10 Things Most Americans Don’t Know About America
Imagine you have a brother and he’s an alcoholic. He has his moments, but you keep your distance from him. You don’t mind him for the occasional family gathering or holiday. You still love him. But you don’t want to be around him. This is how I lovingly describe my current relationship with the United States. The United States is my alcoholic brother. And although I will always love him, I don’t want to be near him at the moment.
I know that’s harsh, but I really feel my home country is not in a good place these days. That’s not a socio-economic statement (although that’s on the decline as well), but rather a cultural one.
I realize it’s going to be impossible to write sentences like the ones above without coming across as a raging prick, so let me try to soften the blow to my American readers with an analogy:
You know when you move out of your parents’ house and live on your own, how you start hanging out with your friends’ families and you realize that actually, your family was a little screwed up? Stuff you always assumed was normal your entire childhood, it turns out was pretty weird and may have actually fucked you up a little bit. You know, dad thinking it was funny to wear a Santa Claus hat in his underwear every Christmas or the fact that you and your sister slept in the same bed until you were 22, or that your mother routinely cried over a bottle of wine while listening to Elton John.
The point is we don’t really get perspective on what’s close to us until we spend time away from it. Just like you didn’t realize the weird quirks and nuances of your family until you left and spent time with others, the same is true for country and culture. You often don’t see what’s messed up about your country and culture until you step outside of it.
And so even though this article is going to come across as fairly scathing, I want my American readers to know: some of the stuff we do, some of the stuff that we always assumed was normal, it’s kind of screwed up. And that’s OK. Because that’s true with every culture. It’s just easier to spot it in others (i.e., the French) so we don’t always notice it in ourselves.
So as you read this article, know that I’m saying everything with tough love, the same tough love with which I’d sit down and lecture an alcoholic family member. It doesn’t mean I don’t love you. It doesn’t mean there aren’t some awesome things about you (BRO, THAT’S AWESOME!!!). And it doesn’t mean I’m some saint either, because god knows I’m pretty screwed up (I’m American, after all). There are just a few things you need to hear. And as a friend, I’m going to tell them to you.
And to my foreign readers, get your necks ready, because this is going to be a nod-a-thon.
A Little “What The Hell Does This Guy Know?” Background: I’ve lived in different parts of the US, both the deep south and the northeast. I have visited most of the US’s 50 states. I’ve spent the past three years living almost entirely outside of the United States. I’ve lived in multiple countries in Europe, Asia and South America. I’ve visited over 40 countries in all and have spent far more time with non-Americans than with Americans during this period. I speak multiple languages. I’m not a tourist. I don’t stay in resorts and rarely stay in hostels. I rent apartments and try to integrate myself into each country I visit as much as possible. So there.
(Note: I realize these are generalizations and I realize there are always exceptions. I get it. You don’t have to post 55 comments telling me that you and your best friend are exceptions. If you really get that offended from some guy’s blog post, you may want to double-check your life priorities.)
OK, we’re ready now. 10 things Americans don’t know about America.
1. Few People Are Impressed By Us
Unless you’re speaking with a real estate agent or a prostitute, chances are they’re not going to be excited that you’re American. It’s not some badge of honor we get to parade around. Yes, we had Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison, but unless you actually are Steve Jobs or Thomas Edison (which is unlikely) then most people around the world are simply not going to care. There are exceptions of course. And those exceptions are called English and Australian people. Whoopdie-fucking-doo.
As Americans, we’re brought up our entire lives being taught that we’re the best, we did everything first and that the rest of the world follows our lead. Not only is this not true, but people get irritated when you bring it to their country with you. So don’t.
2. Few People Hate Us
Despite the occasional eye-rolling, and complete inability to understand why anyone would vote for George W. Bush, people from other countries don’t hate us either. In fact — and I know this is a really sobering realization for us — most people in the world don’t really think about us or care about us. I know, that sounds absurd, especially with CNN and Fox News showing the same 20 angry Arab men on repeat for ten years straight. But unless we’re invading someone’s country or threatening to invade someone’s country (which is likely), then there’s a 99.99% chance they don’t care about us. Just like we rarely think about the people in Bolivia or Mongolia, most people don’t think about us much. They have jobs, kids, house payments — you know, those things called lives — to worry about. Kind of like us.
Americans tend to assume that the rest of the world either loves us or hates us (this is actually a good litmus test to tell if someone is conservative or liberal). The fact is, most people feel neither. Most people don’t think much about us.
Remember that immature girl in high school, who every little thing that happened to her meant that someone either hated her or was obsessed with her; who thought every teacher who ever gave her a bad grade was being totally unfair and everything good that happened to her was because of how amazing she was? Yeah, we’re that immature high school girl.
3. We Know Nothing About The Rest Of The World
For all of our talk about being global leaders and how everyone follows us, we don’t seem to know much about our supposed “followers.” They often have completely different takes on history than we do. Here were some brain-stumpers for me: the Vietnamese believe the Vietnam War was about China (not us), Hitler was primarily defeated by Russia (not us), Native Americans were wiped out largely disease and plague (not us), and the American Revolution was “won” because the British cared more about beating France (not us). Notice a running theme here?
(Hint: It’s not all about us.)
We did not invent democracy. We didn’t even invent modern democracy. There were parliamentary systems in England and other parts of Europe over a hundred years before we created government. In a recent survey of young Americans , 63% could not find Iraq on a map (despite being at war with them), and 54% did not know Sudan was a country in Africa. Yet, somehow we’re positive that everyone else looks up to us.
4. We Are Poor At Expressing Gratitude And Affection
There’s a saying about English-speakers. We say “Go fuck yourself,” when we really mean “I like you,” and we say “I like you,” when we really mean “Go fuck yourself.”
Outside of getting shit-housed drunk and screaming “I LOVE YOU, MAN!”, open displays of affection in American culture are tepid and rare. Latin and some European cultures describe us as “cold” and “passionless” and for good reason. In our social lives we don’t say what we mean and we don’t mean what we say.
In our culture, appreciation and affection are implied rather than spoken outright. Two guy friends call each other names to reinforce their friendship; men and women tease and make fun of each other to imply interest. Feelings are almost never shared openly and freely. Consumer culture has cheapened our language of gratitude. Something like, “It’s so good to see you” is empty now because it’s expected and heard from everybody.
In dating, when I find a woman attractive, I almost always walk right up to her and tell her that a) I wanted to meet her, and b) she’s beautiful. In America, women usually get incredibly nervous and confused when I do this. They’ll make jokes to defuse the situation or sometimes ask me if I’m part of a TV show or something playing a prank. Even when they’re interested and go on dates with me, they get a bit disoriented when I’m so blunt with my interest. Whereas, in almost every other culture approaching women this way is met with a confident smile and a “Thank you.”
5. The Quality of Life For The Average American Is Not That Great
If you’re extremely talented or intelligent, the US is probably the best place in the world to live. The system is stacked heavily to allow people of talent and advantage to rise to the top quickly.
The problem with the US is that everyone thinks they are of talent and advantage. As John Steinbeck famously said, the problem with poor Americans is that “they don’t believe they’re poor, but rather temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” It’s this culture of self-delusion that allows America to continue to innovate and churn out new industry more than anyone else in the world. But this shared delusion also unfortunately keeps perpetuating large social inequalities and the quality of life for the average citizen lower than most other developed countries. It’s the price we pay to maintain our growth and economic dominance.
In my Guide to Wealth, I defined being wealthy as, “Having the freedom to maximize one’s life experiences.” In those terms, despite the average American having more material wealth than citizens of most other countries (more cars, bigger houses, nicer televisions), their overall quality of life suffers in my opinion. American people on average work more hours with less vacation, spend more time commuting every day, and are saddled with over $10,000 of debt. That’s a lot of time spent working and buying crap and little time or disposable income for relationships, activities or new experiences.
6. The Rest Of The World Is Not A Slum-Ridden Shithole Compared To Us
In 2010, I got into a taxi in Bangkok to take me to a new six-story cineplex. It was accessible by metro, but I chose a taxi instead. On the seat in front of me was a sign with a wifi password. Wait, what? I asked the driver if he had wifi in his taxi. He flashed a huge smile. The squat Thai man, with his pidgin English, explained that he had installed it himself. He then turned on his new sound system and disco lights. His taxi instantly became a cheesy nightclub on wheels… with free wifi.
If there’s one constant in my travels over the past three years, it has been that almost every place I’ve visited (especially in Asia and South America) is much nicer and safer than I expected it to be. Singapore is pristine. Hong Kong makes Manhattan look like a suburb. My neighborhood in Colombia is nicer than the one I lived in in Boston (and cheaper).
As Americans, we have this naïve assumption that people all over the world are struggling and way behind us. They’re not. Sweden and South Korea have more advanced high speed internet networks. Japan has the most advanced trains and transportation systems. Norwegians make more money. The biggest and most advanced plane in the world is flown out of Singapore. The tallest buildings in the world are now in Dubai and Shanghai. Meanwhile, the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world.
What’s so surprising about the world is how unsurprising most of it is. I spent a week with some local guys in Cambodia. You know what their biggest concerns were? Paying for school, getting to work on time, and what their friends were saying about them. In Brazil, people have debt problems, hate getting stuck in traffic and complain about their overbearing mothers. Every country thinks they have the worst drivers. Every country thinks their weather is unpredictable. The world becomes, err… predictable.
7. We’re Paranoid
Not only are we emotionally insecure as a culture, but I’ve come to realize how paranoid we are about our physical security. You don’t have to watch Fox News or CNN for more than 10 minutes to hear about how our drinking water is going to kill us, our neighbor is going to rape our children, some terrorist in Yemen is going to kill us because we didn’t torture him, Mexicans are going to kill us, or some virus from a bird is going to kill us. There’s a reason we have more guns than people.
In the US, security trumps everything, even liberty. We’re paranoid.
I’ve probably been to 10 countries now that friends and family back home told me explicitly not to go because someone was going to kill me, kidnap me, stab me, rob me, rape me, sell me into sex trade, give me HIV, or whatever else. None of that has happened. I’ve never been robbed and I’ve walked through some of the shittiest parts of Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
In fact, the experience has been the opposite. In countries like Russia, Colombia or Guatemala, people were so friendly it actually scared me. Some stranger in a bar would invite me to his house for a bar-b-que with his family, a random person on the street would offer to show me around and give me directions to a store I was trying to find. My American instincts were always that, “Wait, this guy is going to try to rob me or kill me,” but they never did. They were just insanely friendly.
8. We’re Status-Obsessed And Seek Attention
I’ve noticed that the way we Americans communicate is usually designed to create a lot of attention and hype. Again, I think this is a product of our consumer culture: the belief that something isn’t worthwhile or important unless it’s perceived to be the best (BEST EVER!!!) or unless it gets a lot of attention (see: every reality-television show ever made).
This is why Americans have a peculiar habit of thinking everything is “totally awesome,” and even the most mundane activities were “the best thing ever!” It’s the unconscious drive we share for importance and significance, this unmentioned belief, socially beaten into us since birth that if we’re not the best at something, then we don’t matter.
We’re status-obsessed. Our culture is built around achievement, production and being exceptional. Therefore comparing ourselves and attempting to out-do one another has infiltrated our social relationships as well. Who can slam the most beers first? Who can get reservations at the best restaurant? Who knows the promoter to the club? Who dated a girl on the cheerleading squad? Socializing becomes objectified and turned into a competition. And if you’re not winning, the implication is that you are not important and no one will like you.
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.
The hospitals are nicer in Asia (with European-educated doctors and nurses) and cost a tenth as much. Something as routine as a vaccination costs multiple hundreds of dollars in the US and less than $10 in Colombia. And before you make fun of Colombian hospitals, Colombia is 28th in the world on that WHO list, nine spots higher than us.
A routine STD test that can run you over $200 in the US is free in many countries to anyone, citizen or not. My health insurance the past year? $65 a month. Why? Because I live outside of the US. An American guy I met living in Buenos Aires got knee surgery on his ACL that would have cost $10,000 in the US… for free.
But this isn’t really getting into the real problems of our health. Our food is killing us. I’m not going to go crazy with the details, but we eat chemically-laced crap because it’s cheaper and tastes better (profit, profit). Our portion sizes are absurd (more profit). And we’re by far the most prescribed nation in the world AND our drugs cost five to ten times more than they do even in Canada (ohhhhhhh, profit, you sexy bitch).
In terms of life expectancy , despite being the richest country in the world, we come in a paltry 38th. Right behind Cuba, Malta and the United Arab Emirates, and slightly ahead of Slovenia, Kuwait and Uruguay. Enjoy your Big Mac.
10. We Mistake Comfort For Happiness
The United States is a country built on the exaltation of economic growth and personal ingenuity. Small businesses and constant growth are celebrated and supported above all else — above affordable health care, above respectable education, above everything. Americans believe it’s your responsibility to take care of yourself and make something of yourself, not the state’s, not your community’s, not even your friend’s or family’s in some instances.
Comfort sells easier than happiness. Comfort is easy. It requires no effort and no work. Happiness takes effort. It requires being proactive, confronting fears, facing difficult situations, and having unpleasant conversations.
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.
Depression and anxiety disorders are soaring within the US. Our inability to confront anything unpleasant around us has not only created a national sense of entitlement, but it’s disconnected us from what actually drives happiness: relationships, unique experiences, feeling self-validated, achieving personal goals. It’s easier to watch a NASCAR race on television and tweet about it than to actually get out and try something new with a friend.
Unfortunately, a by-product of our massive commercial success is that we’re able to avoid the necessary emotional struggles of life in lieu of easy superficial pleasures.
Throughout history, every dominant civilization eventually collapsed because it became TOO successful. What made it powerful and unique grows out of proportion and consumes its society. I think this is true for American society. We’re complacent, entitled and unhealthy. My generation is the first generation of Americans who will be worse off than their parents, economically, physically and emotionally. And this is not due to a lack of resources, to a lack of education or to a lack of ingenuity. It’s corruption and complacency. The corruption from the massive industries that control our government’s policies, and the fat complacency of the people to sit around and let it happen.
There are things I love about my country. I don’t hate the US and I still return to it a few times a year. But I think the greatest flaw of American culture is our blind self-absorption. In the past it only hurt other countries. But now it’s starting to hurt ourselves.
So this is my lecture to my alcoholic brother — my own flavor of arrogance and self-absorption, even if slightly more informed — in hopes he’ll give up his wayward ways. I imagine it’ll fall on deaf ears, but it’s the most I can do for now.
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GREAT ARTICLE!!!! An accurate image of America in a couple of pages
Look at all of you assholes pound your chests. This is an opinion piece. You fucking mouth breathers. What a bunch of xenophobic assholes.
I can appreciate the point of your blog post and a couple of my business colleagues were sharing it on facebook. I would however like to draw your attention to point 3.) where you make a reference that Native Americans “were not wiped out by us and were wiped out by disease and plague.”
It is quite apparent that you have succumbed to “educational history” and have not taken the time to formally educate yourself on Native American history. You are aware of Native American boarding schools, I assume? And that they are the shame of not only American history but also Australian and Canadian History as well? You are aware that there are well documented statements and actual documents available on the internet that PROVE that those aforementioned countries and the churches (Catholic, Christian and Anglican) conspired with the government to wipe out the Native race?
I’m also going to ASSume that you are also aware, that it was common practice for “medical and government agencies” to provide Native American people with plagues and disease infected blankets and food, before and while putting them on “reservations”? You are also aware that there were several plots made to remove Native American children from their homes and place them in the hands of Foster homes, children’s aide workers etc.? Do you have ANY clue how many of the children who attended boarding schools NEVER returned home? And I could go on and on. For someone who claims to be so “worldly about worldly issues”. You are extremely ignorant of the plight of the people in your own country and especially Native Americans.
