5LiterMustang
Senior member
No nation has enriched humanity in so many diverse ways. The quality
of life for nearly all six billion people on the planet would be
unimaginably worse if not for the ingenuity of the American mind.
Thomas Edison gave the world electric light, motion pictures, the
phonograph the alkaline storage battery, the mimeograph machine, and
thousands of other inventions that enhance the lives of just about
every living person. New Yorker Willis Haviland Carrier invented
modern air-conditioning. The DuPont Company introduced us to
synthetic rubber. Immigrant Alexander Graham Bell's telephone
revolutionized the way the world communicates. Al Gore may not have
invented the Internet, but his fellow countrymen working for the
Department of Defense did. The television, the laser, the video
cassette recorder, nylon, the computer, the supercomputer, and the
personal computer were all spawned by Americans.
Discoveries as varied as Pluto, DNA, atomic energy, and the
mapping of the human genome are American achievements.
The world is entertained, for better or worse, by movies, music,
sports, and television shows made in the United States. America is
the birthplace of jazz, country, the blues, rock and roll and rap.
Homegrown sports such as football, basketball, baseball,
skateboarding, and surfing are wildly popular outside the United
States. The world's most popular movies and television shows are
produced in Hollywood. Critics may lament the low-brow content of
much of American entertainment, but they cannot deny its popularity.
People who are free to choose what they listen to or watch choose to
be entertained by Americans.
America has used its military power to liberate the oppressed rather
than to claim dominion over others. America's armed forces created a
nation based on liberty, freed the slaves, helped defeat the Nazis,
transformed imperial Japan into a modern republic, and tore down the
Iron Curtain without firing a shot. For six decades, we have been the
preeminent military power on the globe. A rational look at history,
as well s the contemporary world, finds much to be grateful for in
America's dominance. If America had lost World War II, the Korean
War, the Cold War, or the Persian Gulf War, would the world be better
or worse? The alternatives to American hegemony are scary. What
country would use the power we possess in a more enlightened manner?
China? Iran? France? From ancient Rome to the British Empire,
powerful countries have traditionally used their might to claim
dominion over others. America charts a different course. Despite 60
years of military superiority, our territory has not expanded by even
an inch. That the most powerful country in the world is content to
rule only itself is truly a novelty in the annals of history (Note:
Neo-cons seem to have their minds bent on altering this fact,
however). Our armies march not for empire, conquest, or colonies but
in defense of liberty ? even when the liberty we are defending is not
our own.
America's military power is surpassed only by its economic power. Our
gross domestic product hovers near the $10 trillion mark. The
combined GDP of our three closest economic rivals ? Japan, Germany and
the United Kingdom ? barely exceeds our nation's wealth. In most
countries, our "poor" would be considered quite rich. The republic's
wealth did not occur by accident. The rule of law, patent and
copyright protection, and a restrained government are a few of the
traditions that accelerated the nation's prosperity. Elsewhere,
individual success results in reward for the state. Thus, the
incentive to pursue success is weak. Here, people receive the reward
for their own labor and creativity. Therefore, the pursuit of success
is widespread. America generates the products much of humanity buys,
the food they eat, and the jobs in which they work. Take this one
country out of the economic equation, and the world's misery would
increase exponentially. We are the sun around which the world economy
revolves.
Without our great wealth comes great generosity. In 2000, Americans
gave more than $200 billion to charity. As a percentage of GDP, what
we give exceeds the amount donated in other industrialized nations.
In absolute terms, the amount Americans give to charity dwarfs the
dollar amounts donated in other nations. In addition to the vast
amounts we voluntarily give, our government doles out massive amounts
of our money to foreign nations. A recent foreign appropriations
budget, which details only two-thirds of what our government spends on
projects outside the United States, allots $15 billion to other
countries and international institutions. Israel gets $3 billion,
Egypt $2 billion, and Pakistan $1 billion. The World Bank received
more than $1 billion. Nearly $500 million went to the global fight
against AIDS. Hundreds of millions target tuberculosis, malaria, and
polio. Not included in recent foreign operations budgets are the
billions diverted from the Department of Defense budget to
peacekeeping, the $18 billion, multiyear allotment to the
International Monetary Fund in 1999, and additional billions of debt
forgiveness to impoverished countries. Americans make up less than 5%
of the world's population yet fund 25% of the budget of the United
Nations. From the Marshall Plan to relief aid for survivors of
Hurricane Mitch, Americans are the first to bail out the rest of the
world. Torched American flags and demands for more money are
frequently the "thank-you" we receive.
For the emigrant seeking to escape oppression or find a better life,
America continues to be the place to go. No country has opened its
arm to the immigrant as America has. We now take in more newcomers
(to our detriment) than we did at any point in our history, including
the years between 1820 and 1930, when we absorbed 60% of the world's
immigrants. Poles, Egyptians, Koreans and Sri Lankans, for example,
can come to this country and become Americans. An American reversing
the immigrant's path would be laughed at in his adopted homeland if he
referred to himself as a Pole, Egyptian, Korean or Sri Lankan.
