Funny how the order of that list of countries is almost exactly inversely proportional to the ones I’d rather live in.

Not everyone is rational, sadly. I imagine your ludicrous nationalism is the problem in this case... http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...s/frownnod.gif

So the US is apparently fabulously wealthy but is still full of terrible poverty and is practically a theocracy compared to most Western countries. Australia is nice but they have no water (when it's not getting flooded) and the place is full of the most appalling spiders. I'm sure Canada is great but a country made of ice isn't everyone's cup of tea.

Is that really the best counterargument you could think of?

Yes.

Yep, you could compare the UK to the 20 countries that the IMF ranks above it or the 160 countries that the IMF ranks below it.

Why would you compare a developed country to the entire developing world?

Don't be ridiculous. This is a serious thread.

If its serious why does it have a nonserious title?

That doesn't bother me.* http://www.discussworldissues.com/im...ons/icon14.gif

Spoiler: * I must point out that your statement is grossly inaccurate, however, even though I know what you were actually trying to say.

Everyone does, incl. the US. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/angry.gif

Why does MikeH have the EU flag on his profile? I think this betrays a lack of confidence in the UK. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...smilies/hm.gif

Is it 'Quote "House of Cards" week' or something? That's the second quote I came across this week.

Whilst I am the first person to argue for the royalty to be put up against the nearest wall and shot, they have no practical religious influence whatsoever. The UK is a far more secular place than the US, and apart from Ayatollah Blair, our leaders generally feel little or no need to flout their religious piety at every opportunity, which certainly appears to be the case over there. Could an atheist become POTUS? I doubt it. One certainly could become PM here.

But that has to do with people, not the state.

Are people in the US more religious, certainly. Is that bad, good, or neutral, people all disagree about this.

JM

People in the US are no more or less religious than people in Canada. The difference is that of culture and state. The US lets its people legislate religious morality (see the DOMA), in Canada any such action is swiftly knocked down by the courts. And then how do the people react? Acceptance.

Canada is publicly secular with a similar percentage of religious people as the US. The difference is Canadians recognize religion has nothing to do with the government and is a completely private affair.

Poor people with absolutely no social mobility do exist in the United States. I traveled through some rural communities in Oklahoma back in May and I was floored to see a lot of people suffering from treatable ailments because they are unable to afford medical care. I can't imagine living in small town America with only a high school diploma and limited job opportunities for dead end careers.

The typical poor family (as defined by the government) in the US has more living space than the average European, was able to get medical care when needed and in addition has money to meet all essential needs.

widgetContext = { "url": "http://data.worldbank.org/widgets/indicator/0/web_widgets_2/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD/countries", "width": 300, "height": 225, "widgetid": "web_widget_iframe_67bd7c6de4b777e6a849f4abea34fecb" }; Data from World Bank It's pretty sad when even Angola beats Afghanistan 10:1. What a crappy place.

It's cited in the wiki link.