--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: New Rule: America must stop bragging it's…" description: "\"“New Rule: America must stop bragging it's the greatest country on earth, and start acting like it. I know this is uncomfortable for the \"faith over fa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/bill-maher-211_america_new-rule-america-must-stop-bragging-it-s_2669545.jpg" --- # New Rule: America must stop bragging it's the greatest… ![“New Rule: America must stop bragging it's the greatest country on earth, and start acting like it. I know this is uncomfortable for the "faith over facts" crowd, but the greatness of a country can, to a large degree, be measured. Here are some numbers. Infant mortality rate: America ranks…” quote by Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/bill-maher-211_america_new-rule-america-must-stop-bragging-it-s_2669545.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/bill-maher-211_america_new-rule-america-must-stop-bragging-it-s_2669545.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/bill-maher-211_america_new-rule-america-must-stop-bragging-it-s_2669545.jpg) > ““New Rule: America must stop bragging it's the greatest country on earth, and start acting like it. I know this is uncomfortable for the "faith over facts" crowd, but the greatness of a country can, to a large degree, be measured. Here are some numbers. Infant mortality rate: America ranks forty-eighth in the world. Overall health: seventy-second. Freedom of the press: forty-fourth. Literacy: fifty-fifth. Do you realize there are twelve-year old kids in this country who can't spell the name of the teacher they're having sex with? America has done many great things. Making the New World democratic. The Marshall Plan. Curing polio. Beating Hitler. The deep-fried Twinkie. But what have we done for us lately? We're not the freest country. That would be Holland, where you can smoke hash in church and Janet Jackson's nipple is on their flag. And sadly, we're no longer a country that can get things done. Not big things. Like building a tunnel under Boston, or running a war with competence. We had six years to fix the voting machines; couldn't get that done. The FBI is just now getting e-mail. Prop 87 out here in California is about lessening our dependence on oil by using alternative fuels, and Bill Clinton comes on at the end of the ad and says, "If Brazil can do it, America can, too!" Since when did America have to buck itself up by saying we could catch up to Brazil? We invented the airplane and the lightbulb, they invented the bikini wax, and now they're ahead? In most of the industrialized world, nearly everyone has health care and hardly anyone doubts evolution--and yes, having to live amid so many superstitious dimwits is also something that affects quality of life. It's why America isn't gonna be the country that gets the inevitable patents in stem cell cures, because Jesus thinks it's too close to cloning. Oh, and did I mention we owe China a trillion dollars? We owe everybody money. America is a debtor nation to Mexico. We're not a bridge to the twenty-first century, we're on a bus to Atlantic City with a roll of quarters. And this is why it bugs me that so many people talk like it's 1955 and we're still number one in everything. We're not, and I take no glee in saying that, because I love my country, and I wish we were, but when you're number fifty-five in this category, and ninety-two in that one, you look a little silly waving the big foam "number one" finger. As long as we believe being "the greatest country in the world" is a birthright, we'll keep coasting on the achievements of earlier generations, and we'll keep losing the moral high ground. Because we may not be the biggest, or the healthiest, or the best educated, but we always did have one thing no other place did: We knew soccer was bullshit. And also we had the Bill of Rights. A great nation doesn't torture people or make them disappear without a trial. Bush keeps saying the terrorist "hate us for our freedom,"" and he's working damn hard to see that pretty soon that won't be a problem.”” [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America’s self‑praise ignores measurable shortcomings; true greatness requires confronting uncomfortable facts and improving performance. **In simple terms:** America boasts but ignores data. Key Takeaway Address gaps, stop bragging. Themes politics nationalism accountability health economics Mood critical skeptical ironic Type commentary political satirical When to use this quote - public health reform - media freedom - energy policy - education standards - infrastructure projects Key Concepts comparative metrics policy criticism civic responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can the U.S. prioritize data‑driven reforms? - What cultural shifts are needed to stop complacent nationalism? A Different Perspective Bragging can mask deeper systemic issues and resist change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Big things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-things/) [Bill of rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bill-of-rights/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Freedom of the press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-the-press/) [Health care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-care/) [High ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-ground/) [Infant mortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infant-mortality/) [Marshall plan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marshall-plan/) [Moral high ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-high-ground/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Quality of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality-of-life/) [Stem cell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stem-cell/) ## Related quotes > [“New Rule: America has every right ot bitch about gas prices suddenly shooting up. 