Seriously are there any exceptional countries on the planet?

[malaise]

What makes them exceptional?

[hatrack]

1. Well, we've been displaying exceptional arrogance and stupidity when it comes to COVID . . .

Does that count?

[malaise]

2. No

[spooky3]

3. I hate that term too. It's so arrogant. Every country is exceptional in some ways. Nt

[malaise]

5. Agree

[Glorfindel]

4. Costa Rica, maybe? I've never heard a single negative thing about it

from people I know who have visited...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/20-reasons-why-costa-rica-is-the-coolest-country-on_b_596b52bfe4b06a2c8edb472b

[sinkingfeeling]

8. Too many snakes.

[secondwind]

20. Homicide rate in Costa Rica is 12 per 100,000

USA it is 5 per 100,000

[hunter]

34. Several states in the U.S.A. have similar homicide rates, some cities are much worse.

Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Missouri...

St. Louis had a homicide rate of 51 per 100,000 in 2018.

[Crazyleftie]

6. Switzerland

which has what is called a "direct democracy", whereby the voters decide on issues by a sort of referendum, so there is little chance of elected representatives voting against the wishes of the electorate because they are paid off by corporate lobbyists.
And the "president" serves only one year as the Federal Council takes on the role of governing. No "cult of the presidency" here.

However, although there is a universal and mandatory health care/insurance system, it is a private system whose profits are regulated.

Great place to live, for the rich.

[malaise]

7. They are as racist as they come

Ask Oprah

[Phoenix61]

24. Wow! One incident in a shop by an Italian shop clerk. nt

[ansible]

30. You could get in trouble with the law for flushing your toilet past 10pm

Switzerland is like an HOA country on steroids, it's nice and orderly but at a price

[spooky3]

38. and very expensive

but beautiful

[Sherman A1]

9. Define exceptional

Or at least what you consider it to be for the purposes of this discussion.

[malaise]

11. That is an excellent request

What do American mean when they say the USA is exceptional - what did the Brits mean when they claimed the same

[Sherman A1]

12. You tell me

It’s your thread.

[malaise]

14. Let's use Wiki

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exceptionalism
Exceptionalism is the perception or belief that a species, country, society, institution, movement, individual, or time period is "exceptional" (i.e., unusual or extraordinary). The term carries the implication, whether or not specified, that the referent is superior in some way.

Though the idea appears to have developed with respect to an era, today it is particularly applied with respect to particular nations or regions.

[Sherman A1]

31. As stated by the definition

it is the "perception or belief" hence it is nothing more than an opinion(s) to which the holder is more than entitled to hold. That said opinions are not facts and opinions are akin to a certain body part "everybody has one."

[malaise]

36. LOL

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

10. Canada is kind of exceptional.

They are currently at least trying to be nice to their citizens, and Canada has a lot of space, and relatively clean air, and clean water.

Good electoral system, good social safety net, low crime rate, good quality of life.

However, Canadian conservatives are horrid ignorant cluess fascist bigots, like conservatives everywhere.

[eShirl]

17. They're in the running for Most Church Burnings 2021

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

21. No place is perfect. It's only Catholic Churches.

Mostly the ones where mass graves of First Nations children have been found.

I suspect if the disgustingly wealthy Vatican did penance, and made sincere apologies and paid substantial reparations for their unspeakably wicked sins and crimes against against the First Nations People of Canada, the burnings would cease.

[Disaffected]

35. Yes,

context is important.

But, it wasn't just the Catholic church that was complicit. It was also the federal and provincial governments of the day.

[panader0]

13. Countries and their natural beauties are exceptional.

Jamaica is a great example, and parts of Arizona are beautiful too (but no ocean).
But no country's government really rises to exceptional. It's the people, not the physical country
that wreck things.

[malaise]

37. It's the people, not the physical country that wreck things.

Yes and no - some countries experience violent natural phenomena.

[Elessar Zappa]

15. I'd say no.

From afar, Scandinavian countries look pretty great but I’m sure upon closer examination there’s problems there too. Still, I’d love to move to Norway or Finland and give it a shot.

