10 Things Most Americans Don?t Know About America

[kortin]

Hmm. I just can't relate to that since we don't get similarly bombarded .__.

But come visit the US and see just how exciting it actually is... Well maybe it'll appear more exciting to someone not from around here, other non-Americans who visited here would have a better perspective, but idk XD

Go to any country aside from the US, you'll look around in wonder at all the things you see. Why does this occur? It's different, it's exciting. After living in Japan for 3 years, I still found wonder and amazement from it and my Japanese friends would just shrug it off and say "What are you talking about, this is all just boring Japan". The US can very much be like that for anyone else.

 

[Clearing the Eye]

How many people have pointed out that the United States does not encompass the entirety of America?

 

[Clearing the Eye]

You would be surprised how many times I, a citizen of Israel, have to tell Americans that I do not come to school by camel.

10/10, would read (again)

Aw, what? You don't? Dude, here in Australia we go everywhere on fucking kangaroos. I'd kill for a camel ride--kangaroos bounce all over the damn place.

 

[theultimateend]

Generalisations.

Generalizations as far as the eye can see.

From sea to shining sea.

Pretty much. That was a crap read.

I feel that this is a bit generalizing, but I have never met an american, so I can't really tell.

Believe me its not really. As an american I honestly believe that the majority of americans are guilty of at least one of those ten things.

And you'll be happy to know that you will find little to no data to support that belief.

Which ends up being the twisted irony.

You are the kind of person the article is referencing. Someone who just "feels" their way through reality.

This article is a good insight into the mindset held by a particularly self-congratulatory strain of grad student, the type who's done a little traveling and therefore knows everything. I doubt this phenomenon is particular to America, either.

Any resemblance to how other Americans think or live is purely coincidental. The US is one of the largest and most ethnically and culturally diverse nations on the planet. That someone thinks they can give us all a one-size-fits-all lecture says more about them than us.

Oh shit! Not much else to say. I like you.

 

[itsthesheppy]

Generalisations.

Generalizations as far as the eye can see.

From sea to shining sea.

As usual, the very first post in the thread echos my exact reaction.

Article should have been titled "10 Things This One Guy Thinks About America." Boring. Gimme figures. Gimme facts. Show me studies. Your opinion is dull, article-author man.

 

[Dogstile]

Oh great, more trash talk and accepted racism against Americans.

HAR HAR I WONDER WHAT WE ALL DID WRONG THIS TIME?!

You didn't actually read it did you?

 

[Radoh]

1. Obviously.
2. Also Obvious, though less so if you are an internet native what with it being cool to hate the US.
3. Not true, while I'm not super globally aware I most certainly know about and keep up to date on the big things, Syrian Civil War, Greece and the EU's financial/Economic situation, global politics surrounding Iran's Nuclear program, possible US involvement in setting up a Cyber Cold War etc...
4. This is simply not true, where I am emotions are more expressed and honestly, what does this even matter? There are truths and then there are societal norms based on the culture you are in, how does this even matter if it were true?
5. How the hell don't we know this? How old is this article, because I have to assume this is before the Wallstreet protests and such, everyone is aware of the quality of life gap.
6. Again, obvious.
7. I'm starting to feel this article is based off experiences that the author had from a very small pool of individuals. Of course this is going to be what you think, no one ever says something like "Yes, I hear that place is rather safe and a fine destination for a vacation", those are sane people, and they have no real reason to say that since if you are on the conversation you are already decided, whereas the paranoia gripped people will try and dissuade you.
8. So... we're obsessed with success and titles? I don't really get this one to be honest.
9. So what you're saying here is that we're don't know we aren't healthy? You can't go ten feet without being told some outrageous statistic about how unhealthy we are, this guy is just making stuff up now.
10. I have a hard time being happy if I'm uncomfortable. Worrying over money, position, work related issues etc is going to leave me unhappy, so naturally if I am not worrying over stuff I'm more likely to be happy.

Entire article is generalizations.