As a person whom half Native American, I find this very offensive and although you may not care what I have to say, my business colleagues, friends and fellow Native American’s DO!.
Laurie Rogers
I agree with a lot of it. You missed a few things though, in terms of selective observations…having just come from a 2-year stint in Asia, I totally agree with what was said about Bangkok and Singapore, but you obviously didn’t spend much time in India or the non-rich parts of Cambodia (or even Malaysia).
My biggest issue with what you wrote, however, is this – I would argue pretty strongly that being a man, safety is a slightly different issue for you…to put it mildly. There’s no way in hell I would have been “safe” going somewhere with a male stranger in India, no matter how “insanely nice” he was. He might not even think he was doing me harm, since they kind of assume any woman who WOULD come with them must want sex, and therefore it’s okay to take it by force.
While I lived in Poland? I had men try to “buy” me from my male companions…and on more than one occasion. A lot of those men were Russian, and ex-KGB from Russia. They backed off when they found out I was American and not Polish (I’m of Polish descent, so it was an understandable mistake), but my point is, you might be missing a few things in your travels whether you think you are approaching this from a “non-tourist” perspective or not. I was mostly traveling with locals, since I had actual friends there, so between that and my looks, I was often mistaken for one, and treated accordingly.
So yeah, you get treated different, being a non-local. You can pretend you don’t all you want, but you’re kidding yourself.
The other thing is this – being in a strange place, with different mores ISN’T as safe as being in your home country, where you more or less know the rules. This is ESPECIALLY true for women, and for sexual interactions of various kinds. You need to understand the social cues in the place where you are living, working or traveling. You can’t assume they are all the same. The thing that often makes a place not-safe is ignorance and the misreading of cues through lack of familiarity or a shared cultural context. I saw a lot of white women have very, very bad experiences in Asia as a result of misreading these cues, especially with Indian and Middle Eastern men, but with other cultures, as well, including Tibetan. In addition to that, in a place like India, where I spent the better part of 2 years, you start to realize that having a police force provides you with a certain level of safety and comfort that doesn’t exist in a lot of places. Corruption is not unique the United States, by any means…and mob rule, when you don’t agree with the mores, is completely terrifying.
And yeah, I’ve lived in Europe too, including Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic), London and a fair bit of time spent in France, Germany, Spain and Italy. I’ve traveled and lived all over the United States, as well (spending more than a year in New York, Albuquerque, Portland, Seattle, Florida, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Eureka CA, etc.)…and even spent a year in Sydney, Australia. I’ve always traveled more or less alone, although I’ve hooked up with people I knew and visited friends here and there. I can tell you, if you go to a country you know little about and AREN’T cautious, you’re a complete idiot. Especially if you are a woman alone.
The thing I’m learning is, every place has its good and bad qualities. The best thing about traveling (if you do it outside of expensive hotels especially) is that you learn more about yourself and your own culture. So I totally agree with a lot of the observations made…but I think you’re still coming from a bit of a naive perspective in terms of these other places. I mean, seriously…Russia is the hub of the most sex trafficking and slavery of any other developed country, and you want me to believe that they have transcended our more aggressive and less-friendly natures? You need to realize that you sound like a tourist, even if you don’t think of yourself as one.
And that whole romanticization of the sexual confidence of European women is pretty tired. That, my friend, is also an American cliche…this “escaping American women” into the arms of the “more open” and “friendlier” Thai and European woman who aren’t as “cold.” I mean, seriously…don’t you realize how ridiculous that is? India men view American women THE EXACT SAME WAY as you just described Europeans. So do Tibetan men, Chinese men, and a lot of other Asians. The ignorance (and play-ability) of men like you are an entire industry in Asia. Everyone wants to believe in the mythical “land of women who understand me and want to be in bed with me 24/7, but outside of porn, various forms of formal and informal prostitution, and slavery, it flat-out doesn’t exist.
Which, by the way, is one thing you DIDN’T mention about Americans….which is they are probably the biggest market for this stuff in the world, partly because of the myths you are propagating about how there’s this fantastic land of “other-ness” out there when it comes to women/sex. Grow up. You sound like an ass.
People are people, is all I’m saying. And yeah, there’s a LOT I’ve been shocked by and put off by since I’ve gotten back to the USA, particular in terms of some of the hate speech and the language of entitlement, which is why I say you’re dead-on with a lot of your observations, But I think you’re missing a lot about these other countries still, too. Romanticization doesn’t help the understanding of ANY culture, and although I get that wasn’t the point of this piece, you still indulged in it in a number of ways I found troubling,
Good job totally misusing John Stienbeck. The quote is actually this: “Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat, but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” You can’t just use half of what he said and pretend it is actually about the “problem with poor Americans,” as you state in point 5. This quote is clearly about why socialism hasn’t taken root in America. Besides, even though this quote is often attributed to him, there is not much consensus as to where he actually said this. Some believe this famous line is actually a misquote and others a paraphrase. Maybe do some homework next time.
bahaha I love how so many people got defensive! Loved the post couldnt agree more! Everyone that got defensive was guilty in one or more ways obviously or they would have realized you were not putting america down, just pointing out some simple facts, I live here and your opinions of America are WAY better then mine! I still love this country but many of the people in it confuse me! I am thankful to have a choice to follow everyone else or to live life the way I want to.
Wow that was strange. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again.
Regardless, just wanted to say great blog!
I’ve been an expat for a decade (in a country that consistently tops the ‘best places to live in the world’ lists), and while I laughed hilariously at a lot of his points, the article has to be taken for what it is – a funny viewpoint of one person, with some truths in it, but overlooking some of the innate wonderfulness of Americans for the sake of a thought-provoking article. There is nothing like landing in the US and having American strangers help you with your luggage, smile at you, chat with you, and generally radiate the eternal optimism and goodwill for which Americans are known. Every culture has their quirks. America is a HUGE country.. unlike little countries in Europe where you can cross the border into a new language with a few hours car ride.. and with everything that’s happening in the US, I don’t expect Americans to be fully briefed on whatever the latest Berlusconi scandal is, or what’s happening in Greece. My husband is an international pilot and also had some different takes on some of the countries the author visited
. In every country, you just take the best of what you have, and work with it. But one big truth, Americans could improve the quality of live considerably by boycotting the news channels forever! The constant programming of fear & polarization truly weakens the national character.
Wow some of these comments are a little tetchy. Truth hurts? Hey, I love Americans and the USA – I have lived there and everyone in my family is an American except for me. While this blog is largely true, it does seem to still reek a little of not being able to get over yourself (or your country). The USA is swell and makes some cool technology, although healthcare sucks and the place is run by the rich for the rich. I live on the border of three countries now, none of them is perfect but each in one respect of another does something better than the USA or any other country does. Similarly there are some things the USA does better than other countries.
wieso ist das auf deutsch? voll kommisch… ich mag’s
Dear Mark, Glad you are finding so much to love about life outside the US. There’s a simple answer for this. Let your feet do the talking. Don’t come home.
We “Americans” need to stop giving money to other countries, obviously. Lots of people donate to charities overseas because we see the need. Guess we’ll have to just stop doing that and keep it all here. SORRY, AFRICA!
Sally, there’s more money coming from Europe to Africa than from the US… Your attitude is exactly what the article/video above is about. It’s not all about the US, the world can live on without you and never even notice you’re gone.
africa doesn’t need you, sally. that’s kindda the point.
Chayton, you are an idiot. The exact kind of mindless, shallow thinking that he is talking about in this blog. Oh and he isn’t “English” from England, he is American. You proved his blog correct. Go get fat and enjoy your cancer, dumb ass.
You, Americans, didn’t give shit to anybody. You just think you’re the shit. Greedy ass fuckers. Go eat a hamburger! And supersize it!
Even if we don’t hate americans in Europe, we find american tourists here very annoying. They are always complaining and nagging and demanding their rights everywhere they go. How about some etiquette?
Excellent critical obzervations!
Yes, every bit of what I heard from that animated ( neutral) voice- is correct and that hurts…,
It hearts everyone who loves the alcoholic brother.
Critigue is the medicine. It is bitter. But it contains a hope for getting better.
Important part is not to get defensive. Try to ask a question WHY?. Go and research and travel and learn… Languages, cultures,history ..
There is not only one truth excists. Getting out there, speaking the languges and meeting people is the best answer.
1. Not impressed by us – This isn’t really something we are doing wrong, but I find it more true than him. We do tend to dominate geopolitics. Even in foreign countries, most of their internaional news coverage involves us one way or another (can’t understand what they are saying usually, but I recognize our politicians, flag, and such).
2. Few hate us – Again, not something we are doing wrong or unique to the US. Every country assumes other countries love or hate them.
3. We know nothing of the world (our history is wrong) – Every country writes their own version of history. IE: Read Japanese history about how the US started WW2 with them…
4. Poor at expressing gratitude – So he’s saying because we express gratitude to much, that makes us insincere and cold? Every country has their social norms. If he thinks we are conservative about public displays of affection, he hasn’t spent much time in Asia. Holding hands or a small kiss is pretty taboo in Japan for instance. Every country has their own social norms.
5. American Quality of Life is Poor – He admits we have more material wealth and then says we are poorer because of it?
6. Rest of the world is not slummy – Actually majority of the world does live in poverty. He just chooses to visit the developed parts. I’ve been to enough Asia and central American countries to see some extreme poverty. World Bank has great statistics on world poverty.
7. We’re paranoid about security – So because he’s been lucky traveling in countries with high crime rates, we have no reason for wanting security in the states. Yeah, the media in the US goes overboard for viewers and we could chill on a lot of things (looking at you TSA), but most serve a purpose.
8. Status Obsessed – Being a highly competitive society is a bad thing according to him? That drive is what makes us so successful. Japan is the polar opposite of the US in this aspect and it has hurt them to an extent economically.
9. Other countries have better medical – This is all a symptom of cost. Try suing that cheap hospital in Columbia for $100mill for malpractice and you’ll be lucky to get $1000. Our medical costs a fortune because high lawsuits require expensive malpractice insurrance and excessive paperwork to protect against it. Less regulation would reduce costs drastically. He also quotes life expectancy which isn’t an accurate metric because different countries record them very differently (such as we declare a baby born at 6 months a live birth while other countries would not).
10. Mistake comfort for happiness – This is a personal choice. This is a repeat of #5. He’s just arguing friends > money and that Americans are bad for sometimes choosing money first. This is highly inaccurate generalization on his part.
Only one thing is wrong on here, and that is that basic surgeries are NOT free, no matter where you go, they are paid for by taxes in some places. Vaccines, same thing. Labs as well. Don’t ever get into thinking that anything is free. It cheapens the service.
Nothing like a complete generalization of what every person in the world thinks of me. Of course their thoughts are merely opinions based on knowing very little about not very much. Not much can be said about World War II unless you were there and you were not. If you had fought in that war you would have been one person in one small area of the planet with your eyes shut half the time and I do not mean sleeping. All we know is what we are told by those who only know what they were told. What you have seen is not what you think you saw. A major shortcoming of humans is the need to define and label everything however mistaken we are that is what comforts us. Happy that we are comforted by our conclusions we then take another step in another long day of trying to figure shit out. When it all starts to unravel the truth is revealed but nevermind trying to tell anyone as by that time you will be old and nobody is listening nor will they care what you say. They have it all figured out and are writing “blogs” which apparantly takes very little talent, thought or skill.
The author is a rich prick. Most Americans are fighting every day to make ends meet and don’t have the luxury to travel. This article makes me sick. And by the way, Americans don’t care about other countries, like other countries don’t care about us, because we have lives to live, family and friends to care about. Poor Americans fight the wars of rich Americans. If anything, we just want to be left alone and don’t want to bomb other countries. And since we are immigrants from other countries, whether last week or 300 years ago, we are stuck here and will make the best of it.
He forgot to mention one thing in his “credentials” section … academic. Beware of anyone who thinks that history is something you can change by having a different “take” on it. When my grandpa told me of the things he saw in WWII, I don’t remember him mentioning that Mr. Manson was there in his foxhole with him.
This is what too much college and not enough education is doing to young people in our country. 10 to 1 Mr. Manson wrote nasty stuff like this about America while he was still in college, and before he ever stepped foot outside her borders. If you are biased enough about something, you will find evidence to support your beliefs wherever you look.
I find it wicked ironic that this blog post is about embracing other cultures when Mr. Manson has clearly failed to recognize any value in his own, and about narcissism, when the whole piece smacks of “look at how much better and more evolved I am than my typical, boorish countryman.” To me, this guy’s snobbish, narrow-minded attitude toward culture is akin to people saying that Obama is “the smartest guy in the room.” I’ve seen the people that he associates with in those rooms, and that’s not really saying much. Mr. Manson thinks and feels very differently about my country than most Americans I know, and most Americans that are not employed by universities. I would wager that Mr. Manson does not associate with many people who think like my friends and I do, whether in country or abroad. That’s an open mind?
I had a great friend from Slovakia once, and she too felt that her country was unique and special, and that she was blessed to have been born there. It’s called national pride, Mr. Manson … get some. Being an American, a handful of great men have made it very, very easy for you.
I would say that most Americans don’t really care to be the center of the world’s attention. We would really rather just be left alone. I think that we feel deep down that regardless of what foreigners think about us and our country, few people alive on this planet right now are not affected in some way by American culture. Love it or hate it, that is unique. Especially for a country which is only a couple of hundred years old. We didn’t ask for that to be the case … we simply went about the business of living our lives as free, liberated, and independent people, and the rest of the world took notice of that. Some decided to love us for it, and some to hate us, but it works for us, and we will defend it to our deaths. I wonder how Mr. Manson would explain that, of all of the other countries he compared us to, almost no one risks imprisonment and even death to migrate to them. Such a horrible people and country we are that we have to have gates to keep people out. Which way do people run when you open the gates of those other countries? While in Bangkok, was that constant influx of illegal immigrants from America an obvious problem? I’m sure they’re all just fleeing there for that better quality of life he mentions. Never forget that anyone – of ANY nationality – who comes here by choice and legally, is an American. You can move to Russia as an infant … live there for 80 years, and you will never be a Russian. That too is unique about your country, Mr.Manson. A swing and a miss on your whole “America is no different” theory.
The biggest thing that Mr. Manson missed about his own culture, is that we Americans will also die to defend the rights of others to live free as well. That’s the American spirit, and that too is different. I truly do feel sorry for “Americans” like Mr. Manson who just do not get that. To be a man without a country is sad, to be an American without their country is tragic. To continue Mr. Manson’s analogy, it is the equivalent of that wise, gentle look that your father gives you, the first time you really need your family’s help after leaving home. That moment you realize that, while your family might be a little screwed up, they are far stronger and wiser than you gave them credit for, and that they have remained loving and loyal to you, while you were out trashing them to all your friends for being a little eccentric.
The French might have been a key factor in our winning the revolutionary war, but they were not the reason we waged it. If memory serves, it was to get rid of oppressive, closed-minded pansies like Mr. Manson, who thought that they had a better way for us to live our lives than we did for ourselves. In all of Mr. Manson’s travels, I guess he never met an old Jew (even a Russian one) and bothered to ask for their take on America’s contribution in WWII.
There are a (very) few good points in Mr. Manson’s post, but if the main theme is that Americans are fat, spoiled, and suffer from delusions of uniquety, I would say that he’s 2 for 3. The first two we already know about, but just because he cannot comprehend the third, or is unable to see it through his academia-induced, “it’s a globalized world after all” bias, that doesn’t change our history as nation, regardless of his, or anyone else’s “take” on it. Come to think of it, Manson is a Scottish name, isn’t it? I guess that makes TWO strong, proud, fiercely independent cultures that he has completely failed to comprehend the nature and value of. I guess it just goes to show that you can travel thousands of miles without ever leaving the comfortable confines of your own biased beliefs.
