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The U.S.A is not the best country in the world
in United States
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Blues and Raptors handed two very toxic teams embarrassing losses, 95% of the sports world is rejoicing in the news
Repealing the Second Amendment is the first step to Totalitarianism, and it needs to be prevented to protect our freedom
http://www.atheistrepublic.com/
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https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/human-freedom-index-files/2017-human-freedom-index-2.pdf
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Blues and Raptors handed two very toxic teams embarrassing losses, 95% of the sports world is rejoicing in the news
Repealing the Second Amendment is the first step to Totalitarianism, and it needs to be prevented to protect our freedom
http://www.atheistrepublic.com/
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I'm sure these charts say otherwise
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Ranking
In all three of these charts, not only did the U.S.A not hit top 10, but they didn't even hit top 15!
Could've sworn the "best country in the world" would be top 10 at least.
Blues and Raptors handed two very toxic teams embarrassing losses, 95% of the sports world is rejoicing in the news
Repealing the Second Amendment is the first step to Totalitarianism, and it needs to be prevented to protect our freedom
http://www.atheistrepublic.com/
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"Americanism not Globalism, will be our credo." ~Donald Trump
"A communist is like a crocodile" ~Winston Churchill
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Blues and Raptors handed two very toxic teams embarrassing losses, 95% of the sports world is rejoicing in the news
Repealing the Second Amendment is the first step to Totalitarianism, and it needs to be prevented to protect our freedom
http://www.atheistrepublic.com/
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate
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When one makes a quantitative judgment of something, such as the country's position in the ranking of the world countries by "goodness", the evaluation criterion of that judgment should be specified. The best at what? The best from what perspective? The best according to which system of values? What one sees as the best country in the world to live in can differ significantly from what someone else sees as the best country in the world.
From my personal perspective, the US is tied with Switzerland for the best country in the world to live in: I value individual rights and liberties very high, much higher than "the good of the society", much higher than "security" and much higher than "equality" - the latter entities I see as consequences of a free society, not as prerequisites for its existence.
I am probably happier in the US than in Switzerland for a few reasons, but overall I would be absolutely happy to live in either.
At the same time, some of my friends cannot stomach the US. My friend from Finland is pretty socialist in her views, she lives happier knowing that the government will take care of her if she gets into financial trouble, than knowing that her success is in her hands and in her hands alone - she would be absolutely miserable in the US. Vice versa, I would feel strangled in Finland.
---
As far as objectivity of "rankings" such as that of HRW goes, they are always based on specified quantified criteria, and the choice of those criteria is somewhat arbitrary and depends on the organizational or individual priorities. I have seen rankings which put the US at #1 in terms of wealth per capita, and I have seen those that put it outside top 30 nations. Some freedom rankings put the UK near the top, others do not include it in top-50. Some human rights organizations put Israel in top 20, others put it at the bottom of the list. Some education quality rankings put Estonia at #1 in the world, others put it near the average African nation.
There is no objective way of judging the "bestness" of a country, because what is "better" and what is "worse", in turn, is inherently subjective. The North Korean leadership believes that the North Korean society is the freest, most prosperous and happiest society in the world; who is to say that they are wrong? Their interpretation of what freedom, prosperity and happiness is may simply be different from ours (and that of millions dissidents sent to labor camps, but that is a different story).
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Let's do this. Try to explain how America is the best country in the world when I list the flaws with the country
How come a presidential candidate can have the popular vote, but not get elected?
Why is the education system so backwards compared to other western nations?
Why do politicians say they're for democracy, yet want to ban freedom of religion, speech, press, right to own a gun etc?
For a country that believes in right of privacy, it sure feels like that doesn't exist after 9/11
How come in America, where "religious freedom" is "protected", how come oppression happens to groups of people like atheists and agnostics?
