Oh come on, the world would quite obviously be worse off were the U.S. to collapse...

In the nuclear age we have a choice: renounce war, or destroy ourselves.

And yet we say it is impossible to renounce war. That's defeatism of a dangerous sort.

"Oh come on, the world would quite obviously be worse off were the U.S. to collapse..."

Excuse me but that isn't what you said. You said the US tries more than any other country to behave morally.

Slow down, Thucy! I can only +1 so fast!

Which is a laughable idea

Blindly believing that you are the best! What a way to be.

Or even that your important. If the us detached from the earth abd was lo st, human culture would surely be better off. Only Americans believe otherwise. Self review is challenging but important. Use your mind s!!!

Let's see what else do we have...

Germany, who is actually attempting to stop using fossil fuels. Costa Rica, which has no military. Botswana, which actually cares about its citizens.

Do I even have to mention the Nordic countries, or Uruguay?

None of them is perfect; no government is. But some have elements within them that are pushing for truly moral goals. The US really does not have any such elements in mainstream politics.

How seriously do we take climate change? How seriously do we take disarmament? How seriously do we take domestic poverty, as well as external poverty and violence? How seriously do we take international law? Do we use our clout with our allies to push them to behave more morally as well, or do we push them to be more favorable to US business interests? Do we take the will of the people seriously, or do we let our government get run by an oligarchy?

I'll leave you to fill in the blanks.

One of only ways the United States does not suck, morally, is that we don't actually imprison dissenters and the like. But even on that front we are headed in the wrong direction.

"If the us detached from the earth abd was lo st, human culture would surely be better off. "

Maybe, but it would at least help with rising sea levels, what with all that new space to fill up with ocean water.

Thucy you are a pimp.

Would make the Panama canal obsolete

Thucy our country is by no means perfect. It's flaws are many and plain to see. But it has done a lot of good for the world too. You can't just sit there and point out all its mistakes while ignoring all the positive ways it's impacted the world...

Positive ways like what? Spurring a nuclear arms race? Creating a soulless global consumer culture? Pioneering a new way to engineer tyranny at home and empire abroad? Bringing on the destruction of the global environment?

Or were you talking about our lip service to human rights

Others have said it, but the fact that China or a multipolar EU-Russia-China-USA world would be worse than the present American led one does not in any way excuse our deplorable leadership.

Drones kill women and children indiscriminately.

The United States of America are, EASILY, the most dangerous terrorist threat in the world today.

A criminal nation, plundering resources by the "virtue" that might makes right. They kidnap and torture ONLY MUSLIMS.

Not benevolent. Totally amoral. They have brought PERMANENT WAR to our planet.

"Positive ways like what? Spurring a nuclear arms race?"

I can't answer for slyguy, but for me -- absolutely. OK, not the nuclear arms race per se, but winning the cold war was an exceptional good for the world. The whole world is better for the absence of the Soviet Union.

We have had an important role in the evolution of China toward more freedom and less oppression. That's a bumpy road and it has far to go. But it is very difficult to imagine Tiananmen Square happening today in China.

We were one of the primary partners in stopping European fascism, and we largely paid to rebuild Europe after the war. We also helped our defeated enemy Japan to its feet as effectively and quickly as possible (though it obviously deserves most of the credit for this transformation).

We invented rock and roll, let's not forget.

We have been the first and only superpower in world history, and one of the primary nations in the world, to fight for democracy worldwide. We have done this clumsily, often incopmetently, and almost always inconsistently and with some hypocrisy. But we have certainly done it.

Frankly, even to ask this question betrays a staggering degree of self-absorbed academic self-righteousness.

Our society has a great many sins that should be addressed. An inability to appreciate what has been its goodness is a terrible place to start.

"Not benevolent. Totally amoral. They have brought PERMANENT WAR to our planet. "

There has always been permanent war on our planet, silly.

We had plenty of chances to de-escalate the arms race with the USSR and chose instead to invent fictions like the "missile gap" and imperil the entire world by making a mockery of non-proliferation.

Even now we are modernizing our nuclear arsenal to the tune of a trillion dollars.

#fuckeveryonebutthucy

Believe me, I'm just as frustrated as any of you are about our country's problems. As Americans we have an unprecedented ability to help out our fellow man, but we far too often squander that opportunity by being caught up in our own selfish intrests. Our nation's shortcomings SHOULD be recognized and addressed in a constant attempt to improve ourselves. It angers me when our citizens ignore our county's numerous problems in a blind "patriotic" stupor while at the same time proclaiming how the United States is the best nation ever. (USA, USA, USA!!! Whoop whoop yay!!!)

However, I'm still grateful for the U.S. and I'm still proud to be an American. While our nation does has a TON of flaws, it is a pretty great place to live and I do think the world is better off because it exists. This is where I differ from you all in my view. Rather than spitefully mocking the U.S. and focusing on its mistakes, I choose to be grateful for all I owe it and try my best to mend its broken ways.

Studying at a US Research University, I can say that (if nothing else from the USA) US Colleges make the world a better place. Consider the vast amount of knowledge and innovation being pushed out from US Universities (in the US), funded by grants (from the US), done by researchers (that are mostly US citizens). Like I said, if nothing else, US research make the world a better place - you would not have that if the North-American plate suddenly dropped beneath the sea...

*makes

Universities in general are outdated and economically inefficiency. A post secondary education is for the most part a waste of time and money.

Wow, I thought I was pessimistic...

Lando, that's a really pessimistic view of it. Yes, they're flawed in many ways, price being the most obvious one, and yes, we would all be just fine if fewer people went to college, but the world has a need for at least some people to get a higher education. There's no denying the benefits we reap from scientific research.

"Universities in general are outdated and economically inefficiency."
Even though they may be "outdated" and "economically [inefficient]," they still are producing cutting-edge technology and research.

"A post secondary education is for the most part a waste of time and money."
I completely agree. But if you reread my statement, you will see that I was speaking primarily about the research aspect of the US Universities.

No I agree that people at the top of their fields are important for any society to progress and excel. I think there are better options than Universities (college in Canada means something somewhat different). I admit that for now, in order to be a scientist, engineer, doctor, etc. the only way is with a University Education. I believe strongly that there are better ways which only need to be implemented.

I don't have the answer - and part of the problem is that all people start needing specialized education at differing points of their lives and careers. But surely, any kind of on the job training is worth 10x the same hour spent in a classroom, regardless of field. This assumes the pupil is ready for that, which is probably somewhere around when a typical undergraduate program would begin (but again, some people may be earlier, others later.

People don't change very quickly, at least in a lot of ways we don't recognize or accept improvements very easily. Or maybe it's we're not capable of pushing for them anymore.

When it comes to the nontechnical higher education, its value really comes down to whether you value wisdom for its own sake, or if rather your only value for it is a pecuniary one.

University ought to be free.

Well, not quite free. People tend to value what they pay for over what is for free. One of the things I enjoyed about university is that people generally wanted to be there, unlike high school, and generally tried to apply themselves, howsoever vaguely or well. I don't think that would be the case, or a good use of taxpayers money, if it was free.

I do think it should be a lot cheaper than it is. Expensive enough that it is valued, but cheap enough that it doesn't eat up the next ten years of income.

Universities with work terms would be better than the current model, I think. I know a few people that became teachers, only to find after the fact that they hate teaching.