What is so amazing and special about the USA?

Maryann

Tue, Jan 30 2018, 7:41 pm

I'm just wondering.....
Are most posters here American? Or it's just so much more to discuss bc of the American lifestyle?
It sounds like life in America is so amazing, but on the other hand so expensive (tuition, health insurance)
Do other countries not pay tuition or health insurance? What is it that is so different in America?
What is the whole hype about.?
For the record I live in NY, but I didn't grow up here

shyshira

Tue, Jan 30 2018, 7:44 pm

Most posters are American - and from that subset - the majority are from the tri-state area.

Jewishfoodie

Tue, Jan 30 2018, 7:45 pm

Well, for one, we have pollution. We have graffiti artists and filthy highways and trains. Not many first world countries can say that proudly.. Also, Trump, who else has him? And there's.. There's.. Like.. Shopping and stuff...

NO idea.

Optione

Tue, Jan 30 2018, 7:46 pm

America just drums to it's own beat. (Is that the expression?) We're the only country that doesn't use the metric system...

Maryann

Tue, Jan 30 2018, 7:48 pm

OK so basically it's just different from the rest of the world?

thunderstorm

Tue, Jan 30 2018, 7:52 pm

America is really a melting pot of the entire world in one country.

Mommyg8

Tue, Jan 30 2018, 7:53 pm

An awful lot of frum Jews live in America. Its probably the second largest group after Israel.

Jewishfoodie

Tue, Jan 30 2018, 7:54 pm

A melting pot that needs to be washed very very well. Then hosed down again, and left out in the fresh air for a week. Have you ever visited Canada? Switzerland? We should learn a thing or two about National pride

Mommyg8

Tue, Jan 30 2018, 7:55 pm

Jewishfoodie wrote:

Gotta move out of New York Smile

southernbubby

Tue, Jan 30 2018, 10:54 pm

I haven't determined anything to be amazing and special about the USA but it depends on what it is being compared to. For example, North Korea is a despotic regime and everyone in Venezuela is hungry and I am glad this is not Iran or Syria. America is at least a democracy. America obviously has some major problems such as lack of affordable housing and health care and extremely expensive college education costs.

As Trump just said in the SOTU address, our infrastructure needs lots of help and I think that some countries have better infrastructure.

Because America is so diverse, there isn't a tremendous amount of the type of unity that Trump mentioned. Maybe some countries have more unity that exists here.

esther malka

Tue, Jan 30 2018, 10:59 pm

Jewishfoodie, I thinks it special to NY. We live oot & were in Brooklyn over winter break and went for a walk on Shabbos, my 7 year old wanted to know why the streets are so dirty & what’s with all the papers flying around.

Deep

Tue, Jan 30 2018, 11:10 pm

America has a unique history and established a democratic system of government that was exceptional at the time. They have the world's most powerful military and the largest economy.
It is exceedingly unexceptional in all other areas when ranked among the top 20 countries in the world.
https://www.usnews.com/news/be.....index

Jewishfoodie

Tue, Jan 30 2018, 11:11 pm

esther malka wrote:

Yeah.. For some strange reason, we brag about that. I actually saw a driver dump a half full coffee out his window. No doubt saving his wife from cleaning up his garbage...

Chana Miriam S

Wed, Jan 31 2018, 12:41 am

I’m canadian living in Canada.

heidi

Wed, Jan 31 2018, 1:23 am

Deep wrote:

Yes. Please don't forget that despite it's abysmal record of accepting refugees during WWII, America has accepted immigrants since it's founding. In no other country in the world have Jews been allowed to flourish and succeed like in America. And I'm counting Israel in this bcz. in America, until very recently, no one was getting killed for being Jewish.

Teomima

Wed, Jan 31 2018, 2:17 am

I'm American, but I'm also Israeli. I live and raise my family in Israel, because I truly believe this is the Jewish home. In some ways, life does seem easier in the States, but I think the simplicity of life here balances everything out. As you said, health care, education, it's all so much more affordable here than in the States. Incomes are lower but so is the cost of living (if you live like an Israeli, that is. Far less so if you try living like an American in Israel).

I'm proud to be an American. I love visiting the States and enjoy taking my kids (also American citizens, though born in Israel) there to learn about their American heritage. But when I compare my quality of life to friends who live there, I honestly think I'm happier.

chanchy123

Wed, Jan 31 2018, 2:32 am

America is the only superpower in the world, it is sets the tone in the entire world in terms of economics, finance, politics, academia, culture, pop culture, etc.
Like or not that's reality. Almost every single person in the world can tell you who the President of the United States is (and has an opinion about it), almost everyone has watched at least one Hollywood movie or is aware of their existence, people measure their own currency in reference to the dollar, given a picture of the Statue of Liberty - most people in the world could place it in the US.

