Did anyone else cringe at the end when...
...someone cheers Viva America! then it shows the American flag?
I'm not trying to sound anti-American or anything, I just thought that was a bit much/unnecessary.
I don't see your point. It's tongue and cheek humor and the majority of viewers aren't going to critique to such detail as taking something one small step too far (and I'm not saying it is too far). God Bless America ;)
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How would you feel if you became a citizen of the greatest nation in the world? Pretty hyped up I would guess...
shareThat depends on what you mean by greatest nation in the world. Greatness is subjective. No nation is great at everything. If you're talking about the USA I can only say I wouldn't want to be a citizen of that country. So no I wouldn't feel pretty hyped up about that. There are lots of countries that offers a much higher standard of living, better hospitals, less crime, higher salaries, more individual liberties and so on.
The USA is best at war though, but that only makes me want to live there less. Both my siblings are born in america (though they also have other citizenships by now) so I'm no stranger to the place. I've spent years there in total (mostly as a child). But I much rather live in any scandinavian country or australia or canada or almost any west european country or even countries like Malaysia or Singapore. Well the list goes on but you get my point. USA is overrated if you just want a happy life. It's not a bad place to live by any means but not that good either in my opinion, but I guess it depends on what you want out of your life.
If you're talking about the USA I can only say I wouldn't want to be a citizen of that country. So no I wouldn't feel pretty hyped up about that.
The characters in the movie don't share your opinion though. They obviously immigrated to the states because they wanted to be here and were excited to become a citzen.
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The characters in the movie don't share your opinion though. They obviously immigrated to the states because they wanted to be here and were excited to become a citzen.Exactly
Would a Cupcake kill you? share
There are lots of countries that offers a much higher standard of living, better hospitals, less crime, higher salaries, more individual liberties and so on.
Whether or not any of that is true (certainly there are a few with higher salaries) we still own the phrase "greatest country on earth" and we will use and abuse it. Seriously though, I would like to know what country has more individual liberties and a lower crime rate simultaneously, I don't have time or the resources (google's very limited on nations laws) to do so myself, but apparently you already have. Also there may be better hospitals/health care, but I guarantee you ours are not as bad as they are made out to be. share
'we still own the phrase "greatest country on earth"'
As far as I am aware that phrase is not copyrighted and it would be hard for a nation to do so.
"[The United States] lead the world in only three categories. Number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real and defence spending..." - Aaron Sorkin
Seriously though...
Countries with more individual liberties than the united states (from 2006):
1 Estonia
2 Ireland
3 Canada
4 Switzerland
5 Iceland
6 Bahamas
7 United Kingdom
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8 United States
Of which all have a lower crime rate than the United states.
Due to legislations passed since 2006 in more recent studies the united states rank even lower in individual rights and civil liberties.
If you take into consideration the appalling crime rate of the US and the similarities of individual liberty in most civilized countries the US scores well below all western European countries. And even japan, even though 'liberty' isn't their strong side they make up for it with low crime.
The healthcare of most 'industrialized' countries can only be sorted by the availability and cost of treatment, and in this respect the united states score far below par, I believe from lack of healthcare reform.
Google is not limited on nations laws, in fact most nations have quite extensive legal libraries available online, I do however understand your lacking ability to find them. There are also several institutions world wide that take great pride in gathering and compiling data such as you just asked for. Although, you being american I can't recommend you to read it since it won't agree with your bias.
'we still own the phrase "greatest country on earth"'
As far as I am aware that phrase is not copyrighted and it would be hard for a nation to do so.
Okay, I'm hoping you realized that was a joke. Not sure where in my post I asked for the insulting condescending tone you just took with me, but I don't appreciate it. I was asking an honest question, thanks for the answer. What I'm not sure of is why the UK and Ireland are listed seperately since Ireland is in the UK, I realize how they CAN be it just didn't look right. The total population of all of those countries combined is 63,307,176 to the US which has over 300,000,000 people and not to mention how much more diverse of a population we have. 5 out of 7 of those countries have less people than New York City, which means less mouths to feed, less poor people, which statistically leads to less crime. Not making excuses or trying to debunk anything you've said, but it's not always so black and white when it comes to statistics. I make a good living, feel safe, feel like my family's safe, and have the liberty I could ask for. The only things I can't do are and should be illegal. So maybe I am a LITTLE bias, but hey I live here and if it's not the best place to live then I and others should be trying to make it better. share
I did catch up on that, that's why I copied your 'seriously though' remark.
The condescending tone was also copied from your post.
Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom (as Wales, Scotland, England, Northern Ireland) the remainder of the island is however Irish and fully it's own nation.
I was at first astonished that you didn't know this but it seems to be a common misconception.
About how 300,000,000 are more than 63,000,000;
Do you know how percentages work? Well, crime rate is calculated through percentages. A population of 1,000,000 with 1,000 crimes is equal to a population of 1,000 with 1 crime. Of course this method of calculating can be skewed in extreme mathematical situations, i.e. a population of 1 would logically have 0 crimes since that 1 wouldn't commit crimes against himself, making the crime index 0, however as numbers increase over 10,000 this margin of error becomes virtually non-existent even when comparing to magnitudes greater.
It is however true that those countries have a more homogeneous population which almost always means a lower crime rate.
As you may have noticed I am bias /against/ the United States, or mostly that it's general population is so blatantly ignorant.
In order to improve on something you must first realize that it can be improved.
I wish you the best of luck with improving your country and I sincerely hope you can do so and never feel content to stop.