Did you happen to miss the slums while you were in Thailand? India? The area directly arround the Frankfort International Airport looks like a tennament in Chicago.
The Slum areas of these places are far worse than ours and ours are way way too bad.
My US traveling has been from Maine and New York to Texas and Arizona to Idaho, Washington and Alaska. Traveling in the ME I saw grandeur next to squalor that was worse than anything I have ever seen in the USA. I also saw that all the “grandeur” was a bit like a movie set, it was all veneer and no foundation. I saw palaces built of Italian Marble with scrap rubble and garbage mixed into the cement foundation.
We may not have all the answers but we do have some quality construction and an infrastructure second to none.
Yes, we need health care but Obamacare aint it!
11. We don’t take criticism very well. I didn’t bother to read the comments on this, because it’s going to be a million different variations on “no u”. I agree with you about 95%. That is, sure, there are quibbles I could make, but they don’t affect the main thrust of the argument, which is that we have a ridiculously outsized and inaccurate self-image as a country.
@rogerminick – well I was going to comment and the whole American the greatest issue, enjoyed most of the comments, pro and against till i came across this idiot (rogerminick) comment about illegal use of his photo (as if he owns Mt Rushmore)… and that just cements the issue discussed here in a nutshell – arrogance and “i will sue you” – @rogerminick you are both of those – and a good english word to describe you is simply PRICK
Well, I cannot comment properly seeing that I have never been out of the US. I live in Houston, and I’ve been here for about 20 years. What I can tell you is how the US has changed. We used to be able to drive from Cleveland to Houston and might see 2 cops, where as now we could see anywhere from 8-10. Taxes have increased dramatically as have gas prices, TV doesn’t report truth… which makes me wonder if it ever did to begin with. Instead of being friends for who we are, we are friends for what we have (if that makes sense). We are not allowed to do anything anymore, freedom and liberty, innovation, all has come to a stand still while everyone goes on about their business driving to work, sitting in traffic, eating your whataburger & tootyfruity, playing with our ipods, ipads, windows phones, and computers. We sit endlessly in front of the stupid box while we eat, rarely do I ever see families use a dinner table anymore. Younger and younger kids are pregnant, swear, smoke, and have abortions, instead of church or community gatherings. We are so paranoid about a terroristic threats, and we buy into it’s bullshit that we allow federal employees to fondle us and our children before boarding a plane, train, or things of that nature(they literally touch our private parts). We have become so wrapped into buying whatever the TV tells us to buy, that we have given them complete control of our daily lives. We have gone from sovereign owners of the United States, to the very slaves we fought to break free from in 1776.
What you have written is true, the United States is not the best country anymore… but not by the reasons you have supplied. We have lost our freedom, our unity, and our morals/traditions. We are divided, and for that, I am scared. **The Patriot Act, NDAA 2012 – The two most harmful bills to the United States today, and no one seems to notice, no one seems to care.
I get your overall opinion and thought it was great that you wrote this! I very much agree with you that many of us do not understand how we are perceived by others. I do disagree a little bit about some of your points as I live outside the US and have traveled a lot myself. I’ve lived in Italy now for two years and am very immersed in their culture and I would not say that they don’t care about the US, I find quite the contrary. Every Italian I know knows about our pop stars, actors, presidents (of course due to television) BUT they are well versed in our history and what is happening there currently. It’s not just because they are informed, but they do see the US as a leader. They often tell me “this would never happen in America, or this would never be allowed in America”…and I know that it’s true. I don’t know if you’ve heard of the scandal with the Italian government and the two soldiers being held in India but that is a prime example of how something like that would never happen in the US. In the US people have security that their government will fight for them, go after them, and most certainly not hand them back to the Indians to continue being held hostage after a break (which is what the Italian government thinks is right). Overall, many Italians I’ve met and know tell me how much they loved the US when they visited, and can appreciate the difference in the food culture as well!
Secondly, you’re right that outside the US is certainly not a shit hole…at most it is just different and once you get adapted you see how beautiful their systems are and how nice you can live without all the luxuries of convenience. However, your example of Bangkok I will definitely have to disagree with. I went there last year and saw the best of the best as it was my honeymoon and I was splurging on a supreme vacation. The best of the best of Bangkok and Thailand is not comparable to the best of the best in the US! Thailand has to be looked at with one eye closed and one nostril everywhere you go in my opinion.
Regardless, cheers to you for writing a daring and very true post overall. It’s hard to be hated which I’m sure many people dislike you by now, but trials come with truth. I just wrote a post on my blog jessventure.wordpress.com titled: What food is truly Italian anyway? A list of misconstrued Americanized ideas. Hope you enjoy the read
Right on…..the best article that said it all in a few paragrahs. Great Job!
I was expecting some kind of shocking news and revelations but …. mmm … not knowing these things makes those concerned really stupid .. really stupid .. do people like that still exist? I’d have thought there’s no need for an article like this …
‘You don’t know me!’ – http://youtu.be/VSRShnbiHYo
I think the worst omission was NOT giving credit to the USA for subsidizing smaller countries’ healthcare and innovation. We spend the most, by creating the most… the most in advancements in medical machinery, pharma, and other countries tend to benefit from this. Our physicians our highly trained compared to most worldwide, and less likely to kill you by accident. Our Healthcare is more expensive mostly for these facts, and of course the high rate for malpractice insurance. Another thing, our poorest here in the US, live like kings compared with the poorest in other countries… I’m not sure how I feel about it… regradless, it’s still truth.
Wheew… I wont argue with any of that. But there is a caveat I would add… Having lived abroad myself for almost two years, I also learned to appreciate things about the US that I didn’t before. I think that time actually made me a country music fan, made me learn to appreciate the NASCAR culture, football on Sunday and peanut better jelly sandwiches, things that are our own, identify me, where I come from… Hey, I’m a soccer and formula one fan first, for many of the same reasons Manson outlined, but we also have our own identity that is seldom recognized on the general context of “culture” and frankly, its as vibrant as any. Afterall our population IS largely derived from immigrants albeit multiple generations now, all contributing and building from their own cultures. That pretty effing sweet, don’t you think? … At the end of the day, I think every country has its advantages and disadvantages, it’s own brand of arrogance, self-interest. and misperceptions of the rest of the world. Overall, I’d say we are more alike than we are unalike. The key is recognition and acceptance. We are residents of the same planet first. At the same time, there is huge value in cultural authenticity, being FROM somewhere and wearing that badge. Nothing wrong with being gringo so as long as you demonstrate respect for los demás…
Go USA.. Hope we make it to the world cup….
Since most educated Americans are self-aware of the cultural, political, and economic foreigners hold in connection with the United States, I assume this blog is attacking the ignorance of the poor and uneducated amongst us in America.
Just what we all need – more liberal elitism! Bravo to you, sir!
Very interesting article there, and one that I totally agree with. I would be interested in information on better countries to live in. I was born in America and truthfully have never wanted to be here. People seem so surprised when we are attacked, while being seemingly blind to the fact that the people who attack us have repeatedly told us “Get out of my yard or else!” Please write an article about other countries that we could consider moving to.
I agree that we are dumb as fuck but, in our defense, that’s because we are lazy as fuck. Reading is really hard, especially when compared with watching “Keeping Up With The Kardashians.”
You’re missing the most important one: US citizens should know that AMERICA is the name of the continent, not of a country. It’s geographically and politically incorrect.
The complete name is ‘United States of America’. ‘America’ is a generally accepted shortening of the name, along with ‘United States’, ‘US’, or ‘USA’.
However, if you want to be straight-laced to the point of not being able to breathe, ‘America’ is not a continent either. The continents are either ‘North America’ or ‘South America’.
The more you know …
So North America has been eliminated as a continent?
Geographically speaking America is the landmass that comprises of both continents; North and South America. So a US citizen could say “I’m from America.” And be geographically correct. That being said I will agree that most people when using the term America just generally think United States.
Most important?
‘America’ defines the United States both as a self-label and a conceptual idea. The Canadians do not generally think of themselves as ‘Americans’.
North America/South America are the continental names.
PERHAPS most of the rest of the world hears ‘America’ and thinks of Mexico and Canada, along with the United States…but I don’t think so.
Logical fallacies + Superiority complex = Inaccurate diatribe
Thank you, so correct. North America, South America. The “United States” OF America… We are the “U.S.A. Not just “A”
@ Fernando Llanos: You are very wrong. Not only is it not the most important, it is not even accurate. The United States of America is a country. (And yes is sometimes called America) Much like there is a sub continent of India and a country named India (or the Republic of India) there is a country named The United States of Mexico as well as a State in that country named Mexico and a city named Mexico City. There is a continent named Africa as well as a country named South Africa.
The two continents are North America and South America., and yes there is a country named America (the United States of America) it is both politically and geographically correct.
People all over the globe refer to the USA as ‘America’ not just US citizens. And when this happens think about the context. If someone is referring to a country it is the ONLY COUNTRY with the word ‘America’ in it so it is logical to assume that they are referring to the USA. Stop worrying about word choice and focus on intended meaning.
So very true; painfully accurate. I just returned from a visit to England–my first time out of the country in many years–and the only truly rude person I encountered was an American, in a shop in Bath.
She took it upon herself to point out something my husband did as rude, and told me to correct him. Loudly. My face was scarlet, and not because he had made an honest mistake. I was blushing for my nationality.
I’m sorry, but when your examples to prove that other countries are just as nice as ours is include Hong Kong (One of the largest business centers in the world), Singapore (world renowned for its quality of life), and a city that’s in better shape than some dumpy suburb in Boston, I realized this was a trash post…
Really, dude, have you ever been outside of Hong Kong in China? Visited Nepal recently? How about non-metropolis parts of the Philippines? None of those are anywhere NEAR as nice as small cities in the USA. Trying to tell me that they are is the biggest logical fallacy I’ve seen in a long time.
Having grown up in the United States and also spent about 5 months in Nepal over three visits I agree there is no comparison. Nepal is an incredibly poor, economically backward country which is infinitely nicer, more pleasant and more inspiring than the United States, the world capitol of capital and commodification. I look forward to my next journey to Nepal, I refuse to travel to the United States even for family funerals.
How very globalist of you. I agree with very little but thanks for the uber essay on how America sucks.
As an American has studied, lived and WORKED (a necessary step for anyone actually trying to integrate into a culture vs skimming its surface – it’s surprisingly easy to float along and not participate in what 80% of everyone in the world is doing during the majority of their day when you have the money to do it – and half-assedly teaching English language classes at an inflated rate in some poor burg that places whiteness as the end-all qualification for the job doesn’t count) in Latin America, SE Asia and Europe, I call bullshit. The US has a ton of problems, but guess what – so does everywhere else. Have you even been to a regular hospital in Vietnam or anywhere else in SE Asia, not the ‘foreigners clinic’? Even as you casually rent apartments around the world and ‘live like the locals’, you don’t get it. As far as I can tell, you are a white American male – basically the most privileged being on the planet anywhere outside of Western Europe. Not acknowledging how you’re benefiting from neo-colonialism, that people are telling you the truth without bias about what they think of your culture, is naivete and arrogance in the extreme.
You, sir, are a ‘traveler.’
Kelly, I agree that we have a good quality of life compared to many- I prefer Neosporin with pain killer (an over the counter drug) to the care I’d receive in any local hospital in SE Asia (it works but God it hurts!) I think the most surprising difference is the high cost of living in the US, which results in too much work and not enough quality time. To get by in the US you have to have health care, car insurance, internet, typically a 2 year phone contract (ugh!) and pay considerably high rent just to function as an average citizen. In Thailand I had a cheap house on a dirt road, a pay as you go phone (they are reasonably priced, even on a local salary), a slightly used motorcycle, and that was it! I had 3 monthly bills. My salary was enough to cover everything I could need or want and though I make 7x more living in San Diego, I barely cover my expenses. I feel like you can’t just live minimally and keep things affordable here- everything is extremely expensive and much more than we need.
I was with you until you started all the racist bullshit. Now, as far as I can tell you are an obese, white lesbian, uber gay white male or pertetually offended minority victim but I’m betting your actually that most pathetic of creatures, the self-loating white American “liberal”.
I think you were a little too flippant in saying the medical care in Asia is better. Yeah, the medical care is quite very good and can compete very well with the US at times, but quacks are also a dime a dozen. It seems apparent to me that you did the smart thing and asked the locals about where to go and who to see.
No. 8 sums up just about everything that is wrong with Facebook (i.e. brag-about- mundane-events-to-show-how-awesome-your-life-is book)
Mostly, I agree with you, except for the health care situation. I have lived in China for 15 years. Yes, the prices are cheaper, but you cannot guarantee that you get a doctor with the same know how or the latest technological advancement. For simple things like pink eye or a dental cleaning, you might be fine for a while, but even for some tests like a CT scan you cannot guarantee the technition has the same level of training. My friend had finger surgery and her husband’s Chinese collegue stated that in China it would have cost her 10x less. That sounded great until he later explained that he didn’t realize that her surgery allowed her now to move her finger. That was the difference in the cost. The same friend just had surgery in Bangkok at their best hospital. I love that hospital, but they put screws in her leg that were too long and it is now destroying her cartalage. Is it worth the discount? I don’t know WHO’s definition of the best health care? US may not be able to give health care to all, but the professionals are trained well. The doctors may spend less time with us than 20 years ago, but have you ever lined up to see a doctor for a day and still did not get called? Have we ever had to bribe someone to get into surgery before we died. I am thankful for what we have when I am home.
Nod-a-thon indeed! I’ve been to the US three times in my life, and the last time I went on a family trip to California almost two years ago (the idea was to do a roadtrip from LA to San Francisco…). Instead of spending five weeks as scheduled…after two weeks we were back home in Spain… the whole California allure became completely demistified!!
(No offence intended with this comment…)
Should have come to Texas. All the Californians are….
It all depends where you go. The US is full of diversity and each city has its own culture. No doubt, starting off in LA and Orange county can definitely leave a bad taste. It depends where you go. However, there are some really pleasant towns in the US. For example, I beleive the warmness/kindness of people in Wyoming is equilvalent to the reception I recieved in Ireland. I find major cities in all countries can be rude, self inflated, and a rat race.
This blog is a giant opinionated piece of shit and i can’t believe this many people agreed with you. There are no facts, legitimate stats, or adequate references to support any of your thoughts and ramblings. This is pathetic writing.
Not bad, except your point on World War II. I think you should reconsider the importance of air superiority before passing all credit to the Russians. No side could have done it alone, in the end, and I think we are all thankful neither had to try.
First of all not “Russians”, but Soviets which includes many nations. You do not call Ukrainian or Georgian or many other nations “Russian” and they were figthing in Soviet tanks, on foot in fighter aircrafts etc. Stalin was also not Russian. He was Georgian.
As far as “supperiority” that was Soviets who lost 20 million people fighting Hitler in WWII. They used pure human force and abused lives, but they were actually those who decided fate of Europe and end of WWII in May 1945. The proof is also that that some coutries were batrayed by West already in Yalta in 1943 when Stalin dictated conditions to Churchill and Roosvelt on fate of Europe.
I am Polish who spent almost 20 years in the USA…. still I am not American even though I have been eligible for years. And I do love my American friends and have great respect, but I also do share Mark’s point of view. The comments I see here and the way they are expressed only confirm what Mark wrote in his blog. It is a beautiful country that in many places you feel freedom, but in big cities… people have lives like in Mark’s story.
