Why America is so great!!!!!!!

[Glorified_G]

The US is a great country.....among many others. You're right to believe that many people..many countries envy alot of what Americans have.

I THINK what many people may have a problem with is the arrogance of SOME Americans which gives a bad image to Americans as a whole.

Every country has pros and cons and then everyone has opinions what those pros and cons mean. What's great to you may not be all that great in somebody else's opinion.

Americans are definitely lucky to live in the country they do, but I think there are many other countries who's people should be and could be very proud of themselves.

I can't say the US would be the first place i would think about moving to, but I definitely wouldn't say it's the last....if I ever wanted to move out of this wonderful country of mine

There's my two cents....keep your stick on the ice!

 

[birdman23]

Originally posted by zapper
Hey I wonder....what Country Bill Gates was born/raised?? oh...America???

Hey Birdman, good points... I was going to raised them but had already typed too much...


BTW if anyone out there is munching on a Planters Peanut....Guess what....They come from Suffolk Virginia!

Thanks Zapper. I can think of a million more but it won't do any good to list them here because someone will inevitably try and refute it by saying something silly. I actually thought this thread would turn out to be kind of cool but apparently not. Sometimes I think we (Americans) should just close our borders and keep all of our goodies to ourselves.

The thing about Robin Williams was funny. Everyone hates us until some tyrant walks into their backyard. I wonder how long it would take certain whining countries to come grovelling back to the US for support if they were invaded again.

But again, Less'Go is right. This thread is just waiting to burst into a big ball of flames. I am proud to be an American and proud of the stance our country has taken througout history to make the world a better place.

 

[birdman23]

Another great thing about America is Charles Goodyear. He invented vulcanized rubber in 1844. This forum wouldn't even exist without Goodyear, unless we were all keen on riding around on steel rims.

And just to prove I am not a xenophobe, John Boyd Dunlop, a veterinary surgeon living in Belfast Ireland, is widely recognized as the father of the modern tire, although he was not the first to come up with the idea.

In 1845 the first pneumatic (inflatable) tire was patented by Scottish engineer Robert William Thomson.

Unlike others, I give credit where credit is due.

 

[jaguar75]

Lets not forget America's contribution to frontiers in Space.

Although the Russians put Yuri in space before Glenn, The Mercury and Gemini missions set the Stage for the, thus far, single greatest feat of American accomplishment...The Apollo missions(in my opinion). Going from Gemini to Apollo and a man on the moon in under a decade is just plain awesome...given the then current technological state of the country.

I can not count the number of probes that we have sent out or fathom the enormous amount of information returned from said probes. Lets not forget Viking, Pathfinder, and the rovers Spirit and Opportunity that are currently on the surface of mars.

The technological results of America's space program are far to many to list.

One more feather in our cap of course is Team Scaled Composits and Burt Rutan winning the Xprize of putting the first civilian in space just last week.

 

[Fixey]

Originally posted by birdman23
How about inventing the telephone, the first airplane, the automobile industry, the Internet, the television, Global Positioning, etc. etc.

These are all great advances that the entire world has benefited from.

Fraid not, America did not invent the "airplane" the aeroplane was invented and first flown by Richard Pierce..... BEFORE kittyhawk ever left the ground....

Great things about America..... Marketing. The U S of A could sell snow to eskimo's (I know, not PC to say eskimo) and make em think they where getting a bargain!

 

[Fixey]

Originally posted by zapper
Hey I wonder....what Country Bill Gates was born/raised?? oh...America???

Your proud of that Zapper? This isnt US bashing so dont fly off but, imho, BG should be in prison like all other drop outs and thiefs, thugs and bullies. He fits into all these catagories imo. Dropped out of collage, stole windows and bullied other service providers to make mega $$$$, and because he succeded everybody goes "Wow, he must be great" oh, he conned some poor sod out of the original DOS too. We have our black sheep over here that some people call heroes too I quess, Rutherford (made Nukes possible) which he got great acalades for ect.... so this isnt an Anti US thing, its just anti Gates

 

[Fixey]

Originally posted by Fixey
Fraid not, America did not invent the "airplane" the aeroplane was invented and first flown by Richard Pierce..... BEFORE kittyhawk ever left the ground....

