Global Poll: America Is Still A Shining City On A Hill

by John Hawkins | October 13, 2008 9:28 am

Readers Digest[1] did a poll of people from around the world. Most media organizations will undoubtedly focus on the fact that the poll says the world wants Obama. Whoop-de-doo, who cares what a bunch of foreigners want?

However, something else caught my eye from the poll.

You constantly hear that the rest of the world hates America and the Left ceaselessly attempts to remake our nation in the image of a socialized Western European country. But, I can’t help but notice how many people around the world want to move to this country.

I had to compile this one country at a time because, for reasons I don’t understand, as I can tell Readers Digest didn’t put all this info in one handy, dandy chart — but, take a look at these results.

(People from country X) would be interested in moving to America if economic and political barriers were non-existent.

Poland: 16%
Russia: 16%
Australia: 19%
Germany: 20%
Finland: 21%
Indonesia: 24%
Canada: 27%
Britain: 30%
Brazil: 31%
Spain: 32%
Mexico: 33%
Taiwan: 36%
France: 52%
Netherlands: 55%
South Africa: 65%
India: 73%

Is there any other country in the world that would have 1/3 as many people who want to move there? Would 52% of Americans want to move to France or would even 20% want to move to Germany?

The Left never stops spitting on this country and talking about what a horrible place it is, but across the world, there are large segments of the population in every country they polled that would rather live in the United States than the country they were born in.

PS: I’d also add that this data backs up something I have been saying about our immigration policy for a long time: we can afford to be choosy and take the best and the brightest people from around the world.

If we want new citizens who are scientists, businessmen, wealthy, Westernized– any qualification you care to come up with — we can obviously get them. So, why in the world would we want to have an immigration policy that picks people to come here randomly or allows them to become citizens after simply sneaking across our border? Would any corporation take that approach? Gee, we could have the best people on the planet, but let’s just hire random schmoes or whoever can sneak into the building instead? Our immigration policies, legal and illegal, are non-functional, about a century behind the times, and should be changed for the better.