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What is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/who-leads-the-world-in-consumption-america-who-has-more-lawyers-per/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Divorce rate in America reached 70%…I don't think it's any use to even get married now-a-days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/divorce-rate-in-america-reached-70-i-don-t-think-it-s-any-use-to-even/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The majority does not rule in America, but the minority shouldn't hijack it. And it's because we're afraid. They have isolated us and made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/the-majority-does-not-rule-in-america-but-the-minority-shouldn-t/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [It's not the rules everywhere, you know? That's not the rules everywhere - that things have to be dumbed down in order to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-williams/it-s-not-the-rules-everywhere-you-know-that-s-not-the-rules/) [Saul Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-williams/) > [“New Rule: You don't have to teach both sides of a debate if one side is a load of crap. President Bush recently suggested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-you-don-t-have-to-teach-both-sides-of-a-debate-if-one-side/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“New Rule: Now that liberals have taken back the word "liberal," they also have to take back the word "elite." By now you've heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-now-that-liberals-have-taken-back-the-word-liberal-they-also/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [America isn't Wollman Rink, but I think almost everybody watching, and certainly the people who voted for him, have had frustrating experiences with bureaucrats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-solman/america-isn-t-wollman-rink-but-i-think-almost-everybody-watching-and/) [Paul Solman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-solman/) > [The problem in America isn't so much what people don't know; the problem is what people think they know that just ain't so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-problem-in-america-isn-t-so-much-what-people-don-t-know-the/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [We want our children to live in an America...that isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-want-our-children-to-live-in-an-america-that-isn-t-threatened-by/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The globalists, the establishment, they think America isn't particularly exceptional and should be no different than any other state in the world, subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-globalists-the-establishment-they-think-america-isn-t/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“But maybe rural America isn't dying so much as it's Shucker-ing: adjusting, adapting, becoming something new, getting a new outdoor sign and adding jalapeno…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-hesse/but-maybe-rural-america-isn-t-dying-so-much-as-it-s-shucker-ing/) [Monica Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-hesse/) > [We want our children to live in an America that isn't burdened by debt, that isn't weakened by inequality, that isn't threatened by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-want-our-children-to-live-in-an-america-that-isn-t-burdened-by/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“This country is what you make it. You understand that? It isn’t good and it isn’t bad. It’s just what you make it. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-b-miller/this-country-is-what-you-make-it-you-understand-that-it-isn-t-good/) [Derek B. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-b-miller/) ## More by Bill Maher > [A lot of people say they are dyslexic; some have to realize that they are just stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/a-lot-of-people-say-they-are-dyslexic-some-have-to-realize-that-they/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I saw this anti-drug commercial that showed a kid smoking pot in his dad's room with his friend. This kid finds a gun, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-saw-this-anti-drug-commercial-that-showed-a-kid-smoking-pot-in-his/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [To all conservative women out there: If you are so sure the embryo needed for stem cell research are precious human life that can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/to-all-conservative-women-out-there-if-you-are-so-sure-the-embryo/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Curious people are intersting people, I wonder why that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/curious-people-are-intersting-people-i-wonder-why-that-is/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [You see, the difference is the Republicans' hatred of Obama is based on a paranoid feeling about what he might do, what he's thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/you-see-the-difference-is-the-republicans-hatred-of-obama-is-based-on/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [The food is out of this world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/the-food-is-out-of-this-world/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [New Rule: There is no devil, so stop blaming your screw-ups on him. Last week, one of the biggest evangelical leaders in America, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-there-is-no-devil-so-stop-blaming-your-screw-ups-on-him-last/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [If we were a dog and God owned us, the cops would come and take us