Great things about America..... Marketing. The U S of A could sell snow to eskimo's (I know, not PC to say eskimo) and make em think they where getting a bargain!

Talking of marketing, I have a cunning plan....I am working on a smokeless fuel that I can sell to Native American couples that arnt talking to each other....

 

[stevek]

only in america can you have a actor for a president then a clown for one (aka bush)

 

[Ratty]

Did I mention how far away it is??

Don't worry mates, I won't be emigrating there anytime soon.

You see, people from other nations can also be also patriotic, however, we are perhaps a little better at acknowledging our weak points, because yes, we certainly have them but so do you.

America is an awesome place, (yes I have been to a few States there) and Americans have achieved a stupendous amount of success in many facets and we applaud them for that. Perhaps a little humility would go a long way to change the way people perceive Americans.

Oh, and another good thing. You can keep Michael Jackson. We try to keep our children safe. . .

 

[less'go]

'Fraid I'll have to agree with Ratty and a cople of others -- America is a great country, among many others.

The problem I have with this thread is that zealous patriotism is a scary thing, boys and girls. It's not pretty, and it's destructive.

Travel 'round the world, wherever you go you're gonna' find people who think their country, their state, their people, their race, their religion, etc. is the best. Germans, French, Taiwanese, South Africans, Australians, Japanese...

For me this is no different. And if some guy started talking on a French forum about "Why France is so Great" I'd have the same reaction.

I think I'll start a thread about why I am so great... Because my Dad is smart, my Mom is pretty, my great-grandfather was brave, my Aunt invented sliced bread. Therefore, I am great.

Jag, thanks for the info on Marshall. What I was hoping you'd come back with its that through his plan, the dollar was imposed as THE international monetary unit. A move that put the U.S. in the most economically enviable position in the world.

The reconstruction of Europe, while very costly, guaranteed the U.S. work, contracts and the sales of goods and services, which in the 60 years since WWII has brought in more dough than you can count.

As per the difference of opinion concerning the war, I am so tired of hearing Americans going "Hey, we bailed you out twice, and now France has betrayed us"

Get off that soapbox, people. My brother saved my life twice when I was little. But when he was about 20, he started doing things I didn't agree with. We had a falling out when I wouldn't help him do something I could not morally agree with. Since then, he hates my guts, because he says I didn't stand by him. I could, it was against my beliefs.

Doesn't mean I betrayed him...

Originally posted by Ratty
Did I mention how far away it is??

Don't worry mates, I won't be emigrating there anytime soon.

You see, people from other nations can also be also patriotic, however, we are perhaps a little better at acknowledging our weak points, because yes, we certainly have them but so do you.

America is an awesome place, (yes I have been to a few States there) and Americans have achieved a stupendous amount of success in many facets and we applaud them for that. Perhaps a little humility would go a long way to change the way people perceive Americans.

Oh, and another good thing. You can keep Michael Jackson. We try to keep our children safe. . .

 

[dorkpants]

Originally posted by jaguar75
those 2 Inconvenient periods during the early 20th century where WE were the primary contributers to saving the world from greedy pesky Germans.

I'd suggest that the Russians had a hell of a lot more to do with German defeat than the US could pretend to have had, especially the second world war, which was overwhelmingly won on the Eastern Front and NOT Normandy... a sense of history would go a loooong way in the States.

 

[jhuskey]

.

I think I'll start a thread about why I am so great... Because my Dad is smart, my Mom is pretty, my great-grandfather was brave, my Aunt invented sliced bread. Therefore, I am great.


Ok Sarah. My Car don't smoke,my wife don't cheat, my dog don't have fleas and my sweat don't smell. "Hillbilly rationalization".
I am great also?

 

[ds0709]

How about, we have won the TDF 5 times!!!

 

[jaguar75]

Originally posted by dorkpants
I'd suggest that the Russians had a hell of a lot more to do with German defeat than the US could pretend to have had, especially the second world war, which was overwhelmingly won on the Eastern Front and NOT Normandy... a sense of history would go a loooong way in the States.

Dorkpants...