Blues and Raptors handed two very toxic teams embarrassing losses, 95% of the sports world is rejoicing in the news
Repealing the Second Amendment is the first step to Totalitarianism, and it needs to be prevented to protect our freedom
http://www.atheistrepublic.com/
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There is nothing objective about these judgments. "People are not as free as the citizens of Finland, Sweden, Canada, etc." - is a subjective assessment. I find myself to be more free in the US than in those 3 countries to live my preferred lifestyle. For example, the currency exchange market in the US is much less restricted and much less taxes than in any of those three countries, and it is vital to me as one of the integral components of my business plan. Freedom of speech is also something that is arguably far more protected in the US than in those three countries; the US is the only country out of these 4 that has the First amendment or its analogue. People who have different lifestyles than me may find themselves more free or less free in those countries than in the US, depending on what aspects of freedom they are exercising.
Even in North Korea there are certain freedoms nobody has in any of the mentioned countries. For example, Kim Jung Un is free to rule the entire nation however he sees fit, with barely any limitations and barely any danger for himself - for him, this freedom is far more important than anything any of these 4 countries can offer, hence North Korea is more free from his perspective.
Regarding your last point, every country in the world has flaws. Presence of certain flaws in the US does not prevent it from being the best country in the world from a certain point of view. Regarding the individual points, they are all subjective, and I disagree with them. One by one:
"How come a presidential candidate can have the popular vote, but not get elected?"
The US is a republic, not a democracy. Many people, me included, see the republican form of governship as better than the democratic one.
" Why is the education system so backwards compared to other western nations? "
I am working on my PhD at University of Notre Dame, and I find it to offer more than many top schools in many other Western nations.
"Why do politicians say they're for democracy, yet want to ban freedom of religion, speech, press, right to own a gun etc?"
Because different politicians have different views on what constitutes a democracy.
"For a country that believes in right of privacy, it sure feels like that doesn't exist after 9/11"
Privacy is not necessarily a good thing. I find confidentiality to be important, while privacy not as much.
"How come in America, where "religious freedom" is "protected", how come oppression happens to groups of people like atheists and agnostics?"
Some level of oppression with regards to every single religious and non-religious group exists in every country in the world.
To summarize, the way you evaluate the US place in the world ranking in terms of "bestness" is highly subjective and only correct with regards to your personal criteria of evaluation. Other people have other criteria of evaluation, which results in different conclusions.
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Texting and Driving is objectively bad because is causes car accidents
Smoking is objectively bad because it causes cancer overall negative heath effects
Being overweight is objectively bad because it can cause. Diabetes, Heart attacks and high blood pressure
North Korea is subjectively bad because Kim Jung Un said it's a good country, despite all the evidence against it?
So, because the leader of a country that has a history of being bad, even to this day, says "Nah, this country is good" means it good?
But when someone says "I don't see a problem with smoking" yet it's objectively bad
I don't see the logic here MayCaesar!
Blues and Raptors handed two very toxic teams embarrassing losses, 95% of the sports world is rejoicing in the news
Repealing the Second Amendment is the first step to Totalitarianism, and it needs to be prevented to protect our freedom
http://www.atheistrepublic.com/
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Is medical care free in the U S ?
Is there a decent social welfare system ?
Are crime rates high ?
Are the streets safe ?
Do all citizens get a state pension when they retire ?
If the U S does not have these systems in place then it’s certainly not the best country in the world to live in
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"Texting and Driving is objectively bad because is causes car accidents"
- This is inaccurate. The accurate statement would be "Texting and driving may or may not cause a car accident". Next, for your conclusion to be correct, one has to agree that anything that increases risk of a car accident is bad - which makes no sense; for one, driving in the first place increases risk of a car accident, so you would have to conclude that driving is bad, right? In addition, car accidents might not be seen as bad by some people, who, for example, see them as a natural selection (with the related positive consequences, such as population control and reducing the number of careless people in the world).