 

[Rainforce]

That was a good read, although I expect at least ~20% of all americans on this site to disagree, be offended or whatever, even though it was written in a quite neutral and disarming fashion.
I'm from germany, and I must admit that I don't ever want to visit the US. Why? Well, one could assume because I like my streets gun-less, but that's just one minor stereotypical issue I'd have while being there. The worst part is the glorification of size you described: everything in america feels way out of proportion in terms of size (and usefulness), and everything is so damn far apart from each other. So my overall problem is more a feeling of bloated emptiness than violence or anything like it. Then again, personal opinion.

Also the whole thing reminded me of the fact that I should travel a bit more as well, instead of always staying in the same place XD

10. I have a hard time being happy if I'm uncomfortable. Worrying over money, position, work related issues etc is going to leave me unhappy, so naturally if I am not worrying over stuff I'm more likely to be happy.

Having an easy and comfortable life will make you grow "weak" in many aspects, (also described in the "paranoid" part)
so you might want to prefer a bit of discomfort for more individual quality,
because seeking happiness in pure comfort will lead you to more and easier achieveable discomfort.
Then again, who am I to say this, considering my above statements.

 

[Nimzabaat]

snip

Wow. That was an extremely hostile and long-winded way of saying that you agree with most of what was said and hang out with fairly intelligent people.

Simply saying "I didn't read your post" would have sufficed. I disagreed with a lot of what was said.

It's called denial, and it's okay. Well actually it's not okay, but it's the step before acceptance.

if only countries had a restart button, like when you royally fucked up in a game and you just unhappily start over no matter how long it took you to get the that point. Ah, if only everyone had a restart button. life would be good i think...prolly not actually.

I think the main drawback with humanity is that our rules are made by old people. Sometimes old, dead people. Positive change is hard when you have this establishment that goes back hundreds of years. That's why i'm all for Alien invasion! The only kind of reset we can hope for!

 

[SmokingBomber465]

As far as the "we don't know a lot about the rest of the world" statement goes, it makes sense for this to be the case since America is so large and so far physically away from so much of the rest of the action. It makes a lot of sense that someone brought up in Europe where everything is literally RIGHT THERE would need to know a lot A LOT of geography--and several languages--but in America where one can live several hours and several hundred miles from ANY other nation, this is not as necessary. When a person can go through their whole life without needing to travel outside of their nation (and frankly it costs a million million dollars to get a ticket across the ocean), then it is understandable that few people bother.

I personally like to travel myself--but I just wanted to throw this perspective out there. It's incredibly bothersome to me how sometimes people look at the lack of interest and knowledge of European affairs (because lets be honest--that's what people mean when they say "world affairs") in America and immediately jump to unfair and frankly inaccurate conclusions.

 

[tokae]

He then turned on his new sound system and disco lights. His taxi instantly became a cheesy nightclub on wheels? with free wifi.

Holy fucking hell.. That is so AWESOME!!!

I'm not going to comment on every little thing because I'm not American, so I kind-of feel that I'm not supposed too..
But yeah, alot of generalizations, alot that is just as applicable to many other countries. Still an interesting read though.

 

[Verzin]

snip

I'm very startled by the length and quality of your thread.
I think I agree with you about almost everything you wrote here. I recognize many of the 'Americanisms' you speak of in myself.
Depressing.

on another note though...I wish I had the money to see all the places you've visited. I've always wanted to see Europe and Asia.

You have been very fortunate, I think, to have seen so much. I wish I could travel like that.

EDIT: don't listen to the arses who only reply to be derogatory without any debate or reasoning. The internet is a horrible place to post deeply thought out ideas. Regardless of validity, value, or the care in which they are presented, more often than naught, they are met with contempt and scorn. This is why I NEVER post anything I spend a lot of time thinking about: you can't argue with people who just say: lol, you're wrong and then leave without any further talk. don't let it get to you.

There is a great quote I like: "Never argue with an idiot: they'll drag you down to their level then beat you with experience."

