Fuck yeah, we're living in 'Murrica.

I was reading an article today about how different countries measured up according to reported happiness. I was somewhat pleasantly surprised by America's ranking: we ranked #6 out 36 countries. Let me explain my surprise; I love my country! I love March Madness (I mean I'm from Kentucky, after all), 4th of July, and living in a country with a cultural make-up as diverse as it's geography. What's not to be happy about? But my surprise comes from the fact that I feel like I'm often reading articles about how far behind other 1st world countries we are in job satisfaction, education, healthcare, etc. And some of it's true, but sometimes I also feel like we're not as grateful as we could be as a country. We have so many freedoms and opportunities that are simply not available to people living in other nations, and while that's wonderful, it's given us a bit of a complex. And by complex, I mean we're SPOILED! So I've compiled a list, based mostly on my own limited travels to Europe and South America, of why we should be a little more grateful for the large and small perks that come with living in this amazing nation.

1. As flawed as our healthcare system is (and don't try to tell me it isn't! I've worked in a hospital), we DO have relatively easy access to healthcare. I went to Peru on a medical mission trip as a freshman in college, and let me tell you: it can get harder. For the first part of our trip, we were stationed in a small, rural village in the Andes. The 1 doctor and 1 nurse that served the large area we visited used an ambulance that looked like it had wheezed right out of the 70s to travel to some of their more remote clientele. They said this while we were visiting a satellite clinic that consisted of a couple of rooms with tables and chairs and a small closet used for housing patient records. That's all. Quite frankly, I wasn't aware that it got more remote than that.

2. Even in some of the most rural parts of America, you're hard pressed to find a population without at least some form of transportation. While visiting the clinic mentioned above, we met a woman who had walked for 3 hours to get to her 7 month prenatal check-up. Yeah, that's roughin' it.

3. We have powerful toilets. Ok, I know this one sounds stupid, but after my trip to Scotland and England this past May, I gotta tell you:  it's important. Without getting into too much gritty detail, the shitty plumbing (pun intended) made for more than a few awkward mishaps.

4. The food's amazing. I mean seriously, AMAZING! And diverse. Let me tell you, in Europe you'd be hard pressed to find a town where you can get good sushi, Mexican, Ethiopian, or hearty burgers all within 5 minutes of each other, but here? Totally possible.

5. We have space to breathe... And drive. I'm talking about you, Cornwall. Literally, there are places in this gorgeous region of England where people's back doors literally open up onto the streets. Literally, THE FREAKING STREET! Good luck trying to storm out when you're having a fight with your spouse. Better use the front door. Incidentally, this is the same area I scratched the shit out of our rental car by scraping along a scary stone wall for a few feet.

6. Our drivers aren't that bad. My flair for dramatic language can't even express to you how not bad they are. Try getting through Lima in rush hour in a taxi. If my friend from Taiwan is to be believed (And the haunted look in her eyes tells me she's not exaggerating), China is not much better.

7. Customer service. Ever tried eating at a restaurant on the quick in Paris, Barcelona, or Edinburgh? It doesn't happen. And south of the equator they're in even less of a hurry. Just remember that the next time you have to wait a whole half an hour for sirloin.

8. Last for now, but definitely not least, Freedom of Speech! I recently watched a powerful documentary on HBO called Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer. It's about a Russian punk protest collective called, you guessed it, Pussy Riot. These women illegally protest the oppressive government and it's links with the Orthodox Church, calling for improved women's and LGBT rights. Their venues have included subways, tops of buses in crammed traffic, and the one that landed three members in serious trouble: Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior. I'll grant the last one was misguided. While I believe them when they say they didn't do it to show hatred toward the church, I am a firm believer in respecting everyone's right to upholding their spiritual, sacred place. But did their crime truly warrant intense trial that ensued, in which the young women were eventually convicted of public hooliganism motivated by religious hatred? I think not. And their sentence of two years of imprisonment was most decidedly not deserved (side note, one of the trio's sentence was later appealed and she was released on bail). Amnesty International has even taken an interest in the case, naming them prisoners of conscience.

My point is, though there are always exceptions to the rule, because no country's perfect, our country is still pretty damn great. I'm hoping we can all be a little more grateful and relish living in such an amazing place.