is merely for fun. These guys brag about their countries since they feel great about doing so, its not that they are starting a new war they just want to have fun since the world is suffering from many depressing events. We humans get bored so easily so we do some crazy things like what the representatives you mentioned have done. Theres also a possibility that when they mean their country is the best all they say is that they are lucky people. Their just doing what their minds dictate them to do so.