@Martian, you left off the most important part of german history between the Frankish Empire and the World Wars.
Founding of the HRE Otto the Great Crusade of Frederik I and other crusades Battle for the crown between Staufs and Welfs The founding of the Teutonic Order and other ritterordens The Golden Bull of Charles the IV The Founding of Hansa The Rise of the Habsburgs The Burgundian War of Succession The Reformation Invention of the printing press Thirty Years War Wars bewteen Austria and the Ottomans in the Balkans The Spanish War of Sucession The Great Nordic War Partitions of Poland The wars between Prussia and Austria (Seven Years' War) French Revolutionary Wars German Revelution of 1848/1849 Franco-Prussian War (In Germany only the Franco-German War) German Unification 1871 Social Legislation of Bismarch German Industrialization & Colonialism Wilhelminism WW1 German Revelution of 1918/1919 Weimar Republic Golden 20s Hitler came to power WW2 German Seperation Cold War Economic miracle of FRG German Reunification
^ This is a very good summary of Germany's history, however how Prussia came into the equation, with their personal union with Brandenburg, and Frederick the Great, is also important.
Without WW1 there woudldn't has been a WW2. Without the fascist and communist rising there would not has been a Cold War, but i am not sure that the states of Germany and Russia would have survived in their original form cause their bad internal stability.
I'll vote for the USA because it was crafted by some of the most enlightened and intelligent people of the time, and is largely responsible for modern industry (along with Britain) and politics seen all over the world today.
Plus it doesn't have a history of corruption, dictatorship, oppressive monarchy, or religion bureaucracy. That's something most countries can't say. Over the years the US has maintained itself fairly well. The principles on which it was founded were never abandoned.
Now culturally, there are a lot better countries. The sad truth about the US is that it used to have a main culture of its own that was formed by European Protestant settlers. However, as immigration intensified it became more "multi-cultured" and today we're nothing to be proud of in that regard.
Principles of America are like religious freedom, freedom of speech and the press, etc. Sure, there have been mishandlings of those but they were never completely abandoned. And if those freedoms are breached, our system allows people to appeal and eventually find justice.
@Master HFG, give me a clear example. Not a vague "you know what I'm talking about".
