Is America still viewed as the best place to live by the rest of the world? Let's look at the best indicator, how many people want to live in the U.S.
The United States is the only country to have more than a million people legally immigrate in any single year since 2001. Hundreds of thousands more come here illegally. I think that’s a good indicator people in the rest of the world think this is a good place to live. The United States has had that happen every year since 2001.
Being able to publicly disagree about issues is one of the things that makes the U.S. the greatest country on earth. Our Canadian neighbors to the north have limits on public speech that Americans would find onerous. Don't believe me, just ask Mark Steyn. He spent years in Canadian courts over statements that wouldn't get a second glance here. Don't like the system in the U.S.? Change it. March in the streets. Make signs, Do a YouTube video or a Change dot org petition. Write your congressman, heck, be a Congressman. In the U.S. you can do that.
Another part of the American system is that we get to fire the entire government every few years. We have the chance to fire our representatives, senators, county supervisors, governor, president, school board or whatever ever few years.
Have an employee that’s not doing the job? Fire him. Don’t like the person in a particular office? Vote ‘em out. Get with your friends and pick someone you think will do it better. Just remember, the guy you don’t like probably has friends who like him just fine. They have the same chance to vote for their guy and keep him on the job.
Think another country has a better system? Move there if that country will let you. Unlike quite a few places, there are no fences around the U.S. keeping people in. In the U.S. you're allowed to live pretty much anywhere you can pay the rent, even if that's somewhere outside the U.S.
Don't like your neighbor's religion? In the U.S. you can tell him why he's wrong and guess what? Nothing much will happen, unless your neighbor gets mad. Chances are better that even your neighbor will pray for you. No one is going to jail you or execute you for heresy. In fact, your right to criticize your neighbor is protected by law. Of course, your neighbor’s right to criticize you is protected by the same laws. That system has allowed us to reach a pretty good balance over the years.
Again, don't like the system in the U.S.? Find a better one and live under it. Or change this one. The U.S. Constitution had an amendment process built in when it was written. It’s still there.
You choose. That's just one of the things that makes the American system such an unusual thing. You have a choice. You can do pretty much whatever you want to do, or live pretty much any way you want to, in any place you want to live.
I think that's pretty exceptional.