Need to give props to the Brits as well, without which neither Russia would have survived nor the US had anything to actually fight once they got in the game. Were it not for them gutting it out, it would all have ended rather quickly.
This may be redundant (haven’t read all the responses), but perhaps a few observations: I do agree with most of what was written, but it leaves me with a bit of a “The grass is always greener…” kind of feeling, and it would have made the post more interesting if the next logical step were taken in offering suggestions on how to improve things, even if that would depend to a large degree on your own values.
Having lived in Seattle for almost 8 years, and moving back to Holland to allow my kids to be raised in relative tranquility and security, there certainly are things that struck me, if you’ll allow the gross generalizations: the poverty, self-centeredness, thinking in absolutes (black/white) leading to confrontation instead of collaboration, disregard of the consequences of one’s actions, and apparent lack of willingness to look abroad for solutions to problems, for instance. Now I’m not a social scientist, but the underlying causes for each of those seem fairly obvious. Mending them (if indeed found to be needed by the majority of people) will take a rather radical change in the way many people there perceive their country and forcing the supposed democracy away from the accountability elected officials seem to feel towards their financial interests instead of to the voters and the greater good of the nation as a whole.
That being said, and this could turn into a treatise as long as the original post, note that many parts of the world, like NW Europe, are on a slippery slope towards a similar socio-economic situation, with the rampant neo-liberal middle finger in policy making, so if indeed the grass is greener out here, it may not be for too much longer. I still hope to move back to the Pacific NW some day, when my boys are older and independent enough.
i love seattle. holland is nice too.
While I haven’t had three years of foreign travels to gain insight, a two week trip opened my eyes to a more realistic view of the French people.
1) The guy that picked us up at the airport was super nice. Greeted all five of us individually with a handshake at the airport, then was nice enough to carry on a conversation with us in English as he drove through heavy traffic to our Neuilly hotel. I’m trying to remember the last time I greeted a group of strangers this enthusiastically.
2) A French woman noticed our confusion at the Metro ticket machines and stopped and showed us how to use the machine. I was very impressed by her act of kindness as she was very obviously in a rush to get somewhere.
3) We were approached twice on the streets of Paris with offers to point us in the right direction. They certainly could have walked on by, but didn’t.
4) Many French speak English. However, some French do not. When you don’t understand someone, it’s hard to be responsive or helpful. Don’t confuse a lack of understanding with rudeness.
5) In France, manners count. I walked right up to the help desk at the train station in Paris and blurted out in English something like “which train goes to Caen?”. The help desk person responded in English that “you could start by saying good morning”. His was the best lesson in French manners that I received the whole trip: use greetings and offer thanks.
6) Sad to report that the rudest person I bumped into in France was an American on a train to Normandy that loudly ridiculed our group for sitting in the wrong class. His was a great example of what not to do on a French train, as most French sit quietly or speak softly on a train.
7) The most fun I had in France was trying to order a chocolate eclair at the Caen train station. I tried to order in French as best I could. The young man behind the counter smiled and asked me back in English “what?”. I tried again in French and he said “what?” again in English. He was teasing me. Not sure he understood just how much his friendliness meant to me.
Hope this helps to dispel the stereotype of French people being rude. Here’s to hoping that Mark chooses to follow-up by writing “10 ways Americans can adopt a more worldly view”. I for one, would love to read it.
I feel all of this is totally true XD. By that I mean the points not exactly how the author explains it but I feel the overall points are dead on.
I’m not American, I’ve spent 9 years in the US in the 2000s. I disagree with quite a few things in your post – which shouldn’t bother you, as I am sure it doesn’t.
For me, the most surprising item on your list is No.2 – I really don’t undestand how you could arrive at the conclusion that the US is “just” a country like Bolivia or Mongolia. Pretty much everyone, who has access to mass media, has an opinion about the US – even if they don’t care about international politics, even if their lives are busy with existential challanges, they will always have an opinion about the US. Most of us outsiders don’t love or hate the US but we have an opinion about it. (I’m pretty close to the “love” end, although things like Guantanamo, the gun culture and science-phobic politicians disgust me to no end.) Because it is the most important country in the world – whether we like it or not. The US is featured in practically every nightly news program in practically every country. The only country about which you could make that claim.
There are also a lot of people who genuinely hate the US (as a country), and I am happy you were spared experiencing it. Select groups of people from Islamic countries, Latin America and Southern Europe being probably the most common haters, with radically differing intensity, of course. They might not approach high percentages in the total of the populations of these countries, but they still number in the tens of millions.
Oh, and in my experience most of the world – and about 100% of Eastern Europe – thinks that white Americans did in fact wipe out the Native Americans. Everyone I know who knows anything about it considers it a genocide, but with the “benefit” of mostly having taken place before the concept of human rights and the crime of genocide were truly established (let alone entered into international law).
Besos.
Woland
You reminded me of an encounter I had with a man at a music festival in Czech Republic. After introducing ourselves he asked where I was from and I said CA, USA. He said that so many accuse of Americans of lacking culture and having no values- but that all he knew was that 75% of his music and 90% of his tv/movie entertainment came from the US, so that there had to be something.
I think that even when people don’t have a strong opinion of the US, they still have a notion about what the US or its people are like, unlike some smaller countries that are a little more unknown, as you mentioned; we are all over the place! (There are over seven hundred military bases worldwide, serving as home for over 2,500,000 military personnel. Plus we have travelers and expats.) Even at Hip Hop Kemp there were rappers from Poland, Germany, Czech, Hungary, and 2 all the way from the US, lol.
Our reputation often supersedes us.
Stats from: http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/us-military-bases-a-global-footprint-3138/liked/
Being from the Netherlands and living in SF for 3 years now, I do agree on most of the statements (albeit less so in SF, without being cocky).
I’d like to say though that I’m working hard to stay in SF rather than going back to Europe. Why? There is this entrepreneurial spirit of making innovative things, without the necessary goal to get filthy rich. Americans see their problems, and because the country is less socialist than European countries (having lived in 4 of them), people have to stand up and fight for their rights. Knowing that the poor and disabled almost won’t get any support from the government, citizens are standing up themselves to help others out.
So yeah, there are a lot of issues, but also a lot of pros that make me want to stay here…
Nice comment.
Ok, some of what you say has a basis in fact, but “health care is better in Asia”? Have you BEEN to China. where one-quarter of the world’s population lives? Get a grip, dude. US health care funding is screwed up, but the actual facilities are far better than what you find outside of THAILAND — not Asia.
I thought your article was well written and very true, especially about George W. Bush, as my husband and I were drilled by Malaysians in Corral Island, (off Pattaya, Thailand) about how he could be elected. It would be wonderful if more Americans traveled abroad and learned about other cultures but it’s never going to happen.
I find it interesting that I am having a strong emotional reaction to this post, despite the fact that I agree with a lot of what has been written. I think I am struggling with a few things – many of which others have mentioned. Probably foremost, I am struggling as an American who has also travelled to many different countries and also lived in vastly different places in the U.S. (I grew up in the Rust Belt, went to college in a town that reenacts colonial times, moved to the Rural South and now live in New York City), and through all these travels have come to realize that the United States is not a homogeneous entity that can be described by the pronoun “us.” While the media, politicians and everyone else trying to sell something to the generic “masses” create a uniform picture of what or who an “American” is, I have generally found such characterizations to be naive (at best) and calculated for personal gain (at worst). Consider for a moment whether a black woman from rural North Carolina will have the same political beliefs, moral ideals, or even orientation toward the label “American” as a Jewish man from New York City, an Asian immigrant in California, or a white woman from Utah. Note: I chose these examples because they draw upon stereotypes that exist within American dialogue about race, sex, location and religion, and upon reading them many American readers will expect the individuals listed to be vastly different from one another. While each person listed may use the label “American” to describe herself, because it is appropriate and she is a citizen of America, these people will have different perceptions about what it means to be an American, what they believe “the American Dream” is, and whether or not they even feel “American,” or identify with a more directly-relatable subgroup such as a community (e.g. “The Bronx”), a state or set of states (e.g. South Carolina or “the midwest”), a religion (e.g. Mormon, Catholic, Muslim, Evangelical) a race, a language group, etc. I have not performed any research about this, but the anecdotal evidence from my experience leads me to believe that most people are more strongly affiliated with one (or multiple) of the subgroups I have identified than with the all-encompassing label “American.” For these reasons, I find the attempts in this article to talk to “us” as if “we” are one voice (the wayward brother who must be set straight) ironic; if the purpose is to show Americans what “we” don’t know – with the implication being that “we” haven’t tried hard enough to explore other cultures in order to be more metacognitive about the “American narrative” purported by T.V., foreigners and this article – I find it troubling that the author didn’t spend more time unpacking his own biases about who and what “Americans” are. His assumptions about Americans sound a lot like the stereotypes that foreigners had of me when I travelled abroad (“Oh, you’re not the fat American we expected!”), and they unfortunately fail to address many historically important groups who are, unsurprisingly, often left out of the American narrative (i.e. minorities and immigrants).
I feel it is also worth reiterating the point that – by necessity of unification as a political entity – ALL countries are described using widely-accepted, if inaccurate narratives. Furthermore, Americans who do buy into the idea of a “national identity” are not unique (check out the “Chinese Dream” that is currently being promulgated by the Chinese government, or recall the British Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics).
Finally, I would like to remind readers who are international travelers what a privilege they have had growing up in circumstances which allowed them the mobility to become “cosmopolitan.” Anyone who has had the opportunity to travel – whether to new countries, new cities, or into new social circles, has been lucky to find opportunities to grow and learn in ways that other people cannot afford and will never experience. While I don’t excuse the legitimate ills of American society by saying “people don’t know any better,” it is often true. Perhaps the best way of changing their minds is by opening economic and social doors for those people, rather than criticizing them from afar.
I totally agree with this responce. I believe that the article stereotyped Americans and felt that he spoke mostly about city born and raised people who I find to have the attitude he was talking about. Most people I know are nice, open, happy and life enjoying souls. Personally I have never thought about what people in other countries think of me or my country. If the writer feels a release of guilt from his thoughts about other countries then good for him. I applaud him.
This is a wonderful response! My friends and I have been talking about this article and also found it curious that one person’s opinion could bring out such strong responses from so many people, ourselves included. I think that much of our frustration with this piece has to do with the author’s portrayal of his worldview as THE worldview. In our experience, (among our group we have a whole spectrum of experiences – from living in the heart of Paris to living in a rural Kenyan village) traveling and living abroad gives you the privilege of learning about other people and appreciating that there are countless valid ways of life. After having these humbling experiences, I feel even less qualified to make generalizations about any culture.
Hey Mark–– The photograph you used in “Ten Things Americans…”, family at Mt. Rushmore, is a photograph of mine that you are using without permission. Please remove or I will be forced to bring legal action! ––Roger Minick
I’d try messaging him consider this article was posted almost a year ago he prob. doesn’t check comments anymore
Good luck on that. You a re the typical litigous American. In case you haven’t noticed he’s in Germany. If you want to spend your money to hire a lawyer over a crappy photograph of an obese family in front of Mt. Rushmore, you are free to do so, but I think it would be a waste of your time and money and of the court system’s time. I am not a lawyer, but I’d be willing to bet that he got the photo because you released it to the public domain. Find something useful to do with your time instead of getting all pissy that the guy pointed out a number of truths about you and your family.
Hitler was NOT primarily defeated by Russia. While England held the Germans off almost single-handedly for almost 2 years (Remember the Battle of Britain? – Dunkirk?), the Russians had signed a non-aggression pact with Germany. The United States was a key player in the alliance that defeated Germany, and without US participation Germany might well have won. The same could be said of both England and Russia. All three countries paid a horrendous price to defeat Hitler, as did the resistance fighters in western Europe.
20,000,000 Soviets died fighting the Germans. The Russian winter stopped the Germans, just as it stopped Napoleon. Their sacrifice was undoubtedly greater.
Wrong. As every historian knows Hitler’s invasion of Russia, a desperation move to gain control of Russian oil, was the turning point of the war. The end was clear even to the German hierarchy after their catastrophic defeat at Stalingrad. Yes, other coutries made significant contributions and the US entry into the war helped speed up the inevitable but the Russian army and people DID primarily defeat Germany. Sorry.
And where did the Russians get the supplies and armaments to hold out against the Germans?
Great comment. It was a collaborative effort – no single entity had the resources or will to do it alone. All three (plus the Canadians + Australians+ Indian regiments+ the free French army) were part of the effort.
The fact you posted this shows you don’t know Americans, and are generalizing just like those you are describing. You are not the only American that has traveled or read a book. We get it…. this is really obvious, old information….and youe pessimism isn’t clever, it’s depressing.
So which is it Jennie? Does he not know Americans or is what he is saying obvious, old information?
I think Americans are fucking stupid as shit. Fuck that shit. Word is bond. I only eat big macs but do so ironicali; bang bitches, and sip sizzert.. Americans are robot aliens crafted by Yakub to piss people off.
Thanks for sharing YoYoYo. Your opinion as a fat, sexually promiscuous, alcoholic, delusional, illiterate hater is valuable.
Sorry but this writer thinks he actually knows a culture by living in it for a few months as an American with money you will always be an outsider an welcomed with a smile on your face, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out- but it may take a few dual citizens who have actual foreign family members to actually tell you about it. This article is absolutely worthless in every sense of the word- thanks for your one sided myopic opinion, exactly the type of American you whine about.
So which is it. Is he a typical whiny American or someone that only spent a few months here. I have friends that have moved to all differnt points around the world and for the most part agree with the statments the author made. You sound defensive and butt-hurt. Methinks you are the type of American about whom he comments.
EXACTLY!!!
He’s fulfilling his own stereotypes! Xenophobia, paranoia, status-obsession… are all universal traits the world over. It’s easy to sit in western european coffee shops and hate on america, but we’re all the same. Everything in this article just a worn-to-death stereotype.
“I spent a week with some local guys in Cambodia…” Clearly the author is more blind to the world around him than he realizes.
A well written and honest expression of opinion, though frankly generous to the United States. As someone who gave up his American citizenship and emigrated to Canada many years ago at the age of 19, I refused to be tied to a country that behaves the way the US does in the international arena, let alone in domestic politics. 1 million dead Vietnamese people for America’s strategic interests. At least 500,000 innocent Iraqi children under 5 dead thanks to US-designed and enforced sanctions between 1990 and 2003. Another 200,000 dead courtesy of an illegal and immoral war. Make that a war crime. CIA sponsored or lead coups against democratically elected leaders in Iran, Guatemala, Chile, the DRC and SO many others. Training, financing and arming thugs to invade Nicaragua while mining their harbors then refusing to pay reparations when the World Court orders you to after extensive hearings. Just who the hell do you think you are Americans? Who voted you kings of the world, exempt from the laws you demand others follow?
The question is not why do they hate you. It is why don’t they hate you more. Yes, I realize most Americans, drunk with the fantasy of American exceptionalism, do not realize how monstrous their country’s foreign policies are, but your ignorance is no excuse. Educate yourself and take responsibility. Instead of partying start reading Chomsky and Zinn and Gleen Greenwald. Follow the reporting of Jane Mayer and Jeremy Scahill. Read Invisible War by Joy Gordon. Study Hannah Arendt and Edward Said. Ignorance is no excuse. 9-11 was horrible and indefensible, as was the Boston Marathon bombing, but the tears of an Iraqi mother whose beloved child has died from US-caused malnutrition complicated by cholera caused by US bombing of their water treatment plants is worth exactly as much as an American mother’s tears after 9-11, and there are tens of thosuands of Iraqi and Vietnamese tears for every Ameican one.
