Thread: What is great about USA?

'America is a great country' is pretty much a cliche.

I would like to start this thread for everybody to post what in their view makes USA great.

My hope is that every poster would first put some thought into it, so that the response is not just a repeat of somebody's propaganda talking point, but something they are fairly convinced to be true.

For the sake of starting with some common ground, here is the 'American' definition of 'great'.

Originally Posted by Merriam-Webster

Main Entry: ¹great
Pronunciation: \ˈgrāt, Southern also ˈgre(ə)t\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English grete, from Old English grēat; akin to Old High German grōz large
Date: before 12th century
1 a : notably large in size : huge b : of a kind characterized by relative largeness —used in plant and animal names c : elaborate, ample
2 a : large in number or measure : numerous b : predominant
3 : remarkable in magnitude, degree, or effectiveness
4 : full of emotion
5 a : eminent, distinguished b : chief or preeminent over others —often used in titles Great Chamberlain> c : aristocratic, grand
6 : long continued
7 : principal, main
8 : more remote in a family relationship by a single generation than a specified relative <great-grandfather>
9 : markedly superior in character or quality; especially : noble
10 a : remarkably skilled b : marked by enthusiasm : keen
11 —used as a generalized term of approval

Let's stick to 9, so that the thread is fairly well defined and I think that's the closest to the meaning of the phrase I started with.

One thing I particularly liked about America was the vastness and the variation of scenery. Meaning I visited Bryce canyon, a petrified forest, death valley, some mountain or other, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, .... and all these places were very different in their appearance, as well as being big.

While walking or hiking, I enjoyed the fact that I was able to walk half a day and not seeing anyone but my wife. America is vasst and varied, and I want to visit it again someday in the distant future.

Was this the sort of thing you were looking for?

As an outsider looking in, I would say that the USA's greatest strength lies with it's people.
Obviously, we Brits tend to be slightly more reserved in nature than our cousins on the other side of the Atlantic.

I lived in the States for about ten years. I worked, got my BBA, MBA and post-MBA there.

I've met some of the best people over there, and I still have lots good friends that I "talk with" on the net.
USA is diverse and you also have whatever climate you prefer...
I'll probably get pepper for this; but in my subjective opinion the USA is still the "home of the free"...

This is a nice idea for a thread. I'm a little surprised that there aren't a lot of hyperbolic responses to it yet.

What makes America great?

I agree that the people are its strength, however, I believe that we get a little too much residual benefit from the greatness of those who came before us.

I think what makes America great is that we have more opportunity here. I'm not aware of any other place in the world that makes success easier to achieve. It's great in that while still imperfect, the generosity of it's people is incredible. Even though the percentage of GNI of foreign aid isn't as high as other nations, the real dollar foreign aid is staggering.

One thing that I find particularly interesting is that the US spends almost half of the whole world's military expenditure annually (almost 10X more than the next closes nation, China). However, even though we have the best technology in the world, we aren't aggressively trying to concur other lands. Yes, there's a propensity for us to try to police the world a bit more than I'd like, but I feel that the motivations (while certainly aren't the purest or we'd be doing more in Africa trying to help that situation) certainly could be worse.

Another thing that makes the US great is that even though pretty much the whole world blames the US for almost all the problems, we still keep chugging along being the first to render aid to other countries in the wake of natural disasters or other tragedies. We have "big shoulders", but they aren't perfect.

And yes it is beautiful. In fact, the Chinese word for the United States is "Mei Guo" which means "Beautiful Country".

Now if asked to list problems, the list could be equally long

I'll be quite interested to see other responses

Chili On Spaghetti

...we keep our earthquakes mostly in California?

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

Chili On Spaghetti

You forgot cheese in a can.

Semi official admin note: I'm sure many of us could also find a list of things to complain about regarding the US, but let's keep this thread on topic so that it does not degenerate into a bash fest.

Perhaps what makes America great is the peoples perception that it is. The Cliche if you like.

What I find particularly great is more or less along the lines of what Bruno said about the land it's self, that is very appealing to me.

The entertainment value of our politicians.