 

[Goofguy]

How about point #11: "Your country isn't the only part of the world called America".

Yeah, yeah I'm being pedantic but I've never liked that the country with the least unique name in the world assumed the mantle of an entire continent. Canadians, Mexicans, Bolivians, Barbadians, Jamaicans, Brazilians etc are all Americans, too.

 

[Greni]

Comfort equals sales. We've been sold comfort for generations and for generations we bought: bigger houses, separated further and further out into the suburbs; bigger TV's, more movies, and take-out. The American public is becoming docile and complacent. We're obese and entitled. When we travel, we look for giant hotels that will insulate us and pamper us rather than for legitimate cultural experiences that may challenge our perspectives or help us grow as individuals.

This is an exceptionally good point and stretches of course far outside the US.

Also, now I want to pick up a toothbrush and a sleeping bag, jump on a plane and travel for a few months.

 

[Agayek]

-snip-

You're being awfully defensive for someone who claims the author is talking completely out of their ass.

OT: Some bits of the article are correct, others are not. This list of things fits, to a T, the standard, stereotypical American. In my experience, having lived my whole life in the US, about half of these are true for the average person.

Primarily, #3, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are true for the vast majority of Americans that I've met. Then again, they are also true for a significant majority of non-Americans that I've met, so who knows.

9. We Are Very Unhealthy

Unless you have cancer or something equally dire, the health care system in the US sucks. The World Health Organization ranked the US 37th in the world for health care, despite the fact that we spend the most per capita by a large margin.

Wow. I'd have thought that private healthcare might actually make it better on a fundamental level compared to our over bureaucratic NHS (not that I'd ever sacrifice the NHS for a private system). But yeah, I don't get why people try to make out that the "Americans being unhealthy" thing is a stereotype when it's so fucking obvious.

The quality of care for an individual patient in the US is significantly better than under the NHS. The reason America is ranked so low in terms of healthcare is because it's ridiculously expensive and there are many instances of people being outright refused proper care because they can't afford it. It's nothing to do with the care itself and more the structure around it.

 

[w00tage]

From sea to shining sea.

I see what you did there.

There are some things I'd agree with.

The guarded emotions are probably something we inherited from our British forefathers and with an extra helping of homophobia. I remember a rather nasty incident - in Brooklyn I think - where two brothers from Ecuador had their affection mistaken for romantic affection and were beaten (one of them to death, IIRC).

And the bit about being paranoid. This is turned up to 11 to anyone from a major American city, especially NYC. I get freaked out by the kindness of strangers in other states. When a stranger starts a conversation with me, my first reaction is always "Why is this person talking to me? What's his/her game?"

Yeah no kidding. I had a culture shock moment when I moved to San Diego. I walked down the street in the morning and a total stranger said "Good Morning!" to me as he walked by. I was freaked, and more so that I was unable to respond with anything.

Last time ever. I don't live in the NE anymore, and that's on purpose. I want to be the kind of person who can give a cheerful "Good morning!" to a total stranger and not think anything of it. You can't do that unless the people around you will accept it. I live in Austin TX now, where we smile at each other when we make eye contact in passing, and we wave at pedestrians to cross in front of our cars. That's my kind of normal.

 

[iseko]

I'm from belgium and yea. It was a nod fest. Now my neck hurts.

It's funny when you meet an american in a bar here. Hey! I'm from america (usually they are already drunk because they can't handle our beer).

Me: Euh, k? nice?

American: yea, isn't it awesome?

Me: Errr... turns around and finds a new bar.

 

[Amaror]

Wait a second.
America is the richest country in the world?
Since when?
Last time i checked America was close to bankrupt.

 

[Agayek]

Wait a second.
America is the richest country in the world?
Since when?
Last time i checked America was close to bankrupt.

In liquidity, you'd be right. The US has the largest and most prolific industrial centers in the world however (as of 2 years ago at least), and that makes up for a hell of a lot of liquid wealth.