Thank you. People may not love or hate Americans, because they know that here as with most places the people are not their government, but most people care what the US is doing with its power. They also know our history often better than we do. This entire article was glib and superficial – i realize it wasn’t meant to be a profound expose – but even though it had some good points it did sound a lot like it was coming from a privileged traveler rather than someone with insights into globalization and power and neoliberalism and how different countries are affected by these influences.
Good gravy navy. Took forever to find the end to post a comment. Whew, now that having been said…I think you’re probably right about a lot of your comments. However, I do think your opinion is mainly that…your opinion & you’re welcome to it. I might also add, that I think it’s mainly the “mainstream media” that holds most of those opinions & they do their doggonedest (is that a word?) to try to brainwash everyone else into thinking it too. Not all of us are the delusional. But thanks for the brain fodder.
popular quote “The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.”
As an international jet pilot who has been everywhere, all the time, I have learned:
The only locales the equal to or better than my home are:
Germany, England, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, and especially Norway. That place is like living on a huge manicured golf resort. Even the farms.
Japan has stinking open sidewalk sewers. Hong Kong is filthy. Brazil is like the neighborhood on the other side of the junk yard. Singapore smells funny and makes me sweat that smell. The Philippine Islands are freer than we. Anarchy, almost. Once you drive east of Germany, the immediate need for chimney sweeps and new paint is evident. Columbian women are gorgeous. As are occasional, gated neighborhoods. The rest, and this goes for the rest of the continent…not sure the buildings are really built to code…
The Wal-Martiizing of America does suck. Franchises suck. We all should research who is behind all the generic-suckage-change and punish them. Very severely.
It isn’t really tough to carry out when you discard your misplaced tips about discovering keyword phrases and sticking to them.
$50 will not seem a great deal but think about that you pay out this in a single month to get the wanted one thousand people.
3. We Know Nothing About The Rest Of The World
Russia did more to defeat the Nazis”
Yes, because losing more men by attrition means you did more. Really? Sure without Russia we would have fared badly, but they would have fared equally badly without the US or any other Ally. Really, Hitler’s awful military planning did the most to defeat the Nazis if you really want to split hairs.
Good read, thank you for posting this.
I agree with everything you said, but happiness is something i would not touch with a 10 foot pole. US has some messed up issues for sure. Banking, housing, taxing, FDA, the list goes on.
But there are some things that US still has that a lot of places in the world do not are personal freedom, ease of doing business and being protected by law. Those score pretty high on my list. Moreover, they affect my ability to feel happy. You are right, USA is made for the entrepreneur. But the reason for why it works is that it’s a stable and law abiding country, which weighs a lot in my book.
Nik – every modern western democracy has those things and in most cases a lot more. Why do you think the US has one of the lowest life expectancy and highest infant mortality rates and least social mobility of any comparable country? You have no idea if the government is tapping your phone or reading your private e-mails without warrants. Your private insurance system results in 40,000 additional deaths a year and even more bankruptcy. How can the law potect you when every nutbar in America is packing a gun? As for the law, it only applies to the poor and powerless. How many of the crooks and swindlers on Wall Street who commiteed blatant fraud while sending the world into recession have been criminally prosecuted? Zero. Meanwhile 25% of the world’s prisoners are in US jails. You are doing better than North Korea and Malawi however. Congrats.
The author focuses on a few very narrow aspects of life. This is actually typical of Americans who know nothing about the world, because they tend to take the American foundation for granted and only notice the perks on top. The author massively overlooks the political and economic aspects of foreign countries: dictatorship, lack of liberties and civil rights, corruption, lawlessness, poverty, diseases, sexual exploitation, forced labor, etc. Comparing the US to western European countries is absurd – those countries are made from the same mold as America, and in fact, America is a side product of western-European nations. Americans move to other countries to “experience different cultures” and broaden their perspective. To them, developing countries are a big amusement park and they watch foreign people with the same delight as they watch fascinating wild animals at the Zoo. People from developing countries move to the west in pursuit of a basic living standard and freedom.
I immigrated from southeastern Europe to the United States in 2006 at the age of 31. Back in my former country, I had no opportunities and my future (as well as that of my children) was not promising. Women there are second-class citizens. Sexual harassment is a normal part of the culture, as well as the corporate world. I hid in bomb shelters with 5-month old twins. I had no car. The police beat up people who opposed the regime. Nations in the region desperately tried to get rid of the dictators (who all ended up before the den Haag tribunal). If you visited those countries for a few weeks or months, you would NOT see any of this crap.
I’m willing to agree with a little more than half although I find much of it to be generalization too. I’ve had a very similar experience in travel and living – domestically due to work in hospitals and internationally more for leisure. I do like your comment that everyone thinks they have talent. I think the greater issue in all of this is that many here don’t believe that they need to work to achieve something in their life. My husband lived in China for a year and a half living with locals and providing earthquake relief at Sichuan in 2008 since he learned Chinese from the locals and was able to integrate. People there do realize what it is to work and appreciate life in front of them. But I do take issue with some of the political undertones. Japan has an excellent transportation system, but their standard of living is outrageous. They are “green” because they import all of their wood. All in all, there are things I can’t stand about the ignorant in America, but I think you are a little harsh on the culture overall. I don’t feel like I am the only exception to your rule on those understandings. I think if anything, we are now training ourselves to be politically correct for the sake of being politically correct. That is equally as dangerous. It’s not like any other country in the world doesn’t have a political agenda to push and teach people that their country is great. Being married to a military man has opened my eyes even more to people’s preconceptions of not us but their nations. On the drugs and medical bills – yep, we’re straight up ridiculous.
#2 isn’t quite right. For the most part, people neither love us or hate us. They have their own, more important things to love/hate. But EVERYBODY has an opinion about Americans, whether accurate or totally off-target. Our pop-culture is ubiquitous. Our currency and military underpin commerce on this planet. As an American, you can throw a dart at a globe, go there, and have a pretty good chance of finding somebody who speaks English. In many cases, it means their livelihood. I make no judgement whether the way things are is good or bad. It’s just the things are.
#10 is very well-stated.
I also agree that #2 isn’t quite right. Just like Americans have common (stereotyped) opinions on other’s, others im sure have stereotyped opions on us. For example, as an American, when i think of Russians, i think of crazy drunks who love their vodka. When i think of the French i think of hairy, dirty smelly people, who speak funny. When i think of the germans i think of giant, angry, musclemen, who love their beer. And although i know that all of these “thoughts” are stereotypes, and i know that they pertain to such an insanely tiny percentage of each population, it doesn’t change the fact that that is what pops in my head when i think of each of those ethnicities. And im sure that there are many people from other countries who see us Americans as noisy, fat, lazy, and stupid. Basically my point is, that everyone has an opinion on everyone. It might not be accurate, but it’s still there. So although they might not think of us often on their own; when they do see something about us, which as often as the US will be in the news, will absolutely happen from time to time, they will have preformulated opinions about us that immediately pop into their mind. So they others do think about Americans, whether they want to or not. As a world power, we will always be on peoples minds, whether good or bad. And you could say the same about many other countries as well.
And although I kind of agreed with alot of what you say. Most Americans, and people in general won’t know enough about each topic to have a real opinion. Their reaction will always be so biased, because their is no way not to be. And i think that your opinions also are going to be very biased, and their are no real facts to back much of what you say (i’m talking to the guy that wrote the article).
Oh and last thing. This should be retitled. It should be titled: 10 Things Most Americans Don’t Know About America In Comparison to Other Countries. Or 10 Things Americans don’t Know About Americans. Overall id say this article didn’t really do much good for anyone, except make more people angry about nothing that really matters.
Rant over, feel free to yell at me for my narrowminded, American opinion.
Sorry for my poor grammar. I was also doing something else while commenting.
A very weird article and while some comments are true, many simply are not. One that leaps out at me was the claim that hospitals in Asia are better. As someone who spent over a decade living in Japan I know that is simply not true. I know this will shock some people given the image of the Japanese as being clean freaks, but the dust and dirt found in an average Japanese hospital far exceeds anything I’ve seen in the U.S. Sorry dude, your article is long on opinion and much too short on facts.
Wow, I honestly can’t disagree with a single thing you wrote. I studied abroad in Spain and traveled South America and while I didn’t have experiences to the extent you did abroad, I can say that you are spot on with almost everything you say. My experiences reflect these. Traveling abroad definitely puts everything into perspective, that HEY were not always right! This is fantastic I will definitely share and pass on to others. thank you for writing this.
I disagree with his points 1, 6, and 7. I’m a humanitarian aid worker born of a British mother and American father who has lived in Europe for 4 years and Asia for 2 years. I’ve traveled extensively and been throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, and some of the Pacific and Latin America in the last 20 years. My opinion may be influenced by the fact that I spend a lot of time in slums and refugee camps with abused women.
For number 1, I have actually found that when I travel and people learn I am from America, they go out of their way to tell me how much they want to go there or how much they admire it. Perhaps its politeness but the USA has a hold on the imaginations of people around the world. Its also the most desired destination for people who cannot return home to their countries and are seeking third country placement.
Also for number 6, for many of the people around the world, there is still such a thing as the American dream and they want a part of it. This may be because the places I go are almost always wartorn or suffering rather than Europe. And the line in Bangkok (where I live) outside the US embassy for visas is always long and always busy – even if we have awesome cineplexs here, people still long for a country without corrupt police, politics, and fear of warfare (there is actually armed conflict in the South of Thailand). The wifi tuktuks are in Sukhumvit or Khao San where the tourists are – if you are really in the know, you take a motorcycle taxi or a taxi because you don’t want to be stuck in the shitty traffic breathing exhaust when you can whiz between the lanes of traffic or sit in the a/c checking your own phone through Thailand’s excellent 3G network.
And while he says most places are not as shitty as we imagine them to be, some are much worse… there are actually dangerous, awful parts of the world. Yes, people are friendly but Americans are also renowned as some of the friendliest people on earth. If you talk to aid workers or soldiers, they will always mention how hospitable and friendly the US contingents are… although hospitality is a trait that most of the world shares. The only place I have found people to be shockingly inhospitable has been the Netherlands where (as most taxi drivers there told me) a dutch person will famously tell you that its dinnertime so its time for you to leave their house.
I put the fear that Americans have about other countries down to the fact that the US is a big country and its expensive for many to travel. And that fear sells the media – how often do you hear good stories about other countries? Or even our own? Most Americans aren’t forced into foreign travel by economic desperation – like a lot of the rest of the world – so they aren’t confronted with their misconceptions. This is a trivial little example but I was watching Flight of the Conchords last night and their mother in New Zealand was worrying about them in NYC and asking if they need a gun. The US is actually not as awful and dangerous as many Europeans seem to think it is. Many of them come to the US and react with surprise at how much they liked it!
Finally number 7 – we’re paranoid due to our media but also amazing naive in foreign countries. We blithely think we wont’ be touched by the crime and corruption in other countries. But this also strikes me as white privelige. I heard some stories a few months ago about african-americans in Europe who were beaten up and almost deported by the police in Greece (despite being professors who were traveling there). Some Americans in Dubai, Qatar and Thailand and have been shocked to find themselves on the wrong side of the law and detained indefinitely in the shitty prisons in these countries – there is a news story in Thailand about a man who had a dispute with his landlord and has een detained in Thailand for 9 years! And the stories you hear about what happens to travelers who don’t happen to be rich enough (thanks to our great US economy) throughout the rest of the world will make your hair curl.
A friend pointed out his very sexist assumption about women too. In many countries, women have no choice but to be friendly to some dude who comes up to them on the street and hits on them in such an obvious way – they are afriad they’ll be raped or attacked if they don’t play along and act nice. And the sexual and physical violence that women face in many of the countries in the world is shocking and heart breaking.
TL:DR – the author is shocking in his naivete about the rest of the world and bases his opinions most probably on his experiences in the privileged white world of the middle class American traveler who can afford to rent nice apartments in the nice parts of town (usually the expat part of town) and thinks he’s discovered that the US is awful.
The USA might not be the best country in the world but its still a great country – it has a lot to change and a lot to address (like everyone else here has said – healthcare! guns!). I was feeling the same way about wondering why the US was so nuts now with the politics and the violence until I went back home with open eyes. Food trucks! great new live music everywhere! the organic food revolution! The streams of different cultures that have all put their own stamp on what being American is (a Korean bulgogi taco served with a Belgian beer in South Carolina!) but if you look at the level of innovation and creativity going on in the USA and stop just watching the news media about it… its not such a bad place.
Thank you. The US is also my alcoholic brother, though I only live in Canada. I get sick of hearing about death panels. If I could find a job and move my family to another country, I would in a heartbeat!
I have never lived or traveled outside of the U.S., except for Canada and to most people from Michigan it doesn’t “count” as a fair amount of Canada doesn’t seem THAT different to me. I am sure living there is entirely different but visiting, not so much.
But I still can agree with everything you said… I think about moving elsewhere all the time but just too scared to do it because of course my top choice is South Korea and my mom is worried i’ll die in a war between the North and South :-/ Granted, it’s not totally impossible but do you see South Koreans worried about it?? No.
However, Taiwan appeals to me too but I still haven’t got the balls to move there either. I really want to but always think of excuses… particularly because I am a fat American which you can kind of get away with here but I am insecure about how others would see me over there
My fiance and I lose weight here and there thinking eventually we’ll lose enough to feel comfortable moving overseas but it’s still an excuse. If we moved over there right now I guarantee the pounds would drop eating Korean food and walking everywhere 
Believing that 1 person has a pretty good grasp of America or it’s people is pretty absurd. Author, have you ever been to Carmel, IN? How about Orleans, MA? How About Sheridan, IN? Or No Name, Colorado? Mack Colorado? You ever met someone from Broad Ripple, IN? I get your point; “Certain truths you believed when you were growing up you came to find out weren’t true.” However, not every one of the 315,000,000 people living in this country had those stereotypes like yourself. I myself have traveled a lot, foreign and domestic. I’ve noticed that people are people everywhere you go. That’s about as far as you can take any generalizing comment. Nothing else holds true.
These sound like the ramblings of a self-entitled, trust fund baby college student, who spent a few years abroad and thinks he knows everything about the world. Maybe some Americans don’t give a shit about what other countries think about the U.S., you ever think of that? We may not be the best country but as a soldier who has been to many other countries, (not on my mommy and daddy’s dime by the way) I do know that we are one of the hardest working countries in the world. We give more opportunities to people who don’t want to put in a hard days work so in that I guess you could say we’re flawed, but again that’s only if you value good work ethic. And if we are such shitty, unbearable people to be around, as you seem to think, then why do more people immigrate here than in the rest of the world? Ask yourself that you fucking free loading college pussy!
I also served in the military. You are an embarassment to the uniform.
Great write up apart from number 1. The English and Aussies may be excited to hear another native English speaking person elsewhere in the world but from my experience the initial thought response is ‘oh no, American’ just waiting for the barrage of crap and ‘good jobs’ (obviously at a loud volume) I now live in France and the most ignorant people to other cultures I come across is the Americans and Germans, OK you guys don’t speak French but a simple Merci (said phonetically!) goes a long way (put the boot on the other foot!!) Europe is a great place full of diversity, history and culture just make a bit of an effort to join in, ‘Oh you’re Scottish, do you know Drew?!!!) of course I f*king don’t know Drew you tw*t there are 60m people in the UK get a grip on reality. The same way I don’t know Dwight from Florida! (I went there once) come on America wake up and smell the coffee there’s a big world out there and you’re not the centre of it, you just think you are! Get out and explore! America is/was a great country just lost it’s way a bit, work it out!! Question: Is the USA in any way similar to North Korea? lol
You have some good points, but a lot of what you are saying seems quite narrow… perhaps only supported by your experiences and omitting the general census in other cultures. I don’t know everything about other cultures, either, but I’ve had quite a different experience than you have.