I did catch up on that, that's why I copied your 'seriously though' remark
Okay, just wanted to be sure and the tone wasn't intentional, but it can be hard to deliver a point in written word and come across like you meant to.
however Irish and fully it's own nation.
I realize it is separate which is why I said I see how it could be, but at first glance it didn't add up.
Do you know how percentages work?
And yes, I do realize how perctentages work and how crime rates are calculated which is why I brought up certain other factors. Thanks for the refresher course and I'll take it as I did fail to mention why I brought that up, which is that because our population is so high it also makes the US more crowded than every country but the UK, Ireland, and Switzerland, however we do have more "crowded" cities with over 100,000 people which is where most of the crime comes from. Also, as much as I hate to admit it, our gun control laws are not near as strict as those three countries which also drives up the crime rate and "recordable" crime rate (as in guns attract more attention especially by the media). So yes, per capita and as a whole it may be higher, but as I said it's not always so black and white.
It is however true that those countries have a more homogeneous population which almost always means a lower crime rate.
I'm glad we found some middle ground.
As you may have noticed I am bias /against/ the United States, or mostly that it's general population is so blatantly ignorant....I wish you the best of luck with improving your country and I sincerely hope you can do so and never feel content to stop.
Yeah, that was kind of hard to miss, I may be "ignorant", but I'm definitely not stupid. Thank you for ending your last comment with a kind word. share
I don't think diversity always leads to a higher crime rate. Canada is debatable as the most diverse country in the world but as you mentioned before its crime rate is quite low.
shareI have heard America is pretty much the easiest to get into. The ones you listed don't just take people in that easily. A friend of mine tried to get into England and it was near impossible.
Would a Cupcake kill you?
Countries with more individual liberties than the united states (from 2006):
1 Estonia - Lots of Estonians in America
2 Ireland - Irish Americans are one of the biggest ethnic groups
3 Canada - One of the biggest nationalities to seek US citizenship
4 Switzerland - All male citizens are required to serve in the military (or emigrate to the US).
5 Iceland - The US has a population of Icelandic ethnicity that is 1/8th the size of the entire Icelandic population.
6 Bahamas - Commonwealth of the UK, made up of former slaves from the US. Extremely hard to live there, unless you got money.
7 United Kingdom - Father of the US, and interdependent with the US in culture, politics and economics. They form the primary ethnicity of the US founding fathers, and lay the framework for US laws including the Constitution.
Technically speaking the US is the "greatest" nation, as in it has the largest economy, the most powerful military, the greatest cultural, political, and intellectual influence on Earth. The US and the UK are a tandem world power, that dominates the rest of the world.
If you disagree, why don't you go to your closet and see if you have a pair of jeans in there. Or after you got done watching Despicable Me 2 or the newest X Men, you can turn off the 24 hour news about the royal baby, and play the new Call of Duty on your X Box, just like the guy in Indonesia does, also the guy in Russia, Micronesia, Korea, Estonia, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Cyprus, South Africa, Ethiopia, Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam etc...
Every person on Earth lives under the shadow of the United States and the United Kingdom. They also claim the Moon and Mars as the US is the only nation who has ever been to them. Whether its a good place to live? There are a lot of other adequate places, but I don't think anyone would turn down an opportunity to live in the heart of the world empire.
Iceland?? My dad spent 3 years in Iceland during WWII. They were a monarchy - not a democracy until 1946 when the U.S. helped them transition to a democracy and join NATO. Did you know that you can't even name a child except from an "approved" Icelandic list controlled by the government?
Low crime rate? China and Islamic countries have low crime because they'll cut off your hands, behead you or kill you.
I don't know what country you're from, but if it's in Europe, including Eastern Europe, you owe your freedom to the U.S. Also the Philippines and other Pacific islands. If the U.S. hadn't fought Hitler, the following countries you listed would have no freedom: #2 Ireland, #3 Canada, #4 Switzerland,#6 Bahamas, #7 United Kingdom.
Your #1 Estonia? People had very little freedom until U.S. President Reagan met with Gorbachev in 1986, leading to the fall of USSR and independence for Estonia.
So ALL of the countries owe their freedom to the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!
I don't know why you chose a movie site to denigrate the U.S., but next time, study history a little before you spout off.
At the end of the day, it is still The American Dream. Life is what you put into it, you have the most opportunity here. As with any country, a government big enough to give you everything, has the same power to take it all away. We may not agree on how our government is run, but we have the ability to speak out against it, without fear of recourse. So I will stick to the USA, her Constitution, and our Capitalist society.
Hollywood isn't perfect, they just want you to escape life for a couple of hours, you choose which genre you want to feel during the break from reality. So a feel good movie, not destined to win any Oscars, but elicit one smile is more than some people in this world can hope for.
One final note, yes the USA has 750 active posts globally that we can deploy from at any time. It's expected of us and we may have a cowboy mentality, but that is what makes us great, unlike some new leaders who keep daring the rest of the world to bring it..not realizing they will.
How would you feel if you became a citizen of the greatest nation in the world...
AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA
I'm already a citizen of the greatest country in the world. Australia.
sharegreatest nation in the world ??? i really hope you're kidding
shareHow would you feel if you became a citizen of the greatest nation in the world? Pretty hyped up I would guess...
Well I live in Australia and we're pretty laid back about weather it's the best place in the world or not. Personally I wouldn't want to live in the USA because I like where I live but people who want to and get their green card would be very proud of it and deservedly so. America is a great country. share
Stop eating hot curries then.
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