great?

i watch a lot of educational shows about people in other countries.
seems most of them struggle to get by and work very hard.
i was poor as dirt when i was a kid but we ate good on what we grew ourselves.
what changed in 70 years since then?
why do we have a much higher standard of living up until now?
with one word answers what made this country the greatest ever?
multiple one word answers are ok.
capitalism
Christianity
ingenuity
intelligence
hard work
education
natural resources
unions
welfare
etc. etc.

[QUOTE=dragmerc;579417]i watch a lot of educational shows about people in other countries.
seems most of them struggle to get by and work very hard.
i was poor as dirt when i was a kid but we ate good on what we grew ourselves.
what changed in 70 years since then?
why do we have a much higher standard of living up until now?
with one word answers what made this country the greatest ever?
multiple one word answers are ok.
capitalism
Christianity
ingenuity
intelligence
hard work
education
natural resources
unions
welfare
etc. etc.[/QUOTE]

And our population has exploded over the past 70 years. Christianity has no place in government. Ever hear about the separation of religion and government?

Unions and hard work is what built America.