I’ve travelled, as well, and I lived in Japan for quite some time. I’ve met many people abroad from all over, with varying commentary on America. I’ve spoken to Canadians and Austrians who deeply pity us, and I have also been overwhelmed by how many Australians and Brits that have been blunt about how much they hate America. In Japan, my experience has been that (generally speaking) they, in fact, do love America, and are often quite passionate about American culture. Many of my Japanese friends follow the news of American current events more than the typical American does, and they were as excited as I was, celebrating Obama’s win over Bush, who much of them scorned.
Also, in Japan they would consider Americans extremely affectionate, often showing public display of affection. It is taboo to kiss or even hold hands in public, and if you were to approach a lady in the same way that you speak, my guess is that they would feel completely awkward and would not know how to react. You are correct that there’s a “personal space bubble” that many people have in our country, particularly concerning male to male affection.
I would agree with you that most Americans are self-centered, know almost nothing about the world outside of our own country, and have a sense of arrogance, or importance, and we are disgustingly wasteful and unhealthy. I also agree that the typical person’s quality of life here is poor, though people are completely unaware of their state. And there are many countries that exceed our quality of life, but if you were to include the entire world, I think you would find that the majority of the world is doing poorly… I think you are leaving many 3rd world developing countries. I know quite a few photojournalists and economists that would vouch for that.
Reblogged this on The Lost Girl and commented:
Great read.
yawn, another self hating trustfunded lefty. Reality is very few in the US even think the way this “author” is trying to describe. He’s just trying to impress his Euro and hipster friends. We’ve got our idiots here, but so does every other country.
‘merica, FUCK YEAH! Coming again, to save the mother fucking day yeah,
Understandably, people of other countries think little about the US on a daily basis, as they have their own lives to worry about, Perhaps they would think a little more of us if we stopped sending them our foreign aid. Or perhaps without our outsourced labor or the purchase of their inexpensive imported goods, some of these countries would not be able to afford build their lovely cities and public transportation. Then those countries might realize that they have been ungrateful. Americans, as individuals, are the most charitable in the world, giving time and money to those in need. I find it interesting that the author mentions that we value small businesses over healthcare, but in reality it comes down to valuing freedom above all. John Steinbeck could call the poor “temporarily embarrassed millionaires” all he wants, but that is easy to say as a millionaire himself. He came to my grandfather for a loan in order to build his multi-million dollar empire, but my grandfather refused because he did not support his theories. Three of my grandparents immigrated the US from Germany (Both grandfathers and one grandmother) and they loved this country. The US was able to do for them what an impoverished Europe could not. Not that wealth has always been in my family, for at times there a have been great struggles, but maybe the so-called “embarrassed millionaire” actually understands at times that with freedom means we are free to succeed and free to fail, but we are free. We understand that free healthcare does not mean necessarily good healthcare (I’ve been to the hospitals in Canada, so I speak from experience) and speaking of Canadians., . .they do hate us.
I’m an American, and I knew every one of those. Then again, I am from New England, and that isn’t really a very “American” part of the country.
I was born in Mexico and I am half chinese half mexican,and a became a US citizen in order to vote backin the 1990′s. I have been to England & Scottland for a brief period in 1999 . I been in the US the majoriry of my life , but dispite its problems, I do remember after the brief Scottland trip, being so happy to return to the USA.
One observation, I notice that all the people that knock the US and compare it to other parts of the world and point out all its short comings, always comeback.
Hmmm.
Ralph
I like shock pieces in general; it’s good to get people fired up on various sides of a debate and see what comes of it. Two difficulties: shock pieces preached to the choir are inherently not shocking, tho that is not the writer’s fault per se. Perhaps he will tidy this up and try to submit it to a forum more likely to elicit greater debate.
The second, more problematic issue, is the question of nuance. Though a provocative piece necessairly sacrifices some depth for stylistic and rhetorical reasons, the above is too egregious in this area.
The United States is an enormous, extremely diverse country. Look into it. And tempting as it is to lump 310 million people of hundreds of different heritages into one big-box store dystopian wasteland, it is beyond simplistic and does no good to legitimate points you have. The same holds for your treatment of and contrasting examples from other countries.
As a devil’s advocate who loves to take the piss out of American exceptionalism- I consider it a form of patriotism, though as far-from flag waving as possible- I expect better. If the author wants a detailed critique of his piece, I will gladly provide it. I prefer sounder arguments.
Hey Mark – This image is copyrighted by Roger Minick and is being used without his permission! I know he has tried to contact you and the bananenplanet people and asked you to stop using it.
be glad it fell on some deaf ears. i am deaf and im loving your list.
I’m not American, but Bosnian and I DO completely subscribe to your article! You got it! Or, as R. Waters would put it, “you’ve seen the writing on the wall”! Good work.
I live in the United States, and have had the privilege to travel abroad. On your points regarding affection and relationships: Spot on, for the most part. Although, I do see pockets of sincerity, especially amongst my friends, where words of affection and social exploration and gathering are welcomed, and we actually try to spur each other forward into that more hospitable and affectionate family-oriented life.
And I thank you for your insight. It is sobering to read something that applies so directly to oneself. It is certainly a challenge. Being an individual who would love to see the redemption of our society, and the re-constituting of our honor and passion for good, my friends and I will continue to live with the mindset of blessing and redemption for our neighborhood, our city, and upwards.
This blog doesn’t specifically use this example but I have heard it many times; Mark alludes to this logic with his example at the end of his third point: I take issue with the argument that Americans are ignorant and self centered because we can’t identify a given country (say, Hungary) on the map, but Hungarians could identify the US, or that we can’t name the Hungarian prime minister, but Hungarians know the name of our president. I could be wrong, but I bet that if you asked Americans and Hungarians to point to, say, Peru on a map and name Peru’s president, they would have about the same success rate! The logic does not flow both ways…
Americans are not particularly ignorant about the world. The fact that other cultures have an awareness of American politics has to do with the prominent role the US plays in global politics. Other cultures know American music, movies and television because these are exported all over the world, not because people in other countries make a point to educate themselves about American popular culture (while we ignore theirs).
On a more general note, based on my experiences traveling and living in foreign countries, I tend to feel that “the more I learn, the less I know”… the surface generalizations in this article do not read like a humble, nuanced view of either his own or others’ cultures.
As an expat of two years, I mostly do agree with what you’re saying.
But there are things I LOVE about the US that leaving it brings into relief:
All the pluralism, the freedom of belief and expression, the freaks and weirdos this engenders, the queer community, art, the multiculturalism and many types of cuisine, everyone from everywhere rubbing elbows and other body parts in the major urban centers. Being exposed from birth to people from all different countries and walks of life.
Agreed that lots of other countries are great, but the subcontinent I live in is mostly a shithole. Sorry host country!
Also, please don’t conflate fatness with laziness. I’m fat, athletic, and an expat, and I eat healthy food.
This really hits the truth about America, but I feel like Native reservations in the US and its communities are very similar to other cultures in the world and far from the American way of life. i.e. At any Pueblo feast day, you’ll often be invited to eat at homes of people you don’t even know. And they feed you til you cant take anymore! Have you ever been invited the same way anywhere else in the US? I doubt it. I don’t think the author has been to a Native reservation in the US, I recommend it to you and the author.
Lastly, he says, “Native Americans were wiped out largely disease and plague (not us)…” This is false. Natives were wiped out by disease and plague brought by Euro-Americans so yes, “Americans” did wipe out Natives. But we all know who the true Americans are right?
The irony of accusing Americans of believing 3rd world stereotypes smack in the middle of a list of stereotypes is delicious…
Red flag, indicating that someone is about to spout off a long list of unsubstantiated notions intended to provoke readers and generate a high number of views: Declares that he is qualified by nature of the fact that he has lived in lots of places and believes it to be impressive that he actually rented apartments in those places, rather than staying in shorter-term accommodation. I won’t bother to finish the article or to offer thoughtful observations – This trash gets neither attention nor respect.
I was born and raised in America. I’ve only briefly been to Tijuana, Mexico, but I never count that as actually visiting another country.
I haven’t experienced any kind of other culture other than the little pockets of immigrants here in the States. But I love to read and learn and what I have read about other places make me envious of people who get to travel and see and experience the world.
Your seventh point is something that has always puzzled me. And even though I haven’t experienced anything outside my own country, I have experienced that mind set from my family. I lived in California my entire youth, and when I moved out on my own at 20, I moved to Georgia. My mom told me it was dangerous in Atlanta and that I was too young and I would get killed. I lived there for over two years and didn’t die. When my husband and I were looking to move to Las Vegas, my mother told me again that it was one of the most dangerous cities in the world and that we would end up dead because we weren’t ‘street smart’. Then when we moved to the midwest, I was told that this area had one of the highest kidnapping rates in the country… And I was STAYING in America… There is a sense of paranoia that I thought only applied to my family, but I am sure if I was trying to move outside the country, my mother may have had a heartattack.
The other point that really hit home with me was your fourth point. I am socially awkward to begin with, but I struggle to show gratitude in such a way that I feel like I’ve actually shown gratitude… if that even makes sense. I feel like I was never raised to show thankfulness and even when my husband gives me a compliment, I still struggle to believe it’s sincere. We have lived in our neighborhood for over 4 years and I can’t tell you who my next door neighbors are. People don’t tend to be open and friendly. Unless you are similar to them by ways of religion or social group. I know that Americans can be friendly people, but sometimes it seems like people are too worried what others will think of them to be as open as other cultures.
Saying anything negative about America, no matter how much it rings true, is akin to calling someone’s tubby child ‘fat’. We don’t like to hear it, and because of that reason, we can’t look past the hurtful word and see the truth that may lie behind it. And that applies to more than just Americans.
“Native Americans were wiped out largely disease and plague (not us)”
No, this is absolutely unacceptable. You are denying genocide when you say this–how could you not know better? You are very aware of what your country looks like from the outside, but you have no concept of your own privilege. The Native American removal was a centuries’ long DELIBERATE effort to wipe out an entire society so that we could take their land. Disease didn’t pass the Indian Removal Act. Yes, that was tecnically the cause of death for a large portion of the 130,000 Cherokee who were FORCIBLY REMOVED FROM THEIR HOMES and relocated on the Trail of Tears. But, dude, they would not have gotten diseases if we hadn’t FORCIBLY REMOVED THEM FROM THEIR HOMES.
I can’t say it loud enough: Shame on you! Read a book! Stop being a stereotypical American and letting your privilege mess with your head to the point where you think diseases brought by European settlers and then deliberately distributed via biological warfare (smallpox was no accident) count as “not us.” Shameful.
Deutschland ist mein Lieblings Land. Und, Kroatien Auch.
I agree with you and I haven’t even had the opportunity to leave the US yet. All these sheep believe bad things about other countries without even setting foot there. I have friends who look at me like I’m stupid for wanting to travel to Russia and China. They’re like they hate Americans. This post just helped prove my point. Sure, there might be some people in those places who hate Americans, but as a whole, most of them judge people by people and couldn’t care less about Americans lumped together.
I never expect people to be impressed because I’m an American when I travel. I am impressed that I live in NYC but I couldn’t care less if anybody else is impressed, but many people are. New York is an incredible city.
Stereotyping is wrong. Many Americans have been stereotyping the French as rude for as long as I can remember, but when I went to Paris that wasn’t my experience at all. I refuse to accept stereotypes. Americans are generally very nice people. Of course there are arrogant Americans, but arrogance and egotism is not exclusive to the U.S. by any means.
Our government is very screwed up, however!
I feel like a majority of what is said in this article is a result of the actions of a few. I don’t think any citizen is stoked to pay what we pay for health care, however our government has turned a blind eye to citizens to protect the interests of big business. We buy into what were fed because it’s what were “fed” every day via the media. I have no interest in living anywhere else but the US but I do have an interest in changing our leadership and policies.
I had a professor in college that spoke in similar tones about America. He lived and worked here and built up his personal wealth, then bought a mountain home in Columbia. He was kidnapped for ransom by guerrillas. No one back here would pay it, so he was murdered. Couldn’t have happened to a finer mother fucker.
America is my football team. She is the BEST, regardless of whether or not she wins the Super Bowl every year. She’s better than your country, I can complain about the coaching decisions because I live, work, vote and pay taxes here, but if someone else does, I’ll belt them in the mouth. I don’t apologize for being America’s biggest fan, I’m not criticizing the rest of the world, but My Country is best.
I expect a German or Frenchman to feel the same way about his home team.
<——unapologetic, loud mouthed and blindly proud to be an American.
The beautiful thing about this place is, if you don't like it, you can leave.
Screw you Mark!
Criticizing American women for resisting the superficial advances of strange men is stupid. Women all over the globe are (and need to be) leery of men they don’t know making advances. Their very survival can depend on being cautious. Telling a woman she’s beautiful and you’re interested is a totally unimpressive opening line. I hate to tell you, but somebody needs to.
The rest I mostly agree with.
amen.
This is a fun read, best read with the most important line in mind: “Because that’s true with EVERY CULTURE. It’s just easier to spot it in others so we don’t always notice it in ourselves.” These are actually 10 things that well-travelled Americans now quite well – often because there are plenty of Europeans there to lecture us about them starting the minute the plane lands. There I am trying to experience a different culture, being scolded “because Americans don’t know anything about other cultures.” Then come the quizzes they throw at you to prove their point. And this happens in cultures with many “quirks” of their own. How about routinely trampling each other to death at sporting events? How about the 2 simple words “Margaret Thatcher?” I half jest. But in the end, I do say there are more similarities than differences, and when you treat people well to start with it will come back to you. America is the country that elected Barak Obama twice despite some of the craziness. Hope still lives – I at least haven’t forgotten. Cheers to my friends overseas!
A lot of watch you applies to some of the 320 million citizens, but the truth is that if you are an upper class American, you are practically a demi-god. The whole world exists to cater to us. If we change our diet habits, the farmers in Latin America will adjust. If we change our consumer habits, the factories in China and elsewhere change their products. Etc. We are the modern day Romans and history’s actors. We decide the fate of the world. In a thousand years, it will be the United States that is analyzed and studied during this time period. How can we not be arrogant?
Furthermore, I have lived in Asia (Japan and China) and Europe (U.K. and France) and compared to both societies, Americans’ are progressive and liberal. Try being a Muslim in France or being a Korean (or black) in Japan. Try being a Turk in Germany or a Vietnamese in China. Europe is welcoming if you are white, but it is still a very racist and intolerant society that slaughtered their “undesirables” by the millions less than a century ago.
Europe is peaceful because the U.S. has legions placed all over the continent and the U.K. to ensure that the Europeans stay in their box and don’t wreck havoc around the world. The Far East has been stable because of the United States, as we have held back the Chinese-Japanese tension since 1945.
More importantly, the U.S. is maturing and coming to grips that we are the most powerful empire that has ever existed. Power is relative; Europe is regionalizing back into nation states and China’s economic growth is slowing down. While the U.S. has made mistakes, our power is growing since the counterweights are weakening.
I don’t pretend to talk from the perspective of a lower class, public school educated, liberal arts major, and etc. (e.g. lazy, entitled American). If you cannot succeed in the United States, you should move to a country where mediocrity is rewarded and let the talent from around the world emigrate over here. We have the best resources when it comes to education, research, development, and etc., but too many of us would rather spend their days being entertained.
It is our planet. Everyone else is just living on it.
We even own space.
You may think you’re sharing some huge, mind-shattering truths, but to those of us who have been there, done that (and married a foreigner and live with this perspective every day), all I can say is…these are merely insights — and very common ones for those who have lived abroad, at that.
