Is America the greatest?

My friend shared this video on facebook after the presidential debate. His commentary was that candidates maybe should try answering this question as well, that is, why America is the greatest country in the world (or not). This clip contains speech by Will McAvoy (played by Jeff Daniels) from the HBO series The Newsroom. With current situation in the country and "ongoing debates," I thought this also ties in with our classroom discussions (crisis in education, economy, etc.). 

Even though this is a "played out scene," I agree with my friend that it sounds more realistic than current ongoing debates. This speech, lasting merely over three minutes, generated over a million views. The scene concludes that:

"The first step in solving any problem is to recognize there is one.
America is not the greatest country in the world anymore."

Of course, every controversial  issue cannot be without contradictions. In response to the video, Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association and contributor to Forbes magazine, states an opposing opinion to the question "Is America the Greatest Country in the World?". Shapiro argues that America (should say the United States) is the greatest country in the world and contradicts given statistics which suggest that we are just "another declining country."In regards to declining education, Shapiro states:

"We may not be the best at basics, but we are phenomenal at teaching students to challenge the status quo. Our First Amendment, our immigrant and diverse culture, our “can-do” attitude and our entrepreneurial spirit come together to produce a nation of innovators."

However, it seems that his overall conclusion falls into an agreement with character Will McAvoy, that America (the United States) was a great nation and, even though its power seems to decline, it can still sustain its greatness.

"We certainly have problems, and we must address them. Our politicians and even our voters are failing to deal with the big issues. We focus on meaningless political squabbles as the cost and reality of rapidly growing entitlements threaten to send us into an economic tailspin. We are living today rather than investing for tomorrow. And we are raising youth who may not understand the values that we once shared as a nation."

This issue would require a much more elaborate discussion. Every country thinks of itself as being exceptional. United States certainly is considered to be among, if not, the greatest nations in the world, however, its history is also among the shortest. Throughout the centuries, from Roman Empire to Great Britain, Germany, Russia, China (and others), countries witnessed the gain of the prominent power, as well as decline. While others hold strong opinions about exceptionalism (and we've learned in class about American students leading in "confidence"), one can no longer deny the fact that the United States is at decline. Discussions in class also seemed to be concerned about "the decline" of opinion, tolerance, education, etc. While the state of decline sounds negative, it also makes us fall back on reality, helping us to realize the problem and looking for solutions. Regardless the country or its power among others, most of us desire better for the future. Now, only if politics were the same way :).