I don't know what makes it special - but it is, there is no country in such a position in the world today.

Is life in the US better than life in other countries? That's another question and the answer really depends on your situation, some people are better off - others are not.

There are not very many democracies out there with such a thin safety net - that's true. But Capitalism has its pros and cons. Health expenses vary - if you live in a socialist country you might pay very high taxes and get free (or low costing) health insurance. If you live in a country with very low standard of health care you might have to pay very high fees out of pocket.

The US actually has free schooling, but not religious schooling.

I have seen many modern developed cities that are filthy.

I know that many Jewish people in the US do not like the presidency of Donald Trump, but he is quite popular elsewhere in the world. In Israel, we appreciate the Trump administration beyond words. It is such a breath of fresh air after the eight years of Obama administration. He might not be the champion of good behavior but he seems to be doing a lot of good as world leader.

I live in Israel, I was born here, I am %100 Israeli, but I am also an American citizen. I wouldn't want to live there, but I can understand what the attraction is and I enjoy visiting there (I have been there quite a few times as a tourist in the past few years). I think people who live there shouldn't be so hard on their country. It has a lot of benefits, and most Americans are really clueless about the way other people in the world live. It has become so popular to denigrate America, especially for young Americans. What these young Americans don't understand is that America is pretty great. In the sense that it does have a lot to offer, and it is big enough and diverse enough to find pretty much whatever life you are looking for. Also, so many people in the world would love to trade places with Americans in a heartbeat.

I brought my children to the US to become American citizens. I felt ambivalent about it because my kids are Israelis and that is just so awesome that these Jewish kids can be citizens of the State of Israel. We are Jewish, we live in the land of Israel, what more do we need? When I was at the immigration office, with my third child - and I was very matter of fact waiting in line with my DD to get this bureaucratic procedure over, I saw an Arab family that was so overjoyed when they got their American citizenship I couldn't help but appreciate my great fortune of having two opportunities to citizenship in free democratic successful prosperous countries. To this family, becoming American citizens was literally the best thing that ever happened to them. It may have saved their lives.

Mayflower

Wed, Jan 31 2018, 3:01 am

chanchy123 wrote:

America is the only superpower in the world, it is sets the tone in the entire world in terms of economics, finance, politics, academia, culture, pop culture, etc.

Sorry, you lost me there.
Economics, finance, maybe..
Politics ? Less so..
Culture ? Really??

chanchy123

Wed, Jan 31 2018, 3:24 am

Mayflower wrote:

Sorry, you lost me there.
Economics, finance, maybe..
Politics ? Less so..
Culture ? Really??

How many people were affected by the election of Macron in France? How many people care about the political turmoil in Kenya now (google it)? Since so many people are affected by the identity of the US political leader, that many people follow US politics closely and the political trends are echoed throughout the world.

Culture? Current culture - of course. The US sets the trends in culture around the world. Yes, many leading artists are from other countries - but many times they find themselves based in the US. How many opera singers are vying to play on the stages of Bulgaria or Nigeria - although I am sure there are opera singers from these countries, but you cannot compare preforming for the Sofia Opera society (or whatever it is called) than in NY? How many American ballerinas work their entire life to be good enough to perform in another country?
Not to mention more popular culture such as TV, movies, music, literature, etc.

I challenge you to find another country in the world that [bold]is[/bold] a leader in these fields?

Raisin

Wed, Jan 31 2018, 4:46 am

Advantages of the USA:

More Jewish people, so better choices for frum people as regards shops, restaurants, schools, etc.

Cheap consumer goods and lots of choice. Walmart, amazon, etc.

American culture and tv is definitely influential in the world.

A large population means a larger pool of talent so often the best drs, dancers, musicians, writers, scientists etc might be american - or come to live there from other countries. So if you want the best heart surgeon in the world, he or she might very well be in the USA.

Disadvantages:

Tuition - in other countries with frum populations the government often partially or mostly pays for schools that meet government guidelines.

Healthcare costs. No system is perfect but the US system is a lot less perfect then others.

Crime - seems to a very large number of lawless people, more so than other countries.

Gun violence. Pointless and completely preventable. Or at least easy to greatly reduce.

Trump. Definitely worrying to live in a country where almost 50% of the people thought he was a good option.

Conclusion: For a non Jewish or secular person I would say almost any other western country would be a better place to live. For Jewish people (especially rich Jewish people) the benefits may outweigh the disadvantages.