away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/if-we-were-a-dog-and-god-owned-us-the-cops-would-come-and-take-us-away/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“New Rule: The White House doesn't have to release the dead Bin Laden photos, but don't pretend we can't take it. We've seen pictures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-the-white-house-doesn-t-have-to-release-the-dead-bin-laden/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I think religion is bad and drugs are good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-think-religion-is-bad-and-drugs-are-good/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I don't hate America. I love America. I want it to be better. The only way we can get it to be better is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-don-t-hate-america-i-love-america-i-want-it-to-be-better-the-only/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“New Rule: Americans must realize what makes NFL football so great: socialism. That's right, the NFL takes money from the rich teams and gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-americans-must-realize-what-makes-nfl-football-so-great/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [So many kids are fat drug addicts these days, it's almost as if Rush Limbaugh had puppies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/so-many-kids-are-fat-drug-addicts-these-days-it-s-almost-as-if-rush/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [What we don't know is about Jeb Bush and cocaine. But we do know that he did once had his brother Florida on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/what-we-don-t-know-is-about-jeb-bush-and-cocaine-but-we-do-know-that/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“I find that the world is changing much, much faster than I can even bitch about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-find-that-the-world-is-changing-much-much-faster-than-i-can-even/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) [Explore all 897 Bill Maher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“New Rule: America must stop bragging it's the greatest country on earth, and start acting like it. I know this is uncomfortable for the \"faith over facts\" crowd, but the greatness of a country can, to a large degree, be measured. Here are some numbers. Infant mortality rate: America ranks forty-eighth in the world. Overall health: seventy-second. Freedom of the press: forty-fourth. Literacy: fifty-fifth. Do you realize there are twelve-year old kids in this country who can't spell the name of the teacher they're having sex with? America has done many great things. Making the New World democratic. The Marshall Plan. Curing polio. Beating Hitler. The deep-fried Twinkie. But what have we done for us lately? We're not the freest country. That would be Holland, where you can smoke hash in church and Janet Jackson's nipple is on their flag. And sadly, we're no longer a country that can get things done. Not big things. Like building a tunnel under Boston, or running a war with competence. We had six years to fix the voting machines; couldn't get that done. The FBI is just now getting e-mail. Prop 87 out here in California is about lessening our dependence on oil by using alternative fuels, and Bill Clinton comes on at the end of the ad and says, \"If Brazil can do it, America can, too!\" Since when did America have to buck itself up by saying we could catch up to Brazil? We invented the airplane and the lightbulb, they invented the bikini wax, and now they're ahead? In most of the industrialized world, nearly everyone has health care and hardly anyone doubts evolution--and yes, having to live amid so many superstitious dimwits is also something that affects quality of life. It's why America isn't gonna be the country that gets the inevitable patents in stem cell cures, because Jesus thinks it's too close to cloning. Oh, and did I mention we owe China a trillion dollars? We owe everybody money. America is a debtor nation to Mexico. We're not a bridge to the twenty-first century, we're on a bus to Atlantic City with a roll of quarters. And this is why it bugs me that so many people talk like it's 1955 and we're still number one in everything. We're not, and I take no glee in saying that, because I love my country, and I wish we were, but when you're number fifty-five in this category, and ninety-two in that one, you look a little silly waving the big foam \"number one\" finger. As long as we believe being \"the greatest country in the world\" is a birthright, we'll keep coasting on the achievements of earlier generations, and we'll keep losing the moral high ground. Because we may not be the biggest, or the healthiest, or the best educated, but we always did have one thing no other place did: We knew soccer was bullshit. And also we had the Bill of Rights. A great nation doesn't torture people or make them disappear without a trial. Bush keeps saying the terrorist \"hate us for our freedom,\"\" and he's working damn hard to see that pretty soon that won't be a problem.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Maher" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-america-must-stop-bragging-it-s-the-greatest-country-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-america-must-stop-bragging-it-s-the-greatest-country-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/bill-maher-211_america_new-rule-america-must-stop-bragging-it-s_2669545.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/bill-maher-211_america_new-rule-america-must-stop-bragging-it-s_2669545.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/bill-maher-211_america_new-rule-america-must-stop-bragging-it-s_2669545.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“New Rule: America must stop bragging it's the greatest country on earth, and start acting like it. 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