Should guns be outlawed in America?

[Andrespetmonkey]

Kudistos Megistos said:

Andrespetmonkey said:

Well they must be doing something right in scandinavian countries since they tend to have some of the lowest crime rates, best healthcare, best education, highest quality of life, and be among the most peaceful and least corrupt. 

http://nationranking.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/2011-qli2.png

And about the suicide rates...

This is from the Edinburgh university library online resources:

"The myth of Swedish suicide” has its roots in the late-1950s when the American President Dwight D. Eisenhower referred to it in a speech which had been based on an inaccurate briefing. The President had tried to paint a negative picture of Sweden, a nation which - with its cradle-to-grave socialism - had set itself on a post-war neutral stance outside the then embryonic-NATO and American influence. Ever since many people have accepted the picture as fact and perpetuate the myth."

Norway actually ranks lower than USA and Canada among male suicides.

Keep in mind that these countries have very long dark winters, this also atributes to suicides.

 

It's a little late, but imma reply to this.

Lower crime rates?

Yes, but that's a cultural thing that has very little to do with the form of government. And the crime rates are rising, especially in Sweden; over there, reported violent crime rose 200% between 1976 and 2006.

However, there is one way in which the whole developed world is better than the US when it comes to law and order policy: they don't have the US's ridiculous stance on drugs. If the US was a little more lenient in that area, crime would plummet.

Best healthcare?

Maybe, if you're poor.

Best education?

At secondary level, Scandinavian countries are good, but rank lower than their Finnish neighbours and East Asian countries.

At university level, it's a joke. Every single one of the world's top ten universities is in Britain or the US.

Highest quality of life?

By what measure? The HDI is the most commonly accepted, and according to that, only Norway ranks higher than the US, even though the HDI is biased in favour of socialist countries on account of disregarding taxes and looking at quantity rather than quality of higher education.

Most peaceful?

There's been quite a lot of terrorism in Scandinavia recently. I hear that Swedish Jews are fleeing the country out of fear (and that Malmo's mayor thinks the hate crimes are their fault). And in response to all of this, membership of neo-Nazi groups has been on this rise.

But I think it was Anders Breivik who finally put to bed this myth of the glorious, peaceful Scandinavian utopia.

Least corrupt?

That just means that Scandinavians are more naive.

The suicide thing is a myth?

No it isn't. It's exaggerated, but Sweden in particular has a much higher suicide rate than you'd expect from a country where everyone is supposed to be happy and looked after.

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Ya know, it's funny. Everyone always talks about how Americans are so arrogant and think they're number 1 at everything, but in my experience, this attitude is far more common amongst north-western continental Europeans.

And of course, Americans who are critical of their own country (a breed of person that only exists on the far-right in Scandinavia) latch onto these myths and don't let go.

Hey look don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that their form of government is the best and it will work for every country, but they seem to be doing really well over there, and to be honest I've never heard a scandinavian complain about living there. Healthcare is fantastic for everyone, according to my ex girlfriend (who is swedish and middle-class). 

From what I've heard about scandinivia from scandinivians and from what the statistics show, it's a lovely place to live. Not saying it's perfect and I'm not saying I'm for socialism in most cases, but it seems to be working well there.

Assuming this was a joke:

Least corrupt?

That just means that Scandinavians are more naive.