Is America a good country?

I mean this question excatly as it sounds. I'm not asking if you like Bush or not. I'm not asking if you supported the war, or whether the reasons for going to war were just or not. I believe America is a good country, in spite of its imperfections, and the mistakes of certain adminstrations. Bill Clinton said that "there is nothing that's wrong with America that can't be cured by what's right with it." I agree with that. Seriously, I'm not trying to get some kind of loyalty test or anything. I'm just curious. Despite the bullshit of Bush, is America a good country?

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Never has a country been as absolutely rooted in pure evil as Poland. Poland's very existence is a threat to humanity. They must be stopped.

Oh wait, my friends here have just told me that Poland is not the root of all evil and that they are OK folks, so I guess we'll have to try to find another bad country.

the pope is from Poland.

;-)

But there are a heck of a lot of BAD governments!!!!

"Say anything stupid and chimpy gets it!"

Well if it were a country, it would be a bad one.

The problem with trying to gauge something like that is that A) the criteria for either depends on the beliefs of the individual and B) it is unclear what exactly one is judging - the people, the government, or their own history. To me, America is a country. If one labels it good or bad, one must disregard one part or another of its history. Do I think America acts in a way that is intentionally bad? No. I think the intentions are usually good. The actions and consequences, however, are unintentionally bad.

People are less "Nations" than humans. What do we all want? Security, safety, love, room to develop? Lots of places around the world have different and vastly opposing ideas of how they believe they can make this happen- many through religion, some through force on their opponents, some through actual policies to insure this.
I currently disagree with many of the POLICIES of our current goverment (in Republican control), but it doesn't mean I think the country is "bad". To look at it as such is rather a simplistic viewpoint.

America is a "noble" experiment gone horribly wrong. We're headed for Balkanization! Good/bad cannot be applied to a nation. America is a place name on a map.

"America" is a continent, not a country.

The United States of America is the name of this country. There is no other country to my knowledge on either of the American continents that is so named; i.e., no Ecuadoran States of America, Canadian States of America, etc. I suppose if one wanted to be specific, the country could have been called the United States of North America, but the political landscape was quite a bit different when the country was founded. Calling the country America is simply a shorthand way of referring to the USA. If one is referring to one of the continents, one always prefaces it with North, South (or Central, when applicable), or refers to the Americas in plural.

If, for example, Mexico occupied the role currently played by the USA, and the US occupied that played by Mexico, I doubt there would be any grumbling about this country's shorthand place name. Given the USA's unsavory history in South and Central America, the grumbling is understandable, but the country is correctly named.

means the United States of Mexico- which is the country's official name and appears on its coinage. There are 31 states in Mexico plus 1 Federal District and some of the states in Mexico are as different from one another as Arizona & Oregon....

You yanqui imperialists!

Mexico may have United States as part of it's name, but it does not include the word America. Now if Mexico were called Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de America, then there would be cause for confusion.

Again, as far as I know, the USA is the only country in either American continent that includes the word America as part of its official name.

Personally I think you can not define a nation as "good" or "bad" it's a wee bit more complex than that.

But all the reasons I've heard people say that the USA is the "best" country totally overlook the fact that those "reasons" apply elsewhere - and often are MORE applicable elsewhere.

Democracy - in other countries you don't loose your right to vote for ever when you committ a crime AND more than 30% of the population actually vote

Healthcare - No brainer EVERY western nation has more equitable AND cheaper health care than you do

Flora & Fauna - been to Australia? Borneo? the Amazon? Pollution levels in the US are also amongst the highest in the industrialised world

"Freedom" - well put it this way kids where I live could draw pictures saying "Howard sucks" and it wouldn't lead to them being investigated by the cops and the secret service.

I have no problems with American people and there's much about the US that is "good" for want of a better word - but unless one has lived EVERYWHERE else how on earth can you state that it's the "best" nation without sounding like a bit of a pillock?

America may not have the best government, or the best quality of living, or the best anything. I just think it's the best country in the world because I live here, and it's my country, and I love it. That sounds very simplistic, but in my heart I know it's true.