[malaise]

39. I was in a store in Denmark with one of my nephews years ago

and he was speaking English with me. The owner wanted to know why he wasn't speaking English and he told him that he was having a good time with his aunt who didn't speak it.
The owner seemed rather upset but my 13 year old nephew was delighted to put him in his place. He put his hand on my shoulder and said let's go somewhere else.

[Wounded Bear]

16. All countries are run by humans, so not really...

[Buckeye_Democrat]

18. Exceptionalism requires hard work and cooperation...

... and there's too many dishonest people in this world, often taking more than their fair share, to ever collectively reach that status as far as I'm concerned.

[Elessar Zappa]

19. Well,

researchers believe that before agriculture and civilization arose that tribal bands were pretty egalitarian. So it is possible for humans to act collectively.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

22. That seems likely to me.

It would be easier to root out the trouble-makers in smaller groups.

They surely had to worry about other tribes raiding them sometimes, though.

Then they'd eventually build fortifications and increase their numbers, where the parasites among them could more secretly organize among themselves to improve their lot to the detriment of the general welfare.

I sometimes envy the earliest Native Americans when they ventured into America long ago. They surely had fewer human problems, anyway. More of a man vs. nature conflict for them.

[malaise]

25. I think you're right

dishonest, greedy and lazy

[JustAnotherGen]

23. Bhutan - GNH

They don't measure GDP - They measure GNH.

Gross National Happiness, or sometimes called Gross Domestic Happiness, is a philosophy that guides the government of Bhutan. It includes an index which is used to measure the collective happiness and well-being of a population.

[malaise]

27. GNH - love it

Sadly getting rich and showing off wealth are included by too many countries in their understanding of exceptionalism.

I think rational thinking has to be an essential feature because knowledge propels development.

[DBoon]

26. Iceland

maybe New Zealand as well

[True Dough]

28. There were probably more of them in the past than today

If only there were someone who could make them great again...

[malaise]

29. If you were great for some of your citizens at the expense of others

at home or abroad, you are not exceptional.
I don't think exceptional countries exist

[Enoki33]

32. There are no exceptional countries. Only

individuals in my estimation can be exceptional. Collectively we are a bust.

[brush]

33. That was our motto for decades but it's been shown to be untrue as the horrific treatment of...

Blacks and other POCs over the centuries keep coming to light (see the Tulsa race massacre).

Our founding documents still proclaim it but the nation has never lived up to it's own declarations, but at least some of us keep trying.

[malaise]

40. That's true for most countries and civilixations

Many think they were or are great and exceptional, but just dig a little deeper.

[edhopper]

41. The United States was exceptional

it had an exceptional form of slavery unmatched in history and kept slaves longer than most any other country.

They also handled their indigenous population in an exceptional way. Rather than force them to be part of the conquering culture they just slaughtered them ad pushed them into isolated ghettos.

[malaise]

42. No no no - the United States borrowed tactics from the slaveowners in

the so called British Caribbean - those in Barbados and Jamaica were exceptionally cruel and wicked/ You are right about the longevity of slavery in the United States.

The treatment of indigenous people by the British was as bad or worse and the Arawaks knew a thing or two about the atrocities of the French and British.

How ironic that those who called themselves exceptional called us the uncivilized barbarians. Life is such an inversion of reality.

[edhopper]

43. Good points

But, of course slavery in the US was a continuation of British and Spanish slavery. Those were monarchies, we fought for a democratic country, free to all.....white people.

[malaise]

45. It was all farce until 1917

Examine the changes following the Russian Revolution.
Suddenly men got the right to vote, .then women, then decades later non-whites.
And with the collapse of the Soviet Union, they appear to be reverting to pre-1917 times.

We'd better pay attention. Suddenly elections don't matter.

[edhopper]

46. Agreed

the GOP is poised to take power no matter the vote count.

[malaise]

47. Not sure about poised because the institutions and some good women and men

stopped them from November to now, but they are certainly willing to do so,
They've been hinting for years that the US is a republic and not a democracy. Democracy appears to have been a Cold War tool at hoe and abroad.

[edhopper]

48. I used poised as in

setting them selves up to do so. Not that it is inevitable.

[DFW]

49. Just keep in mind

The grass is ALWAYS greener

[uriel1972]

50. No person or country should behave...

As if they are immune to wrongdoing, which is what I understand "Exeptionalism" was all about.