America separates itself from almost every country on the face of the
earth by basing itself on an idea ? freedom ? and not a nationality or
religion. What Pedro Martinez, Louis B. Mayer, and Andrew Carnegie
could not accomplish in the land of their birth, they could here. The
world is better for them. Had they stayed at home, their positive
impact on the world would have been negated. Only in America could
their talents have been utilized to the maximum effect.
A perusal of the a recent list of the 400 richest Americans yields a
count of around 260 men and women, roughly two out of three, described
by Forbes as "self-made."
Prior to the 1950s, polio affected millions of people worldwide,
including America's longest-serving president. The outbreak of 1916
alone left 27,000 Americans disabled and 9,000 dead. Today, only a
scant number of westerners contract the disease every decade. The
world has Jonas Salk to thank for producing the first vaccine against
the crippling malady. The story of polio's eradication is a story
that thankfully repeats itself in the history of U.S. medical science.
Tuberculosis similarly laid waste to massive portions of humanity.
Like polio, the disease has been tamed in the West and in any other
part of the world where the populace makes a concerted effort to
eradicate it. An immigrant to the United States won the Nobel Prize
for developing the first antibiotic to successfully treat the disease.
Americans discovered the vaccines for pneumonia, hepatitis B, and
yellow fever. We developed the successful treatment for gout and
discovered the preventative measures used against goiter. American
scientists pioneered the use of modern chemotherapy. Americans
invented the MRI, the pacemaker, and the CAT scan. The first
successful implant of an artificial heart, as well as the first kidney
transplant, took place in the United States. So dominant is the
United States in the field of medicine that between 1943 and 2002,
Americans won the Nobel Prize outright or held a share in the award
for 45 out of 60 years.
Life expectancy has risen dramatically around the world over the
course of the past century. More than any other nation, the United
States deserves the credit for this. It is no exaggeration to credit
American medical advances with saving hundreds of millions of lives.
When a cure for AIDS is found, what country will its discoverers hail
from? When modern medicine is able to heal all cancer victims, which
country's scientists will pioneer the advancement? When the aged are
rescued from Alzheimer's disease, what nation are their saviors likely
to call home? If past performance is any guide for the future,
Americans will likely discover cures or vaccines for at least one of
these diseases, if not all three.
can we all just agree our country is great?
of life for nearly all six billion people on the planet would be
unimaginably worse if not for the ingenuity of the American mind.
Thomas Edison gave the world electric light, motion pictures, the
phonograph the alkaline storage battery, the mimeograph machine, and
thousands of other inventions that enhance the lives of just about
every living person. New Yorker Willis Haviland Carrier invented
modern air-conditioning. The DuPont Company introduced us to
synthetic rubber. Immigrant Alexander Graham Bell's telephone
revolutionized the way the world communicates. Al Gore may not have
invented the Internet, but his fellow countrymen working for the
Department of Defense did. The television, the laser, the video
cassette recorder, nylon, the computer, the supercomputer, and the
personal computer were all spawned by Americans.
Discoveries as varied as Pluto, DNA, atomic energy, and the
mapping of the human genome are American achievements.
The world is entertained, for better or worse, by movies, music,
sports, and television shows made in the United States. America is
the birthplace of jazz, country, the blues, rock and roll and rap.
Homegrown sports such as football, basketball, baseball,
skateboarding, and surfing are wildly popular outside the United
States. The world's most popular movies and television shows are
produced in Hollywood. Critics may lament the low-brow content of
much of American entertainment, but they cannot deny its popularity.
People who are free to choose what they listen to or watch choose to
be entertained by Americans.
America has used its military power to liberate the oppressed rather
than to claim dominion over others. America's armed forces created a
nation based on liberty, freed the slaves, helped defeat the Nazis,
transformed imperial Japan into a modern republic, and tore down the
Iron Curtain without firing a shot. For six decades, we have been the
preeminent military power on the globe. A rational look at history,
as well s the contemporary world, finds much to be grateful for in
America's dominance. If America had lost World War II, the Korean
War, the Cold War, or the Persian Gulf War, would the world be better
or worse? The alternatives to American hegemony are scary. What
country would use the power we possess in a more enlightened manner?
China? Iran? France? From ancient Rome to the British Empire,
powerful countries have traditionally used their might to claim
dominion over others. America charts a different course. Despite 60
years of military superiority, our territory has not expanded by even
an inch. That the most powerful country in the world is content to
rule only itself is truly a novelty in the annals of history (Note:
Neo-cons seem to have their minds bent on altering this fact,
however). Our armies march not for empire, conquest, or colonies but
in defense of liberty ? even when the liberty we are defending is not
our own.
