BS: What makes a country great?

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 08:05 PM

Kind-hearted, generous, and courageous people make a country great.

Sincere efforts in the direction of establishing equality and social justice can help a lot too. This requires a responsible government and a reasonably aware populace.

And what Amos said...

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Amos
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 07:38 PM

In addition to a tacit common sense of honor, or perhaps directly tied to it, a nation rises above others when it has some sort of shared vision toward which it can strive, a goal which is shared and is not destructive.


A

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Ebbie
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 06:55 PM

* I think a country is great when its main role is to make it possible for all its citizens - native born and immigrant alike - to live and work in a fairly level field.
* I think a great country uses its tremendous resources to see to it that none of its citizens are homeless or hungry or unprotected.
* A great country expects and requires its citizens to do their part with taxes and service to further the greater good.
* A country is great when it pays its bills and extends its hand to other countries when needed.
* A great country takes it for granted that some things call for federal ownership: water, electricity, school funding, the postal system, the highway system, the rail system.
* A country that is great supports the arts, both in individuals and in the schools.
* A great country is not afraid of exploration and innovation.
* A great country is humble without being obsequious, powerful without being arrogant and it cultivates the ability to listen before talking.
* A great country strives always to be just a little better than it was before, and encourages its citizens to do the same.

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 06:50 PM

Decent people you get everywhere. But some places seem to help them know it's all right to be open with each other, and some places teach them to be suspicious of each other.

Basically it's the difference between places where "Are you looking at me" can be expected to be the start of a friendly conversation, and where it is an expression of hostility/defensiveness.

There's a saying you sometimes hear - "We've got really good neighbours - you wouldn't know they are there". Great places to live aren't like that.

It seesm to me that, most of the time the Mudcat counts as a great place.

Of course, even in great places, you get the occasional...

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: dianavan
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 06:29 PM

PoppaGator - Its hard to have a great country without good government.

...and yes, there are great people everywhere.

Sometimes oppression brings out the greatness of the people. I hope this will prove to be the case in the U.S.

d

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Amos
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 06:02 PM

Greatness appears in countries which have some common tacit sense of honor.

A

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 06:01 PM

"What makes a country great?"

I think all it takes is for the people who live there to say that it is, and honestly believe it...

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Once Famous
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 05:56 PM

I don't think so at all guest, boab or is that boob.

I believe he would be talking German if it weren't for America doing things for other countries.

But that has nothing at all to do with what makes a country great to live in, which is what ultimately we are talking about.

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: PoppaGator
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 05:48 PM

Amen, jimmyt.

A country, any country, is *not* its government. Its current government, and perhaps more importantly itse system of government, is part of the picture, but not the whole deal by any means.

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: jimmyt
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 05:31 PM

Countries are only places where people live. The people are either nice or they are not, and I have met a lot of nice people from every country I have ever visited. There are also some jerks pretty much everywhere. I think in history there was a jerk diaspora that evenly divided up all the jerks so they could go forth and multiply. GLad there are good people to outnumber them 10 to 1.   Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: dianavan
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 05:21 PM

Wesley - I agree.

I would also add that a great country shares its bounty with others.

A great country cares about future generations as opposed to short term gain.

A great country chooses dialogue before war.

A great country insures equal access to education, health care and job opportunities to all of its citizens.

A great country cares about the planet as whole.

d

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: GUEST,Boab
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 05:06 PM

I think, Martin, Wesley just threw a hat that seems to fit. He's one up without even trying!

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 04:46 PM

"Where is my home? What roots do I have?
Just me and mine, and the folks that I love..."

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Peace
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 04:45 PM

Absolutely, Kevin.

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 04:40 PM

Friendly people make a very good start.

I take it brucie means "great" as in "what a great place to live", rather than anything to do with being able to boss other countries around.

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: GUEST,socialist
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 04:39 PM

Workers have no country friends!

Borders, most often drawn in working class blood, are for the preservation of the bosses monopoly of resoucres on which we all depend.

THE WORLD FOR THE WORKERS!

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Once Famous
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 04:34 PM

Do you guys really talk like that?

Sheesh!

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: akenaton
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 04:32 PM

brucie...Theres good things and bad in every country.

In Scotland weve got beauty and tranquility, but we are percieved to have a glorious martial histoy.

In reality, it meant our young men slaughtering their brothers in foreign lands,and being slaughtered themselves, fighting other peoples' wars for economic reasons.....Sound familiar?

Hamish Henderson said it all in his vision for the future.
"Freedom come all ye"

"Nay mair will oor bonny callants,
mairch tae war when oor braggarts cruisly craw.
And wee weans frae pit-heid and clachan,
mourn the ships sailin' doon the Broomylaw"

"Broken faimlies in lands we've harried,
will curse Scotland the brave, nay mair...nay mair.
But black an' white, ane till other mairred,
mak the vile barracks o' their maisters bare"

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Once Famous
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 04:29 PM

Is the sex interesting for you?

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Blissfully Ignorant
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 04:16 PM

I can't get my head round the concept. I live in a country full of sheep...can you imagine it?

'We're (baaaaaaaaaa baaa) a great (baa!) coun(babababbabaaa)try!'

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Once Famous
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 04:14 PM

Spoken like a true left wingnut still upset over Kerry losing, Wesley S.

How typically spineless to turn this into a typical Mudcat anti-American thread.

I at least am trying to keep it a bit light hearted.

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Cluin
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 04:14 PM

Lots of different kinds of people working and living in it.

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Wesley S
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 04:11 PM

I would say that it cares about the rights and quality of life of all of it's citizens - and that it's not willing to sacrifice the rights or well being of the citizens of any other country just to further it's own interests.

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Once Famous
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 04:08 PM

I like brucie, but there are brucie's living in every country.

why there's even brucie mohammad living in Syria and brucie Ho Park living in North Korea.

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Oaklet
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 03:59 PM

And Brucie living in it.

Subject: RE: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Once Famous
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 03:55 PM

First of all, it has good country music.

Subject: BS: What makes a country great?
From: Peace
Date: 23 Nov 04 - 03:53 PM

This thread was prompted by one that Martin Gibson started about Thanksgiving (in the United States of America).

What makes your country great to you?--regardless of where you are.