"Our worst critics prefer to stay"

The Freakonomics Blog recently held a contest to come up with a new six-word motto for the United States of America.

"Our worst critics prefer to stay" won, with 194 reader votes.

Runners-up:

Caution! Experiment in Progress Since 1776 (134)

The Most Gentle Empire So Far (64) votes

You Should See the Other Guy (38)

Just Like Canada, With Better Bacon (18)

Stephen Dubner observes further:

“Our Worst Critics Prefer to Stay” is, while perhaps not outrightly uplifting, a wonderfully concise acknowledgment of the paradox that a capitalist democracy inevitably is: a place that is often well worth complaining about, and which allows you to complain as loudly as you wish.

H/t: Chap