I think you are a little rusty on your history...The Russians did a lot of retreating during the German invasion of Russia. It was at Stalingrad that the Russians were fianlly able to achieve a halt to the German advance. The Russians had lost everything else. The Bitter winters and the enormous amount of pressure that the U.S. and the British were putting on the Germans in the west and in the south of Europe were crippling the Germans Two front war. I would say that the Russian practice of running 2 somtimes 3 soldiers single file at a German machine gun nest while only arming the front soldier was eventually going to pay off. I am sure that in any other situation that would be absolute bravery but in this case they were dead either way because if they turned and retreated they were shot by their own soldiers.

Normandy is singled out because it was the largest engagement in the war...This was also the point of greatest loss of life from soldiers. The Normandy invasion while primarily fought by Americans and British soldiers, included coordinated efforts by Canadians, Australians and French Resistance fighters. There were more nations represented but I did not mention them.

The results of the Normandy invasion broke the back of the Western German machine and ultimately led to the fall of Berlin.

Many people feel that Patton was right in wanting to invade Russia because he knew that it would be inevitable that the U.S. and the USSR would become the 2 big kids on the block staring each other down. He knew that with his 3rd Army and with enough fuel and ammunition he could march right into Moscow in under a year. I do not think that anyone doubts that. Then there is the other side to that argument that because of the cold war the U.S. and subsequently the rest of the free world advanced technologically much much faster then we would have if Russia would have been taken out after Germany fell.

Even though I think that Patton was one of the greatest generals that ever lived I do not agree that we should have attacked Russia. The goal was to end Germany and Japan's takeover of the world. Russia was an ally in that endeavor...to then attack them would have put us on par with the Germans and that is not what America stands for.

 

[jhuskey]

Originally posted by jaguar75
Dorkpants...

I think you are a little rusty on your history...The Russians did a lot of retreating during the German invasion of Russia. It was at Stalingrad that the Russians were fianlly able to achieve a halt to the German advance. The Russians had lost everything else. The Bitter winters and the enormous amount of pressure that the U.S. and the British were putting on the Germans in the west and in the south of Europe were crippling the Germans Two front war. I would say that the Russian practice of running 2 somtimes 3 soldiers single file at a German machine gun nest while only arming the front soldier was eventually going to pay off. I am sure that in any other situation that would be absolute bravery but in this case they were dead either way because if they turned and retreated they were shot by their own soldiers.

Normandy is singled out because it was the largest engagement in the war...This was also the point of greatest loss of life from soldiers. The Normandy invasion while primarily fought by by Americans and British soldiers, included coordinated efforts Canadians, Australians and French Resistance fighters. There were more nations represented but I did not mention them.

The results of the Normandy invasion broke the back of the Western German machine and ultimately led to the fall of Berlin.

Many people feel that Patton was right in wanting to invade Russia because he knew that it would be inevitable that the U.S. and the USSR would become the 2 big kids on the block staring each other down. He knew that with his 3rd Army and with enough fuel and ammunition he could march right into Moscow in under a year. I do not think that anyone doubts that. Then there is the other side to that argument that because of the cold war the U.S. and subsequently the rest of the free world advanced technologically much much faster then we would have if Russia would have been taken out after Germany fell.

Even though I think that Patton was one of the greatest generals that ever lived I do not agree that we should have attacked Russia. The goal was to end Germany and Japan's takeover of the world. Russia was an ally in that endeavor...to then attack them would have put us on par with the Germans and that is not what America stands for.

You should also mention that the war did not move well until the allies achieved air supremacy. A key factor in ending the war in Europe. The fact that untold Russians died (up to 300,000 a day during operation Barbarosa) is definitely notable.It gave the allies time to prepare while keeping Hitlers attention on that front. And also the war would probably have ended earlier if not for the political maneuvering to see who got what after it was over,delaying movement of forces until agreements could be reached. Many tactical mistakes were made on all sides. I have an uncle buried in Normandy a father who was wounded twice in the Pacific and have always been a student of WWII history.
Patton was definitely right about one thing for sure."You don't win the war by dying for you country. You win by making the other poor ******* die"

 

[limerickman]

There is nothing wrong with people being proud of their country and putting the good aspects of life in that country to the Forum.
Every country has good and bad aspects to it – including the USA.

But one has to ask the question – what purpose does asking such a question as “Why America is so great ?” serve ?
No country is all good or all bad.
So to pose a one sided question about why a country is great, smacks of defensiveness on the part of those posing the question.

The question that needs to be asked is : What is your opinion of the USA and why do you hold this view ?
It seems to me that asking “Why America is so great ?” will only encourage those who think America’s great, to reply.

