The Greatest Country in the World

America is the greatest country in the world. That’s what I grew up hearing – from my immigrant parents, fellow Americans, visitors and foreigners alike. I never questioned why. It just sounded right. My natural response would be to humbly agree. And if you are also one to humbly agree, I challenge yourself to ask why.

After traveling for five months to thirteen countries while watching the politics of our country unfold like a train wreck in slow motion, I started asking myself why I always humbly agreed. What makes the US the greatest country in the world? How is “greatest” defined? Does the world still view us in this same light today?

Every country has a unique history, a series of tragic and redeeming events over time that brought it to its current state. And that history cannot be minimized or disregarded in judging a country’s progress. It’s a critical variable in the equation.

South Africa abolished apartheid twenty-seven years ago. While racism and socioeconomic inequities still exist, the country has moved more and more towards criminalizing racism, including making hate speeches punishable by law. Whether you agree or not, it’s hard to debate that this approach acknowledges the nation’s ugly past and shows a desire to evolve society. It’s possible that suppressing racist acts is a small step towards eradicating the mentality over time. The US abolished slavery one hundred and fifty-three years ago. Black men constitute roughly 6% of the US population. According to the organization, Mapping Police Violence, 27% of Americans killed by police officers in 2017 were black.

I felt safer as a woman walking down the street alone in the unfamiliar territories of Tanzania, Egypt and Morocco than I do in my home country. During my three months in Africa, I was catcalled twice in total. Both times were in Egypt by adolescent boys who blurted out something to the effect of, “You’re pretty!” and giggled. In the US, regardless of where I am, I still walk down empty streets at night with my keys intertwined between my knuckles, hyper-aware of my surroundings.

To my surprise, Paris was remarkably diverse. There were people from every part of the world on the metro, in each neighborhood we visited. I was not a minority. For the week I was there, not once did I feel out-of-place, that I did not belong. I can’t say the same for the US.

In Israel, purchasing health insurance is compulsory. Those who cannot afford it receive subsidies. As of last year, somewhere between 30 and 40 million Americans lack health insurance. The average life expectancy of an Israeli is 82.5 years as compared to 79.3 in the US.

Amsterdam focuses on preserving its authenticity. The city still has a local feel to it. Bicycles dominate, not cars. Reducing waste is a priority. Bringing your own bags for groceries is an expectation. There are few big name international stores around. People don’t talk about money and career. There aren’t a ton of options in stores and restaurants. They strive for simplicity and not materialism. And they accept that some inconvenience is part of normal life. Despite all of this, Dutch society continues to grow and evolve. And there’s something incredible about that.

One of my major learnings so far is that to evolve emotionally and intellectually as a society, we should ask “why” more often. Using data and logic, as opposed to declaring superlatives, will allow us to draw more meaningful conclusions that shape our beliefs. The answer to what makes a country great lies not in a set of statistics, but rather in how we relate to its value system.

After five months of living abroad, I’m not so convinced America is the greatest in the world. There are certainly many great things about it. Generations of immigrants left their families to settle in the US knowing it was possible to come from nothing and become something. America is a democracy unlike no other. But surely we have more work to do to elevate our status when one in every 6 women in the US are victims of an attempted or completed sexual assault, when child marriage is still legal in 49 states and when we have the highest maternal mortality rates than any other developed nation. Imagine how great we could be if we just valued women, children and underrepresented minorities a little more.

When the time comes, I hope to come home to a country that is more humble and open to learning from its neighbors around the world. Perhaps the key to our success is to not strive to be the greatest but rather to just strive to be good enough.