With the growing epidemic that is Trump-ism and the ever-progressive value of patriotism rotting into nationalism, it is important to remind ourselves that America is not, in fact, the greatest country in the world.

If we break it down, America comes up short in a lot of areas. We’re ranked highest among the world’s most developed countries in terms of violent gun deaths. We’re far surpassed by countries such as Finland, Norway and Sweden in terms of gender equity. We were only the 20th country in the world to legalize gay marriage.

We have a costly and exclusive healthcare program, our education system is failing and in desperate need of funds and reform. Student loan debt is at an all time high. Veterans don’t receive the support — mental or physical — that they should. We provide guns to people with known mental health issues. We have a weak immigration system.

The list goes on.

However, it seems that we’ve lost sight of what it means to be a proud, yet critical patriots of this country and have instead abandoned that belief for extreme nationalism. The ideal that I see all over the news and the internet (i.e. Trump’s Twitter feed) these days is that we are the best nation in the world. 

This “better-than-you” attitude and mindset is incredibly limiting when looking at the world. America is a world leader, a global superpower and an economic powerhouse. As a nation, we set an example for other countries, developed and not, on how to conduct affairs.

Closer to home, this mindset portrays the idea that we can do no wrong as a country. It also alludes to the idea that we don’t have any more work to do in terms of national development, equality or sustainability.

My harsh criticism of our nation does not make me a “liberal loony” or whatever horrible millennial slurs some of you have been cooking up. I believe myself to be a true American in the sense that I want what’s best for my fellow people of this nation, not just people like myself.

By not thinking we’re the best, I’ve given America room to grow. I’ve set a standard for how America should behave and of the example our politicians should set. With the knowledge that other nations succeed far more than ourselves in a wide array of areas, I know we have improvement to be done.