Perhaps this is the reason why the question was posed the way it was – so that those who do not view the USA as being great, will not post a reply ?
Maybe someone needs to start a topic “Why America is not great ?” so that those who are
unable to reply to “Why America is so great ?” can vent their opinions with equal force as those who reply elsewhere ?

 

[zapper]

Originally posted by Ratty
Did I mention how far away it is??

Don't worry mates, I won't be emigrating there anytime soon.

Man, and I was ready to invest in "D-CON"...

Perhaps a little humility would go a long way to change the way people perceive Americans. [/QUOTE]

This is part of the problem here... I think that most Americans that have traveled abroad will agree that the general populace from some countries...um, France comes to mind that for the most part are extremely arrogant and look at Americans as being uncivilized creatures. Now, once you get to know some of these people they tend to form their own opinion of you and perhaps treat you a little better or if you are a jerk then you know the rest…. Other countries are not much different with this attitude. Perception perhaps, but perhaps not….

So, riddle of the day..

What came first, European arrogance, looking down thy nose at Americans who… through hard work, bravery and determination forged a more perfect union, formed what some would call the most powerful country on earth? Who by the way also became a major player in saving the very people (on more than one occasion) who are the purveyors of said arrogance

Or

Perhaps we Americans expect too much. Expecting the people/countries for whom we have shed our blood and reached into our shoddy pants pockets or (non-designer) handbags and donated our depreciated American Dollar, should at least treat us with the same respect and decency that they would treat their fellow European neighbors.

Or

We Americans are just arrogant bastards or is it bastardi? Help me out Ratty, thy master of the English Language… Anyway, is the perception out there that we are just arrogant, and leap from country to country plundering what we may, forcing ourselves on the entire world and have performed nothing noteworthy?

Look... I can’t speak for every American..But, we are not expecting nor requiring bowing of heads here…just the same amount of respect administered to other countries who perhaps chose to run/hide or not participate while their fellow European buddies were being slaughtered.

All in all, I firmly believe that like any other Country we are not perfect, but at the end of the day, our positive attributes far outweigh the negatives. We make mistakes just like any other country but…..

Just because we aren’t kissing insert country here______butts doesn’t mean that we are arrogant! So, yes humility can go along way, perhaps if other countries would practice that America woudn't seem so arrogant....

 

[zapper]

Originally posted by dorkpants
I'd suggest that the Russians had a hell of a lot more to do with German defeat than the US could pretend to have had, especially the second world war, which was overwhelmingly won on the Eastern Front and NOT Normandy... a sense of history would go a loooong way in the States.

You would be wrong Col. Sanders

 

[zapper]

Originally posted by Fixey
Your proud of that Zapper? This isnt US bashing so dont fly off but, imho, BG should be in prison like all other drop outs and thiefs, thugs and bullies. He fits into all these catagories imo. Dropped out of collage, stole windows and bullied other service providers to make mega $$$$, and because he succeded everybody goes "Wow, he must be great" oh, he conned some poor sod out of the original DOS too. We have our black sheep over here that some people call heroes too I quess, Rutherford (made Nukes possible) which he got great acalades for ect.... so this isnt an Anti US thing, its just anti Gates

Yeah Fixey I am..Although you have some of your facts wrong here...Just remember...Only in America my friend..Only in America...

 

[jhuskey]

Originally posted by limerickman
There is nothing wrong with people being proud of their country and putting the good aspects of life in that country to the Forum.
Every country has good and bad aspects to it – including the USA.

But one has to ask the question – what purpose does asking such a question as “Why America is so great ?” serve ?
No country is all good or all bad.
So to pose a one sided question about why a country is great, smacks of defensiveness on the part of those posing the question.

The question that needs to be asked is : What is your opinion of the USA and why do you hold this view ?
It seems to me that asking “Why America is so great ?” will only encourage those who think America’s great, to reply.

Perhaps this is the reason why the question was posed the way it was – so that those who do not view the USA as being great, will not post a reply ?
Maybe someone needs to start a topic “Why America is not great ?” so that those who are
unable to reply to “Why America is so great ?” can vent their opinions with equal force as those who reply elsewhere ?

Good point but I think that is one is covered under the thread hating America.