'Angel of Death' the AC-130 gunship's flares being deployed

Jesus fuck, that's a lot of bullshit. Porn? Bases? Law enforcement? Medicine? Christ, get a grip.

Of course we have the most cops, the most student loan debt, the most crime, the most reported rapes, the most obese people and so on? You know why? We have 328 MILLION citizens. You don’t think a number that freaking huge isn’t gonna have the most of a lot of things? And I’m what world is the most law enforcement a “shameful” thing as that idiotic article suggests? All those rapes, car thefts, and other crimes are reported and recorded because we have cops.

And because our law enforcement system usually works. American Law Enforcement have an international reputation (in the Americas at least) of being bribe-proof, being held to extreme standards when putting cases together, and of being very difficult to fight or outrun.
Nevermind that things like obesity are not government failures, but things that happen simply because we have so much food, money, time, and the freedom to do with those things as we please.

Ok. 1. There is nothing shameful about obesity- it’s a huge health risk- but risking your own health is your own business. 2. There’s nothing shameful about divorce. People get married, they get divorced. It’s better than staying with someone you don’t really want to be with forever, to leave and both go find happiness hopefully. 3. WhTs shameful about watching the most tv? If you are doing what you’re supposed to do in life, who cares how much tv you watch? 4. The is used a ton of drugs. Arguments abound wether that’s shameful- and you forget that many countries have very lax drug standards compared to the us- so if we were like many European countries and legalized drugs- our “illegal drugs use” would obviously fall. That’s kinda a dumb one by default.

5. The us has the most cars in the world. If you look at car thefts PER CAPITA the USA doesn’t score worst by far. If you look at violent car thefts, still doing alright. If you look at the fact that many cars stollen in America are stollen specifically for export to other countries.... well.... I’ll cover that more later.
6. Rape is horrible. I won’t justify this one at all. I will say this though- REPORTED RAPES. The fact victims actually report crime isn’t shameful. Compare that to Europe, where sexual harassment etc. scores much higher in studies of population for occurrence, or other countries where what we legally consider rape is part of legal cultural institutions... again.. no the whole picture there.

7. Again... more REPORTED murders. The fact we have a system that makes it possible and encourages people to report crimes isn’t shameful. But we could work on our murder rate- although those statistics are also not as clear cut as they seem...
8. Yes, more total crimes. It is called “freedom.” Some people use it for crime. As a country the popular opinion is shifting towards giving up freedom for safety like many other countries do. But at least for now, we still have a level of freedom that is reckless- which is what America is about.
9. “Most police” someone REALLY failed data studies. The USA isn’t NEAR the most police. India and China have over a million cops. And again if we go police PER CAPITA UK, Netherlands, many places in Europe and abroad have more police PER CITIZEN than the US. also- how is having the most police shameful?

10. Yes. And we have good healthcare. Healthcare spending doesn’t seem shameful to me.
11. Also a question of- what is shameful about prescription drugs? “SHAME ON YOU AMERICA, you give people medicine!”
12. The percentage of women on anti depressants... we just established more AMERICANS are on prescription drugs. So... last I checked women can be Americans too.

13. Derp.
14. What is shameful about porn? The rest of the world seems to like our porn. Sorry we are prettier and better at fucking on camera? I don’t know what to tel you there.
15. Negative trade balance and yet... still kicking ass economically and in standard of living. These are just getting really stupid.
16. Hell yeah we do. Shameful how?
17. Hell yeah we do. Shameful how?
18. Yes. See “freedom.” We don’t just take your money and say: “ok. The rest is yours.”
19. Jeff Bezos makes $81,000 a year and is the richest person in the world. lol at the debt carried by the wealthy or by companies. This is economics 101 stuff here. If you want to discuss such things you must first read and learn.

Come on. These are just bad. The US isn’t perfect- but this lost is also full of things like illegal drug use and such that don’t even tip a nod to the fact of where the money goes and who the crime is actually for the benefit of. A lot aren’t even shameful unless your a 90 year old Lutheran.

granted it's from 9 years ago, but just because you're in the US, doesn't make America the best.

Nah, we're the best for other reasons. Just look at the number of people trying to get in, for one. Nevermind that we're the first, longest lasting, and most stable (classically) liberal republic. We've culturally dominated much of the world almost by accident, and we develop the most and best medicines and technologies. Nevermind that our backs are getting sore from propping up the rest of the west.

that's an opinion though, not based on facts, can say that about Australia, and New Zealand also. The medicines and technologies are developed in other countries, but funded by US pharma and start ups.
You never can see just how indoctrined americans are to believe they are the best, it starts in school and continues into adult life. But from the outside looking in, it's obvious

No, our immigration applicants, actual history, cultural dominance, and med/tech is pretty factual.

