One can't help but ask how can a country like this
be worlds #1 superpower.

Methinks it has to do with oceans protecting the nation
and 2 WWars wacking the Old World real hard. Much
less with ingenuity, free enterprise spirit etc etc. And
economic hardships elsewhere driving millions of highly
educated people to US of A.

Russian Empire/Soviet Union lost around 50,000,000 people
in WW1, ensuing Civil War, repressions and WWII.
No other country could've survived anything even remotely
close to this amount of losses.

Germany's is another example of a very resilient country.

Back to the subject - educated in exUSSR, I watch my
kid go through US schools and I simply can not believe
how bad this system is .

It continues in colleges: some chearleading experience
plus wealthy parents gets kids in Ivy league, that would've
had 0 chance of entering any reputable college elsewhere
in the world.

"rashid111" wrote in message
oups.com...
One can't help but ask how can a country like this
be worlds #1 superpower.

Methinks it has to do with oceans protecting the nation
and 2 WWars wacking the Old World real hard. Much
less with ingenuity, free enterprise spirit etc etc. And
economic hardships elsewhere driving millions of highly
educated people to US of A.

We have the enormous advantage of being an ocean away from France.


Russian Empire/Soviet Union lost around 50,000,000 people
in WW1, ensuing Civil War, repressions and WWII.
No other country could've survived anything even remotely
close to this amount of losses.

The amazing thing is, no one else even noticed when it happened.


Germany's is another example of a very resilient country.

Back to the subject - educated in exUSSR, I watch my
kid go through US schools and I simply can not believe
how bad this system is .

It continues in colleges: some chearleading experience
plus wealthy parents gets kids in Ivy league, that would've
had 0 chance of entering any reputable college elsewhere
in the world.

It's not getting in. It's getting through. Unless you're a Fortunate Son
(i.e., George W. Bush), or you're 6'10" and have a 78% shooting percentage
from the line, you're actually going to have to do the work to get through.

There is always a percentage who get their degree but who are, in fact,
complete dumbos. So you look twice when you're hiring or voting for one of
those people: once at the degree, and once at what the person has done.

For example, GWB ran two companies into the ground, and made Texas famous
for executions. That made him a prime candidate for Red State voters.

--
Ed Huntress

"rashid111" wrote in message
oups.com...
One can't help but ask how can a country like this
be worlds #1 superpower.

Methinks it has to do with... etc.

To get serious about it, it's probably the fact that Britain's _The
Economist_ regularly identifies in their editorials and articles: The US has
more economic liberty, and general liberties, than any significant country
in the world. By comparison, everybody else is running with a stuck
throttle.

That's not to say that such facts necessarily lead to the best or happiest
society. But it sure makes a lot of other societies pick their brains to
figure out what they're doing wrong. We've got the freest-running engine on
the track.

BTW, regarding your comment about WWII, we had the production capacity and
the economic flexibility before WWII came along. In fact, that had a lot to
do with how we won the war in the Pacific and, even more important, why we
were able to supply the means to help Britain et al. win in Europe. We were
producing a B-25 every 8-1/2 minutes at the peak.

So that old chestnut has long been roasted to a cinder.

--
Ed Huntress