America's military power is surpassed only by its economic power. Our
gross domestic product hovers near the $10 trillion mark. The
combined GDP of our three closest economic rivals ? Japan, Germany and
the United Kingdom ? barely exceeds our nation's wealth. In most
countries, our "poor" would be considered quite rich. The republic's
wealth did not occur by accident. The rule of law, patent and
copyright protection, and a restrained government are a few of the
traditions that accelerated the nation's prosperity. Elsewhere,
individual success results in reward for the state. Thus, the
incentive to pursue success is weak. Here, people receive the reward
for their own labor and creativity. Therefore, the pursuit of success
is widespread. America generates the products much of humanity buys,
the food they eat, and the jobs in which they work. Take this one
country out of the economic equation, and the world's misery would
increase exponentially. We are the sun around which the world economy
revolves.
Without our great wealth comes great generosity. In 2000, Americans
gave more than $200 billion to charity. As a percentage of GDP, what
we give exceeds the amount donated in other industrialized nations.
In absolute terms, the amount Americans give to charity dwarfs the
dollar amounts donated in other nations. In addition to the vast
amounts we voluntarily give, our government doles out massive amounts
of our money to foreign nations. A recent foreign appropriations
budget, which details only two-thirds of what our government spends on
projects outside the United States, allots $15 billion to other
countries and international institutions. Israel gets $3 billion,
Egypt $2 billion, and Pakistan $1 billion. The World Bank received
more than $1 billion. Nearly $500 million went to the global fight
against AIDS. Hundreds of millions target tuberculosis, malaria, and
polio. Not included in recent foreign operations budgets are the
billions diverted from the Department of Defense budget to
peacekeeping, the $18 billion, multiyear allotment to the
International Monetary Fund in 1999, and additional billions of debt
forgiveness to impoverished countries. Americans make up less than 5%
of the world's population yet fund 25% of the budget of the United
Nations. From the Marshall Plan to relief aid for survivors of
Hurricane Mitch, Americans are the first to bail out the rest of the
world. Torched American flags and demands for more money are
frequently the "thank-you" we receive.
For the emigrant seeking to escape oppression or find a better life,
America continues to be the place to go. No country has opened its
arm to the immigrant as America has. We now take in more newcomers
(to our detriment) than we did at any point in our history, including
the years between 1820 and 1930, when we absorbed 60% of the world's
immigrants. Poles, Egyptians, Koreans and Sri Lankans, for example,
can come to this country and become Americans. An American reversing
the immigrant's path would be laughed at in his adopted homeland if he
referred to himself as a Pole, Egyptian, Korean or Sri Lankan.
America separates itself from almost every country on the face of the
earth by basing itself on an idea ? freedom ? and not a nationality or
religion. What Pedro Martinez, Louis B. Mayer, and Andrew Carnegie
could not accomplish in the land of their birth, they could here. The
world is better for them. Had they stayed at home, their positive
impact on the world would have been negated. Only in America could
their talents have been utilized to the maximum effect.
A perusal of the a recent list of the 400 richest Americans yields a
count of around 260 men and women, roughly two out of three, described
by Forbes as "self-made."
Prior to the 1950s, polio affected millions of people worldwide,
including America's longest-serving president. The outbreak of 1916
alone left 27,000 Americans disabled and 9,000 dead. Today, only a
scant number of westerners contract the disease every decade. The
world has Jonas Salk to thank for producing the first vaccine against
the crippling malady. The story of polio's eradication is a story
that thankfully repeats itself in the history of U.S. medical science.
Tuberculosis similarly laid waste to massive portions of humanity.
Like polio, the disease has been tamed in the West and in any other
part of the world where the populace makes a concerted effort to
eradicate it. An immigrant to the United States won the Nobel Prize
for developing the first antibiotic to successfully treat the disease.
Americans discovered the vaccines for pneumonia, hepatitis B, and
yellow fever. We developed the successful treatment for gout and
discovered the preventative measures used against goiter. American
scientists pioneered the use of modern chemotherapy. Americans
invented the MRI, the pacemaker, and the CAT scan. The first
successful implant of an artificial heart, as well as the first kidney
transplant, took place in the United States. So dominant is the
United States in the field of medicine that between 1943 and 2002,
Americans won the Nobel Prize outright or held a share in the award
for 45 out of 60 years.
Life expectancy has risen dramatically around the world over the
course of the past century. More than any other nation, the United
States deserves the credit for this. It is no exaggeration to credit
American medical advances with saving hundreds of millions of lives.
When a cure for AIDS is found, what country will its discoverers hail
from? When modern medicine is able to heal all cancer victims, which
country's scientists will pioneer the advancement? When the aged are
rescued from Alzheimer's disease, what nation are their saviors likely
to call home? If past performance is any guide for the future,
Americans will likely discover cures or vaccines for at least one of
these diseases, if not all three.
can we all just agree our country is great?