All countries have national myths and blind spots. Those of us who have lived overseas know that, and were already aware of the items on this list (in a more meaningful and personal way, to boot). Those who have never travelled — your “target audience,” I assume — will neither read this list nor, if they do, understand or absorb it. So what is the point?
(Side note: as someone who’s been married to a Vietnamese man for a decade, I can tell you the Vietnamese call it “The American War,” and your simplistic assessment that it’s all “about China” is off base. Sounds like you’re a bit of a tourist in that area of knowledge, yourself.)
So true. The entire blog. You have a keen way expressing such a difficult reality. Keep ‘em coming.
You forgot the eleventh item: Americna take for granted their freedom of speech. In most places around the world, you could not have written this article. God bless America.
Completely agree Mark… it was awesome!
All snark aside I am just a nomad floating in the US and failing to see the greatness hiding behind the distance we show our fellow humans. Encouraging to read your thoughts, as they are firmly planted inside my own.
Thank you
There are parts of the world where the United States is still widely, even abjectly admired, notably in Eastern Europe. People in Poland especially have an idealized vision of America, probably their way of replacing their Russian masters that for so long dominated them.
Reblogged this on Zach Thoren und kommentierte:
This is absolutely phenomenal and it reaffirms my desire to travel. It’s a long read, but I swear its worth it!
I think it would be safe to say that most of the naysayers in these comments have never set foot outside the United States. I would love to know what the percentage of Americans have a US Passport, compared to other “developed” countries. I have a strong feeling that the number would be very low. Most Americans don’t even seem to want to learn are experience other countries, cultures, societies. They would rather take their vacation “at the lake” than to see the world.
This is freaking fantastic. As an American myself I always hated these negative things about the country but the fact that I know I’m not alone in the way I think about the US means a lot.
Also you should run for president, because we desperately need someone like you
The article should be compulsory reading in US high schools. Author is just saying what the rest of the world says about the States. A little humility and self-knowledge would make the US a touch more accepted by the rest of the world.
Reblogged this on ELANA – The Voice of the Future.
I was surprised about some of your article but then had to laugh at myself because I did think everyone else thought the world of Americans. Being an American myself, I realized how egotistical that made me. But I flatter myself that I believe I have an excuse – everywhere I went in Japan and South Korea, tons of people thought I was awesome. Granted, even I was able to tell the difference between the “awesome” I seemed to be in Japan and the “awesome” I seemed to be in South Korea. Celebrity in one and zoo attraction in the other. And it was mostly the kids and (being female) young guys who showed the interest.
I lived in Japan for a year. I loved it there and I loved the culture but it really showed me how truely American I really am. As much as I may want to live elsewhere because I’m not all that fond of my country, I’m not blind to how American I am. Anywhere else and I’d stick out like a sore thumb. I married a Korean man and he has to remind me every now and then that not everything is about the U.S. Our history books have a different perspective because because they’re ours. I’m sure every country’s history books are going to be a bit lopsided and focus more on what they did rather than on what another country did. But it seems we tend to forget that part and think we’re total badasses.
My foreign friends point out to me that my country has weird issues and I think they’re totally right. The fact that this country is declining is true in my opinion too. I’m not saying any of it as an insult; it’s just true. I can see it with my own eyes. But this is still my country and I live here so I’ll stick with my own little space in the world and be content.
I think most Americans know that we’re unhealthy, or at least I hope they do, all anyone talks about is obesity and high cost of healthcare. Otherwise everything seems pretty on target. But I think its unrealistic to think that there is a country out there that’s going to be so much better. Every country has its problems, and many of them have these same problems.
The only thing here I disagree with is that one must live elsewhere to recognize the problems. When I sit down to give my alcoholic brother a talking to, he is more likely to listen and accept if I am there beside him, willing to help him through, rather than admonishing him via text from a foreign country.
I’ve been to the US only for a few months but I never expected it to be just like the tv shows and films I’ve been watching all my life. And no, the northeast isn’t TX, California ain’t Midwest. However, how many have had a look at the FRUS? Foreign policies in the last 50 years? Glad I studied American history.
Have a look at the CIA Factbook.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
Read between the lines. The country is rich but its populace is poor. The only industry worth its money is the arms industry, in all other areas other nations/ companies are more successful. Its infrastructure is third rate except for those places which you can see in tv shows and films.
And at the same time I have met friendly, intelligent, supportive and awesome people in the United States. Hard-working people who are happy to see their friends and family thrive. Tons of them. So why the discrepancy? Pretty easy: those in power make sure most people are without education and/or knowledge to understand how much they’re being screwed over.
And that is an international experience. The US is just making more money with it
Ah…sanity. Thank you.
Thank you for the gift of your thoughts, your time, and your experience.
Despite a few misguided perceptions and stereotypes, this is a pretty interesting read. Also I hate to break it to you but English people aren’t particularly impressed by Americans either…
Although I agree with this for the most part, having lived abroad for about 11 years, having shunned America in exchange for other countries such as the ones in Scandinavia. I realized it’s more of a 6 of 1, half a dozen of the other scenario. There is no ONE perfect country. My wife and I had to choose to live in either in Denmark or United States. Knowing that Denmark is often considered the happiest country in the world, you would think the choice would be easy. I had already lived in Denmark for approximately 4 years so I was quite familiar with the culture. But still, in the end we chose to move to the U.S….It’s not perfect and I certainly miss my European friends. I don’t typically like most Americans, especially American girls…lol. My best friends live in other parts of the world. But at the same time, there is something positive that exists here that I can’t get anywhere else. These days, I find that I have a more balanced view. I have come full circle from despising my country to learning to accept it for what it is and at the same time recognizing that those other countries I lived in also have their flaws. I would highly recommend this article to Americans that have never lived abroad. They need a reality check. My own family included. However, for those that left, and chose never to come back, I would say that eventually, you will come full circle as I did. Just last night I asked my wife if she missed living in Denmark. She said “No, I am home.” You see, in 5 week we are having a little girl who will be half Danish and half American. Home is where the heart is. We are starting our own family and finding comfort in a small community of creative people and artists. There are 330 million Americans. A few of them are open minded and well traveled. We seek them out and make friends with them. It’s enough for us. And we are happy.
I wish someone would make a movie with popular characters that elaborate on this reality –> “Americans tend to assume that the rest of the world either loves us or hates us (this is actually a good litmus test to tell if someone is conservative or liberal). The fact is, most people feel neither. Most people don’t think much about us.”
Dont worry, a lot of this list would apply to the British (I’m British by the way!) about 120 years ago, it took about 30 years of soul searching (the 1950′s,60′s and 70′s) to finaliy realise we were no longer an important part of the world. I think it’s naturally a state that happens when you are considered one of the most important countries. The Romans were probably similar 1000 years ago! I do think it odd that the U.S. has such a unfair healthcare system even compared to our NHS, but a lot of social reform happened over here mainly due to the sheer devastation of two world wars which made the whole country think more about the welfare of people. The U.S. hasn’t had that sort of wartime destruction since the civil war – and I’m not advocating it at all! – but it’s the sort of thing that brings in change and a sort of social reflection. Finally Britain lost the War of Independence partly because there wasn’t much support for it at home. A lot of British people (and you lot were kind of British at that point too!) supported the Americans in their effort to rid themselves of an overbearing government. Don’t forget the very same thing had happened in Britain about 100 years before that! It was the 1812 war when Britain was trying to fight the French (Napoleon) that kind of side tracked us. And in the end that war is now seen as the last time our two countries fought and actually brought us more together.
America is not a country, people. Get over it.
I agree with many of the points here: that popular media promotes paranoia, that we have a lousy healthcare system (driven more by revenue and less by well-being), that our culture and that we are trained to be comfortable rather than happy and status-seeking rather than enlightened, etc., etc. What the author doesn’t recognize overtly, although he implies it since he is an American, that there are a vast number of Americans who agree with this author and defy the stereotype (for instance, who can say so many immigrant populations know nothing about the world?). Additionally, and I’m not a big flag-waver, but there are many unique things to love about parts of the U.S. And at the end of the day, you can never leave where you’re from (and family and friends) behind forever without great loss. People who have a loved one forced from their homeland know this.
I agree with some of what you said, and I’m willing to accept the rest as your opinion. But I think it’s funny that you said “bigger houses, separated further and further out into the suburbs.”
Until the last century, most of the world was rural. The growing suburbs aren’t really moving houses from the city further apart. They are filling in the spaces between small rural communities.
The end result isn’t much different, but the phrasing makes the difference between people moving away from each other and people moving closer together. The perspective changes depending on where you started.
Nicely put!
Hmm. Okay, nice. Some inner cities have deteriorated, and the nice families have built 30 miles away. Between that suburb and Farmer John’s, those are the new exurbs. But, good one.
As a critique for his thoughtful, intelligent, informative (and funny) article, that’s clutching at straws, Julie.
For someone who’s blog page states “I have to be honest with myself and admit that watching Ally McBeal on Netflix isn’t really a good excuse to put other things off. ” I think you fit a lot of his categories quite well – particularly the one about being complacent and coddled.
How much time have you spent travelling outside the US? How much do you know about other countries? Can you name 20 or 30 capital cities from memory? Do you know where most countries are on a map?
You nit-picked probably the least relevant out of his entire bag of facts, and if I could be bothered researching it, you would probably turn out to be wrong – until the last century, most of the world lived in towns and cities. Maybe not in America, but then the US has only been urbanised for 100 years, whereas for a lot of the rest of the world, that has been for a thousand years or more.
I agree wholeheartedly, with everything. These are points I have thought about off an on for the last few years, when I lived and traveled abroad. It was incredibly eye-opening to get on a plane and touch down in a country to which I had never been, and to live there for a year (the coffee was so much better and the free health care was a nice perk!). Thank you for putting into words sentiments for which I struggled to find words. I hope this blog post doesn’t fall entirely on deaf ears!
I was born and raised in the US, and lived there 35 years before moving abroad to the Netherlands, and after watching my country from afar these past 14 year I agree with nearly everything in this article. It would seem I’m not alone, judging from the other expat voices here. Still, there are those respondents who question our loyalty or cast aspersions; most just seem to curse at us and call us liars. Instead of debating the point or asking questions, their insults only serve to reinforce the points made above. Quite sad.
I would have to say that it all depends on where in the USA you are at the moment. Rural USA is very different than Urban. Our folks here vary as much as the landscape does. I have also traveled a good deal, and I have met some painfully stupid and dilussional folks in other parts of the world. My advice to the author: try a large city, like New York or Chicago. The culture in those places is stunning.
American Foreign Policy
I’m stupefied by the heated nature of the comments implicitly stating that the author is a douchebag because everything he says is already obvious to everyone. If you’re saying he’s a douchebag because the title of the piece contradicts your belief that everyone already knows these things, you’re being petty (‘cuz who cares), and furthermore, you’re wrong. Hardly anyone knows these things, and even those that do deep down inside are in serious denial about them. And if you think I’m wrong, you’ll have to prove it, because trust me, I’m not wrong about this. Most Americans take it as gospel that this is the greatest country in the world and assume everyone else does too. But seriously, stop obsessing over a freakin’ headline. You just make yourself look like a douchebag. The author’s points make us think and discuss and debate. That makes this article an extremely healthy one for social discourse.
Amazing.
I lived in China and Korea for the past six years. I agree with pretty much everything. Americans (and I am one) make me sick to my stomach. I am married to a Chinese girl. Pretty, wonderful, treats me amazingly well. The only two things my friends in the States says are: 1) Can you find me someone that looks like her. I love Asian girls; and 2) It’s so easy because they all throw themselves at American men.
1) No I can’t, asswipe. I speak Chinese and that helped finding a girl because it showed her I cared about her culture and ways. You love Asian girls? Racist ass. . .I didn’t marry an Asian girl. I married a Chinese girl.
2) No, they do not throw themselves at American men. They actually are afraid of “lao wai” because of a host of reasons (abandonment, social stigma, family pressure, etc).
I’ve been all over East and SE Asia (Korea, Japan, China, Singapore, Taiwan, PI, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia). Americans who have never lived here tell me what life if like here and get angry when I tell them they are full of crap! After all, they’ve been to China. They either changed plans in Shanghai or they spent four days in a hotel in Beijing.
China is in Asia. Chinese, like Koreans and Japanese and Vietnamese, etc. are Asian. Saying you like “Asian” girls is not racist, you ignorant prick. (See what I did there?)
I think it’s unfortunate that Americans living in a bubble as we often do, have to suffer from so many delusions. But, other countries also have their delusions. Having live and worked overseas in Taiwan for three years (and now having also married a Taiwanese guy), I can see I’ve gained another perspective on the USA. Actually, I can’t blame them for their paranoia. The more time I spend away, the more scary the place seems. What with the constant shooting massacres and most recently the Boston Marathon bombing. It’s reached the point, where I’m not even surprised anymore when I see these kinds of things on the news. Which of course doesn’t make it any less terrible. Let’s just say that I couldn’t agree more about how many other countries are literally much more safe. Despite all of the culture shock I have been through, I feel SO MUCH more safe in Taiwan. They don’t have guns, they can’t! Crime rate is much lower. It’s very convenient here. Let’s just say, I’m glad I live in Taiwan
I don’t take offense to the author’s point of view because I lived overseas and had similar thoughts years ago. But obviously the comments are all generalizations. And even Americans who may appear to be perfect examples of unhealthy, self absorbed, and crass individuals that the author depicts may be entirely different to their friends and family who actually know their struggles and the good things that others who might be tempted to comment rudely about them might never imagine. If anything the author plays on the American puritanical strain of self doubt and self criticism that goes back to Jonathan Edwards in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” I would suggest to the author to temper these thoughts with an old poem called “House By The Side of the Road” and leave the judging to God.
11. We will travel for three years and our self delusion will convince us that a blog post about our new realizations will make some sort of difference.
The author ends his article thusly: “So this is my lecture to my alcoholic brother — my own flavor of arrogance and self-absorption, even if slightly more informed — in hopes he’ll give up his wayward ways. I imagine it’ll fall on deaf ears, but it’s the most I can do for now.”
Did you actually read the post?
I am surprised this article caused so many negative comments, I suppose that people that agree are less likely to comment, but I think this was very well written and very witty, and obviously written by someone with experience living and integrating with different people around the world.
As an Australian i’d like to inform you that we just try to sound excited to be polite… we know a lot of americans think that their nationality impresses people and don’t want to disappoint them. We humor you… and partially because we also know you don’t handle disappointment very well and tend to get defensive.
Otherwise, agree pretty much completely with this article. Kinda brave of you to look at yourself from an external perspective.
Having been a military lifer and traveled the 50 states and abroad, I’ve seen a great deal of what the writer talks about. We are the fattest nation in the world. 70% of Americans are overweight or obese. And I agree about his healthcare assessment. As a medical professional, I saw too many people that didn’t have healthcare and couldn’t afford to see a doctor until that discomfort in their midsection became an inoperable tumor or the chronic headaches turned into a full blown stroke. It might be acceptable for a third world country; it shouldn’t be acceptable for the world’s greatest superpower. We live in a country where only seven out of a hundred people know who the first four presidents were. Where 25% can’t name who we fought against in the Revolutionary War. The average American spends 8 hours a day watching TV or playing video games. We’re going to be like the human race in the Wall-E cartoon. Morbidly obese and living in custom fitted chairs that we have programmed to feed us, entertain us and cater to all our needs so we never have to get up.