Here's some opinions for you to chew on: Porn is bad, police are bad, the military is bad, obesity is a government failure not a personal thing, prescription drugs are bad, tv is bad. And so on.

@iccarus- that’s really a deeper philosophical discussion. He’s the best, she’s the best, they’re the best and if everyone is the best is anyone the best and all that. Is America the “best” objectively, in a probable metric in all aspects? No. One aspect? Questionable and debatable. Is any country? The same. America is the Android phone of countries. It’s highly user configurable, everyone’s experience of it is significantly different, you aren’t asked to pay a lot just for existing in the eco system- but all the “free” and “cheap” stuff comes with tons of hidden catches. Many European countries or other European defendant governments are the Apple of countries.

You pay for almost everything- the costs are just bundled and you don’t have to think much about it. Things just work- 90% of people can do 99% of anything they’d likely actually want to do or have a reason to do- so it’s academic and philosophical to ask “well... can you legally do THIS?!” Because most people wouldn’t if they could. Things are pretty on the surface and work well.

Just like Apple and Android one isn’t better than the other- just different. As my Chinese coworker liked to say: “here you have so many problems because you have too much freedom. People Say things and do things that are dangerous or stupid and you let them.” Ask him why he is here though- and he would tell you that he didn’t have the opportunity to make money and have a family like he wanted where he was from. He missed his home and wanted to go back. So.. which country is “better?” The one you leave for another but still miss, or the one that you go to for opportunity but want to leave?

So to our philosophical conundrum- we can say just about every country is wonderful. You’ll find people all over the world who will say they love their country and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. People who dream about moving to their country or visiting it. But every country also has problems, sucks- in its own ways. No one has the “perfect system” yet that we know of. America is a teen or young 20 year old. Just under 250 years old.

For a democratic republic that exists as the worlds largest and longest running social experiment- there’s a lot of room for growth. So I’m not arguing America doesn’t have problems. It does. I’m saying that the examples given in that article are largely crap with crap data and shoddy conclusions and logic which doesn’t take any context into account.

Don’t compare the US to postage stamp countries. I mean... if you only have 3 kids to watch you can’t say someone else sucks when they have trouble watching 30, from 30 different parents- and XYZ number are vegan and this or that or autistic and you have to figure out how to cater to every one of them. If you look at countries the size of the US or larger, the only 2 that I would personally consider living in would be Australia and Canada- and well... they have us in size but they’re also mostly empty space by volume so the comparison falls apart when Canada is a dead ringer to us on area but has 1/10th our population- Australia’s is smaller in area but less than 1/10th the population. So add 300 million people to their systems and see how they work.

I can basically say, i don't think the US is the best, just because Americans think it is, I've lived there before, was fun, but not the best. Yeah, Australia is 1/10th the population, but also only 1/10th of the land is viable for living on. Big difference.

Well yes. It IS a big difference isn’t it? So we can’t really compare can we? What would America be like if most of it was almost completely unlivable (and not just unlivable according to people living on the coast- but in practical terms inhospitable for mass settling)? We don’t know. Because it is a totally different comparison. Australia is amazing. Many Australians love it, people from around the world love it and visit there just to see Australia. But- plenty of people who don’t much care for it. Plenty who love it but also don’t always like it and so on. America isn’t the best. The only “best” is subjective- the place that one person finds “best” for them- so objectively America is not the best- subjectively to those who love a place, it is the best for them.

And there in is the point. If you like the book and your friend likes the movie- why does it matter which is “best”? To each of you the one that is “best” will be different- and then shitting on the thing you like or vice versa and poking at all its flaws isn’t going to make them like your thing more most likely. Then enjoying their thing more than your thing doesn’t take anything away from you. So like I said- I’m not telling you America is the best. How do I know what you think is the best? That’s for you to decide. And you can tell us all about the great things about your favorite place- but Americans should t shit on other people’s countries and other people shouldn’t shit on ours. Because we KNOW it has problems.

Famousone knows America isn’t perfect- it’s the imperfections are something he and I debate or agree on all the time, from how our system is ran to our society. But- even knowing all the things about this country that make him upset- he loves it. He’s sworn to serve it, with his life if needed- and to HIM, it is the best and nothing you say will stop that because loving anything, really loving it, means you take the good with the bad. So yes, we know, most of the world gets free heart transplants and we don’t. Boo hoo. We still choose to live here.