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What, if Anything, can the US Learn from Other Countries?

What, if Anything, can the US Learn from Other Countries?

  • Healthcare

    Votes: 12 60.0%

  • Tax Policy

    Votes: 7 35.0%

  • Drug Policy

    Votes: 14 70.0%

  • Prison System

    Votes: 13 65.0%

  • Size and Scope of Military

    Votes: 11 55.0%

  • Race Relations

    Votes: 7 35.0%

  • Election System

    Votes: 8 40.0%

  • Morality

    Votes: 6 30.0%

  • Violent Crime Rates

    Votes: 10 50.0%

  • Other

    Votes: 11 55.0%
  • Total voters
    20

aberrant85

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Is the US the greatest nation the world has ever seen, hands down? Or are there things we can approve upon based on the example of other countries?
 
Actually, some other countries are now using the fate of the US as an example of what to avoid, to "Nip in the bud."

Quite a shift for the former most powerful, prosperous country in the world, the former leader of the free world.

Certainly the educated world is shocked at how quickly it all came down.

I could expand, but the law won't allow that sort of freedom.
 
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Poll needs option: 'all of the above'.
 
well we have learned from England and Australia what happens when people register their firearms
 
I selected health care and drug policy. We could learn a lot about proper national health care from several different models any one of which is lightyears ahead of what we had pre-obamacare and now under obamacare. I'd point to Canada, The UK, France, and Cuba as good examples

As for drug policy, we need to lighten up greatly on our failed War on Drugs, and I mean seriously stop it entirely and begin treating the situation as we already do alcohol and cigarettes. I think a good example would have been Holland before the EU started putting pressure on it to conform.

I might have picked prison reform, but only to the extent of rehabilitation programs come countries use. Norway has a good reform program. However, I don't see any special examples of prison systems I'd adopt, and still think my prison reform option discussed elsewhere is what we need for actual prison system operations.

I'm not sure that any other nation has a better system of government, although I hate our Two-Party dominance in elections. As far as the military? I think ours is the best in the world, although I'd have some personal suggestions about training programs.
 
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aberrant85 said:
Is the US the greatest nation the world has ever seen, hands down? Or are there things we can approve upon based on the example of other countries?
Click to expand...

No, I don't believe the USA is the greatest nation the world has ever seen. Over the millennia, great empires have risen, lasted centuries, then fallen. In their time, many were greater, more powerful, more encompassing than the USA. Can we improve based on the examples of other countries? Sure we could. We could learn a lot about covering even the poorest with adequate healthcare, we could also learn the dangers of runaway cradle-to-grave welfare systems that have begun to bankrupt some European nations.

I'll take flack for this, but I admire the UK's CCTV system. I know, I know, a lot of Americans scream "privacy!!!" but when one is out and about in public, there is no legal expectation of privacy in a public place, and CCTV's crime fighting/solving value is immeasurable. Someday, probably in this century, each child born will have DNA posted in the global population data base, and I think that's a great thing.

America can learn about the pitfalls of expansionism, over-aggressive "imperialism" (for lack of a better word), and militarily meddling in the affairs of others by emulating policies of our European neighbors, who have already learned the hard way lessons that we don't seem to believe will apply to us.

Anyway, don't want this to be too wordy, so I'll shut it down before I start to ramble. On the Poll I selected Heath, Drugs, Prison and Other.
 
All the above. No nation is ever the best at anything, you can always learn from another nation at any point, even if you are considered the best. The US is certainly not the best right now, therefore they could learn A LOT.
 
iacardsfan said:
All the above. No nation is ever the best at anything, you can always learn from another nation at any point, even if you are considered the best. The US is certainly not the best right now, therefore they could learn A LOT.
Click to expand...

even with the obama administration the US is the best nation.

name one that is better
 
TurtleDude said:
even with the obama administration the US is the best nation.

name one that is better
Click to expand...
There are an easy half dozen but it kind of depends upon what "best" means. If it means fighting wars that can't be won, We're Number One, We're Number One.
 
TurtleDude said:
even with the obama administration the US is the best nation.

name one that is better
Click to expand...
Regarding social reforms: Belgium and Nordic countries.
 
TurtleDude said:
even with the obama administration the US is the best nation.

name one that is better
Click to expand...
Portugal - Drug Policy win, reduction of crime, faster growth of economy, etc.
Canada - Best Healthcare system, Much better prison system, Higher minimum wage and yet a smaller unemployment rate, etc.

If you're only measuring by GDP or Military might, us, of course. But, I don't measure countries as if they were businesses, I measure their ability to protect liberties and promote human rights, and a general measure of citizen happiness. Neither might nor money will make you happy.
 
While I do agree that America is the greatest nation ever, there's plenty to learn and work on. I think, when you have this absurd idea that you can learn nothing from rest of the world, you are simply doing yourself a disservice. Also, ethnocentrism can be dangerous.

We could take some tips on pre-collegiate schooling, I'm sure. Though I'm not sure who we have to learn race relations from, every developed nation still have issues with it. We could learn a bit, no alot, from say Portugal on drug policies and so on.

As for our prison system, that's just a hot mess.
 
aberrant85 said:
Is the US the greatest nation the world has ever seen, hands down? Or are there things we can approve upon based on the example of other countries?
Click to expand...

Maybe, just possibly... no, never mind. You might look up the meaning ov 'hubris' but it'd never sink in.
 
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