Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, SN! I'm glad you see it this way—that there can be multiple "greatest" countries.

I don't think many others see it that way, though, which makes sense, due to the nature of superlatives. To me, the "usual" line of thought is that there can be many greats, but only one is the greatest. It's with this view that patriotism has the potential to create more harm than good, by fostering an "us" versus "them" mentality: constantly comparing, searching for faults in the "others," and trying to come out on top.

I'd like to see us expand our "us" to mean everyone on the planet—a planet filled with great countries! :)