"Smoking is objectively bad because it causes cancer overall negative heath effects"
- The exact same argument applies, just replace "texting and driving" with "smoking". Add to that that smoking calms down some people, and they see this as a positive effect offsetting the dangers of smoking. Same goes for texting and driving: sending a message right now to one's lover, for example, can be seen as worth the risk and, hence, is good.
"Being overweight is objectively bad because it can cause. Diabetes, Heart attacks and high blood pressure"
- Same argument; replace "smoking" with "being overweight".
"North Korea is subjectively bad because Kim Jung Un said it's a good country, despite all the evidence against it?"
- It is not subjectively bad because Kim Jun Un said it is good; it is subjectively bad because the concept of "badness" is subjective in the first place.
"So, because the leader of a country that has a history of being bad, even to this day, says "Nah, this country is good" means it good?"
- No, and nobody said that in this thread. The "history of being bad" is a subjective judgment, and "North Korea is good" is a subjective judgment. And it is not because the leader of the country says so, but because any assessment is subjective by its design.
"But when someone says "I don't see a problem with smoking" yet it's objectively bad"
No, it is not.
---
As you can see, making an objective statement is incredibly difficult. And it is impossible as far as inherently subjective parts of a statement are involved, such as words "good", "better", "best", "bad", "worse" or "worst". Like I said, any judgment can be made only if the evaluation criteria are specified - and those criteria are arbitrary and subjective.
When applied to the topic, what is "best" for some may not be "best" for others, and vice versa. Every country in the world has upsides and downsides, and what those upsides and downsides are depends on the personal outlook. In my eyes, the upsides of the US offset the downsides more than in any other country in the world (barring, maybe, Switzerland), hence in my eyes it is the best country in the world. In your eyes, it could be Finland, Canada or something else, because those countries' upsides offset their downsides more in your eyes than in the US. And yes, it is likely that there are people for whom this is the case with North Korea, making it the best country for them (North Korea is likely the best country for Kim Jung Un, but might not be the best for someone working in a labor camp, for example).
If you are interested in a detailed example of how something that might seem objective in someone's eyes is, in reality, subjective, then check out my comment in this debate:
http://dev1.debateisland.com/discussion/2338/Objective%20ethical%20values%20do%20exist%20and%20these%20are%20them/comments
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"Americanism not Globalism, will be our credo." ~Donald Trump
"A communist is like a crocodile" ~Winston Churchill
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"Americanism not Globalism, will be our credo." ~Donald Trump
"A communist is like a crocodile" ~Winston Churchill
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Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood"
The Animals
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I think this is a spectacular argument, and something many people do not realize. The thing is, freedom is a double-edged sword: the more freedom there is, the more chaos there is, and chaos takes all forms and shapes, both good and bad.
People who favor security over freedom, point at the flaws of free societies and say, "This is not right. This should not be happening in a civilized society. We should be past this."
People who truly, genuinely love and understand freedom, however, accept both its strengths and flaws. They realize that freedom is always in conflict with safety and security, and they still prefer it. Freedom is a choice of brave people, who willingly walk over a rope 1 km above the surface, valuing the possibility to cross the space between two mountain peaks and accepting the risk of falling over.
Yes, the US is rugged, dirty, hairy. Yes, there is poverty, yes, there is crime, yes, there is corruption - more than in some of the other First World countries. But at the same time, it is also a land where a dream can truly be realized, it is a land where you can express your opinion without the fear of being punished for speaking out, it is a land where every person is a master of their fate, where everyone can fail terribly, but also succeed immensely.
This system is not for everyone, and I completely understand people who would prefer there to be a more Scandinavian-like system, for example. But there are already Scandinavian systems out there; it is not too hard to immigrate there, if the soul so desires. We need both free systems, and safe systems, so people could have a choice. Employing the same model everywhere and not offering any variety would simply make a lot of people unhappy, while the current situation lets everyone choose the system to their taste and move there with little to no negative consequences.
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