To me, one cannot judge a nation based on algorithms. I think everyone is entitled to say that their nation is the best in the world. You can say that Australia or any other country is the best nation in the world. And it's true. To you, or to that person, at least, it is.

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OK...

Without a definition the question is meaningless.

I thought we were a good country, a long time ago. I think, deep inside, there are lot of good people live here. But a country is judged by it's overall actions, and we've not done very well.

We've become "fat, dumb & happy" as the saga says. We have a LOT compared to the very poor countries, we've become very greedy, and selfish. Yes, we give a lot of $$ to "poor" countries, but it somes out of the Fed. budget not our own, so who cares. Lately we've becom very arrogant. You know, my way of the highway" philosophy.

I'm not real thrilled with my country anymore.

the humanitarian foreign aid budget is a smaller percentage of the US budget that most other nations in the world.

It's kind of iffy. Maybe America has become corrupted by its power in the world.

Freedom fries & coke good. Baguettes & Bordeaux bad.

Canada bad too. Exporting the "crack of marijuana," sending American kids to the emergency room. Drug Czar John Walters (good) says so. Must be true.

:eyes:

It's sad I even have to point that out.

There are no good countries in the world and there will be no good countries until war against each other, as a human endeavor, is ended forever.

One species. One planet. One future.

I don't see how anyone could say "yes".

ANd I don't buy the arguments that it's just a small group at the top.

Americans are addicted to being a superpower. They are addicted to pushing around smaller countries. They are addicted to exploiting third world countries to maintain their standard of living.

I don't see how anyone could say "yes".

I would leave like a shot if I could afford to. And living under
Bush's reich has been unbearable.

America is a real country. Real things have flaws. Unreal things can be perfect. They are called abstract constructs. They can be as perfect as our imagination can make them. But America is a land of greatness and depravity. All things are within our nation. And while some enjoy preening themself with the imagined greatness of this nation others have to live within the depths that it can sink to.

A handful of amoral grifters in high places exploiting a growing and increasingly ignorant underclass who don't know enough to know they've been taken.

America scares me, but it saddens me just as much. It's supposed to be much better than this.

Good with regards to what? Compared to what, or who? Good as judged by who exactly? Are we talking America as represented by the governments of America, or America as represented by the ideals of the constitution, or America as represented by its citizens or what? This is the most loosely worded question of all time... honestly, I could answer yes or no and come up with a a few convincing arguments for both answers.

countries are little more than land masses that peoople have drawn artificial lines called borders.

Then get the fuck out. It's as simple as that. I'm not one of those idiots who says "If you don't like Bush, get out" but if you think it's a bad country, then just leave! Nothing is stopping you. Put your money where your mouth is.

Someone who truly loves their country and its people will not be blind to its faults and work to make things better.

It spreads chaos and destruction wherever it meddles. Case in point: Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Palestine, Panama, Nicaragua, Grenada, Chile, Vietnam, Cuba, Phillipines, Mexico, it just never ends.

Let's see. What are the notable historical markers of the USA?

1) Genocide of Native Americans (inspired Hitler's Final Solution)
2) Slavery of Africans (built US's economic might when textiles were as important as oil is today)
3) Lynching, terrorism, apartheid against African Americans even today
4) Mass membership in the KKK in the 20's and 30's.
5) Unchecked capitalists setting up eugenics and educational mind control
6) Prevention, toppling, destruction of democracy for 60 years
7) Poisening of the environment with many nuclear tests and pollution
8) Slaughter of millions in secret CIA wars
9) Ignorant Master Race mentality population rife with superstition
10) Biggest contributor to global warming and consumption of energy
11) Largest arsenal on the planet used despite no legitimate executive branch due to massive electoral fraud and corruption
12) Elimination or denial of the US Constitution, Geneva Convention, UN, Nato, all international treaties

ALL THIS WHILE ATLEAST HALF THE POPULATION APPLAUDS.
Does this sound like a 'good' country to you? Hmmmmm.