This was such an interesting post to me! I also have lived in many countries and speak five languages, and I noticed that many I met certainly had a distinct impression of the US (either good or bad). But what I find so ironic is the length of this post devoted to telling Americans to get over themselves, concentrated on yourself being an American! Great comments about health care, btw. Too bad so many wealthy individuals still prefer to get treatment in the US, and so many people still want to immigrate here – they must all be so misguided! LOL!
My husband is from another country and I have spent time outside of the us so I can see where you are coming from, I don’t agree with your examples- a little too one sided for me – but hey we all have our views. However I would like to say that people who want to come here aren’t misguided. This is a great country, not the only great country, but a great one. They are just looking for something different and if you were to work with people who were fighting to get here you might feel differently.
Also I find it funny that my German mother in law fits more of the negative American stero types; status obsessed, paranoid, unable to express affections, thinks ever where else is crap, than my neighbors do. In other words I agree with your generalization, especially that we are too self centered and that everyplace as great things to offer, but I really think some of it depends on who you know.
I too am an expatriate by nature. I’ve lived on four continents, speak four languages, and been to over 30 countries all in a quarter of a century of life. While many of these ideas ring true, I think your vast overgeneralizations make some statement downright misinformed. Like I said, I appreciate the spirit of your article and many of those who haven’t been abroad need to hear this, although I guarantee you more expats than national would read this blog. The fact is I’ve lived in several countries where I’ve been assumed guilty before innocent as an American citizen. People have scrutinized me and based me on American generalizations; I’ve been privy to all kinds of political lashings against my country of heritage. There are plenty of well-informed reasons to dislike Americans, as well as poorly-informed reasons to match. That being said, I’d also been to places where I was treated as if I were a celebrity, without any radiating quality to merit it. The fact is that people have different interpretations. I’ve been spit on, but I’ve also met people willing to go to ridiculous lengths to help me. There will always be a diversity of experiences out there.
The one real gripe I have about self-delusional expats is that many think that just because they’ve been to a town, or seen something played out, that they understand the nature of international life or of a particular culture. Health care is Asia? No, I’m sorry. Asia populates roughly 3/5ths of the entire world’s humans. Asia’s health organization (as well as economies) range from downright destitution to world-class. Singapore is NOT a good example. Singapore is an enigma by Asian standards and houses some of the highest costs of living in the world. It is an amazingly beautiful city-state, but generalizable of the Asian experience? Nuh uh. Along those line I can’t tell you how many times I heard in Korea “Koreans are totally X” when I have seen all kinds of different behaviors. Oddly enough these came from progressive fresh-out-of-college idealists. When people go abroad they are truly faced with new frontiers. Humility is often the first faced.
But, Mark, you are correct. We do have some glaring flaws as a nation. Aside from health and politics, we originate from a culture of entitlement. We feel we deserve all kinds of things. The word “right” as opposed to priviledge has been severely overused. Millions of people would dream of such “rights”. But this is human nature. All humans are adaptable to their environments, especially if that is the only thing they have experienced. If you stayed in extravagant hotels for months on end, no matter how committed to social justice you are, you will find yourself wanting when you return to your modest furnishings. Habituation=complacency=desire. We will always want more, but very few want less.
I’ve lived in the United States for 11 years. I appreciate all the opportunities given to me by this amazing country but I’ve struggled with the issues as laid out in Mark’s article. The dysfunction of the medical system, the favoring private enterprise and corporate interests over citizens, the limited value of community vs. the motivation of profit first. The sensationalized media. My friends from other countries all feel the same way – we realize there is something amiss and I’ve chosen to move back home, or abroad. But the direction the U.S. is taking is enough for me to decide this isn’t the country for me. I’m equally sad for those who are American citizens and really want to see a fundamental shift in their country and don’t know how to get there. These are my friends. Amazing people who hope I adopt them when I move back to my home country! lol. I equally worry for my American friends who may not see their country as a whole is failing them, it is flawed, it’s priorities skewed. My hope for them is to get passports and travel to see what else is out there.
not an American phenom – its a NORTH AMERICAN issue … we need to get back on the planet! (i am CDN … its very pervasive here too!)
I wouldn’t even say North American it’s a U.S problem. Canada seems to be okay
Dumb as hell. Only figures this kind of college graduate jargin would be posted on a WordPress. Your 10 points mean nothing..while you touch upon the surface of socio economic issues the US is dealing with now, you confuse your own stupid opinions with gross generalizations of facts about the US. Do some research, don’t steal images, and if you cant do either of those, shut the hell up OP.
Please Brad, elaborate. How would you put it? I’d like to hear more about your point of view, your comment is so short. Debate is good.
I think the article is great but then again, I’m from the Netherlands. I think it is too bad we slowly absorb American ‘culture’, including meritocracy. I’ve lived for a year in smalltown Pennsylvania when I was 18 (what a culture shock, being raised in Amsterdam in a liberal family), and recently toured for 3 weeks from NYC to New orleans.
But… I wonder, i have my opinion about the large part of Dutch people, too. Maybe Brad you belong to ‘the happy few’ who can actually analyze and overview yourself being an American.
I am sorry if my English isn’t perfect and maybe my thoughts are put fuzzily. I didn’t get much sleep because of our annual Queensday (that turned from a nice festive day into complete partyhell) and the crowning of our new king, which in modern times of course is completely outdated and basically ridiculous. But there are so many Dutchmen for whom it is the highlight of their lives (hyperbolically said), and I could make a similar argument about our ‘people’ as in the article above. I think a ceremonial kingship would be nice, the rituals have a beautiful atmosphere somehow. Think of it as a royal play.
That’s it for now.
Actually, Iriska, it’s Brad’s language and thoughts that are muddled. As far as I can tell, he’s saying that:
a) college graduate jargin [sic] is less credible than words from people with less education;
b) Mark “touches on the surface of some socio-economic issues” (maybe he means America has some flaws but they’re temporary, economic problems?) Possibly this is because we’re all temporarily embarrassed millionaires…
c) Mark can’t tell the difference between his own opinions — which are “stupid” — and “gross generalizations of facts” which is a phrase that doesn’t actually mean anything in English.
d) Mark steals images and doesn’t do research.
Basically, Brad didn’t refute anything Mark said; his post can be summed up as “You’re wrong and you’re dumb!” Which I don’t find very compelling; Isuggest that you can ignore Brad’s post without missing anything.
So, the reasoned response to an excellent article is the sentence fragment “Dumb as hell.”
Yeah. Great way to make your point there, Sparky.
Face it: You just had a mirror held up to your face and you don’t like what you see. Instead of screaming at the reflection and getting spittle on the glass, perhaps you should take this as an opportunity to actually learn something about yourself and grow. Or would that challenge constitute too much of an effort for you?
To the author: Fantastic piece of work. I grew up in the USAF, did my own stint in the service, and lived in Europe for eight years running. Half of my family is from the UK, the other from the US. You hit the nail on the head with this article. Well done.
Was ist “Jargin”?
Brad, listen to another Brad who actually knows what he’s talking about. We American’s come from a place that is indeed a little messed up. I’ve been away from the mainland for over a decade an I’ve seen the Republican party turn into a haven for the uneducated Walmart shopping, NASCAR watching, Budweiser drinking, sabre rattling, Bible thumping, zombies, and the Democratic party turn into a a snobby version of tree-hugging, fur-hating, gun-protesting, anti-war singing hippies who don’t do anything any better than their conservative pals across the aisle.
America today is not the country I served 20 years ago.
This is an awesome post. I haven’t been out of the US since I was a child, but I see all of this here on a daily basis. In particular the section on being paranoid, insecure, and attention seeking. I think these are also related to mental health and as a society we’re trending towards anxious attachment patterns to our own society. The paranoia is stifling especially when politics are involved. We got rid of television and you wouldn’t believe what a difference that makes in relieving unnecessary anxiety. I’m a fairly cynical person who is weary of the media to begin with, and even I noticed an indifference to trivial “fears” and renewed interest in the people around me.
One thing I would like to point out though is if you look at certain psychological trends in American history our patterns of success and failure follow a generational cycle. We’re in the valley of a low point in a cycle, and today’s youth, the Millennials, are predicted to be the next “great generation” like the WWII heroes who will rebuild what is currently crumbling as they enter adulthood. My generation (Gen X) which is most likely the same as your own judging by your writing will be the first generation to not make more than their parents….since the generation that raised the GI generation. The generation that entered adulthood on the doorstep of the depression. So while I agree with everything in your post, it doesn’t mean that we are necessarily an empire destined for collapse. We were once a rising nation that had suddenly became decadent back in the 20′s only to collapse in the 30′s, and we were once a rising new world industrial power house that was crippled by its own civil war. Even though we’re a self absorbed insecure mess of indulgence today that is most likely drunkenly heading towards another massive calamity it is entirely feasible that we’ll restore and renew our standards within our own borders with the right mix of idealism, pragmatism, and youthful ingenuity. I know those sound like typical stump speech words but those are the qualities of the generational constellations that have created the greatest periods in American history, and we’re only about 20-30 years from being in that position again….if we can all stop eating big macs, get up off the couch and step away from endless seasons of American Idol.
Reblogged this on ipledgeafallegiance and commented:
I found this to be an excellent post with lots to think about and digest. What do you think?
uhm, actually native americans were mainly killed by us. also, we brought about the diseases to them. just wanted to point that out.
i am a native american as well as a historian and teacher of real history best i can decipher it… and that was the only thing i took issue with in this whole article… europeans killed us… and our own government still passively makes choices not in our favor… glad someone else commented on that
HA…and you think you did this on purpose? keep dreaming kiddo
Actually, 96% of Natives were wiped out in a plague before the arrival of settlers. They once had a massive, advanced society before then. Even Vikings had tried to conquer North America before then and failed. It’s all historically-verified; it’s just not an example of American exceptionalism, so it’s not taught in history classes.
Give some data (facts) to back that up. Disease was the main killer of Native Americans, and it was brought by us as their immune systems could not handle to them foreign illnesses…so I guess by extension, yeah we killed them since they were infected by us.
I’m an American and all I can say is, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Maybe I’m an optimist, but I see a growing awareness of these issues and that is the first step toward change. I’m doing my part for sure.
to #7: Its actually just your white male privilege
I’m really glad you said that, because I was thinking the same thing… As a woman will I really receive similar treatment? Probably not. Overall though, I did thoroughly enjoy the article! Looking forward to making a big move to the Dominican Republic in August.
I am an Indian American and first generation Indian in America. I have lived an equal amount of time in India and America and can attest to each of these findings. I completely agree with you in all of these aspects. While I love both of my countries, I can easily say living in India is both more fulfilling and certainly would make me happier. In America, we are all driven by one thing, to make the most money. In India, a family would spend hours and insane amounts of money to entertain a stranger! In America, while we try to do the same, it just doesn’t happen because we are conditioned to save as much money as possible and not to share…
I am currently studying to become a doctor and can say this. American health systems are by far the worst I have seen. As a first responder, I know that to help people in this country, it is very difficult due to rules and regulations, and many people suffer longer because doctors and nurses are constantly afraid to take risks due to the threat of lawsuits, which brings me to another point. Americans are always looking for an easy buck, which leads to many frivolous lawsuits which cost doctors a lot of time and money which could be used to help someone else in need.
Overall, I agree with your post in all aspects and I think Americans need to change their lifestyles to be a happier country in general.
Ok. So I took the time and read almost all the comments and such and feel I should put my two cents in.
So what if my country is the loud conceited drunk…family is family and I would protect it till the end. Hence why I joined the Marines as soon as a I graduated high school. I didn’t do it for a career or a way out of my neighborhood, I did it because I owe it to my country to protect its right to free speech. Yea, enjoy it.
Some parts I cannot debate because you’re dead on the money. However, as an old saying goes…grass is greener.
Instead of pointing fingers or playing the “my dad is better” crap, instead start by organizing something to make things better. Its a start. Our boys started by getting on a boat and came here to make a new life.
Its funny that you say no one cares about us makes me laugh hysterically. Example, Vietnam. The French got their asses handed to them and cried for Americans to help and we walked into a shit storm. Then when we asked for help and the French turned their backs on us. Thanks Frenchy. How often do you hear Americans are being killed from friendly fire? Way to go Brits. Bow often do you hear fans killing each over by a soccer game? Yea I said soccer.
Why do you see on websites that women want to marry Americans to get green cards? Hence why you are getting dates overseas, bro.
In conclusion, every family (country) has that one bad apple but when push comes to shove…we stick together.
So stay out there and make yourself believe America is crap. But when the world craps on you don’t come running back. But, youre family. We help family no matter what.
‘Merica!
Your post is quite a good exemple of Mark Manson’s assertions. Take history and knowledge of the rest of the world : a few words about Vietnam. Please, try to study just a bit : France never asked for America’s help, and did everything, (pdt De Gaulle especially) to convince Kennedy and the USA NOT TO GET caught in a rotten Vitenam war…. http://www.viet-studies.info/kinhte/DeGaulle_Vietnam.pdf
Read books. You’ll be surprised how useful it can be.
And I am not sure you have the moral high ground on friendly fire, given that 10% of British casualties in Afghanistan have been caused by Americans…
And before you get all Jeremiah Johnson on me, I was USNA Class of ’94
Marcueil — You pick out one point of his post, and while that may be off, it certainly does not discredit the fact that he’s right. He can agree with a lot of the comments, but ironically the author kind of kills his own argument. He says Americans think everyone cares about them compared to everyone else in the world. We are one of the largest countries in the world, but there are lots in China and Russia that feel that way too because they’re big and they can and there are others who don’t. The point I think trying to be made was that the grass is not always greener, and you’re going to get some of this everywhere. Other countries teach about the greatness of their country too.
And where are you living now?
If you would read the entire article, you’d know.
Right on! Fantastic read. I also lived in Colombia an everything said here is a 100% true.
Thank you thank you thank you. I can’t agree more, and I am an American living smack in the middle of America. The longest I spent outside the country was a few short months traveling and what I saw when I came back was nothing short of a slap in the face. We definitely do have some problems here, and I think a large part of the solution is a nice big dose of “Get over yourself.” Thanks for this post – you inspire me.
Lol douche meter is off the charts.
I am American. I have visited other countries (in Europe and Southeast Asia) and I can assure all of you that you are not better, or smarter or superior in any way to Americans. I hope the moron who wrote this article decides to permanently live outside of the U.S. ONLY an American would write this about their own culture and fellow citizens.
I don’t have time to write all that I want to…but a lot of what this author has written is utter bullshit. Here are just a few thoughts I have on his self-loathing brain-dump:
1) Americans (in general) do not know a lot about “the world,” but neither does anyone else in other countries. Apart from their REGIONS, most human beings are not well-versed in international relations, geopolitics et cetera. For example, ask Japanese people questions about South America and I’m sure you’ll get a blank stare; ask them about China and North and South Korea, they can tell you more. America is more isolated from, what some call, the “world island,” and it is normal for us to not have every country in the world’s president memorized.
2) The reason Americans think that everything is about us, is because there is no other nation that emits so much of its own culture around the world. Food, television, music, technology et cetera. We are the biggest exporters of culture.
3) Real quick; wish I could write more….
No, the rest of the world is not slum-ridden and exceptionally dangerous. However, a lot of it (most?) of it is. To deny this, is to deny problems that exist in the world and from there no one can work toward finding solutions.
I am about to use profanity:
AMERICANS ARE FAT. People in other countries love to point out that Americans are fat, unhealthy and addicted to fast food. My response is: who gives a flying f*ck? Worry about your own bodies and stop obsessing over Americans and our eating habits, our politics, our population’s level of education et cetera et cetera.
Maybe about 1% of america accounts for the export of american culture (ie. food, TV, music, technology). This article largely applies to the other 99% of americans.
As for the rest of the world being “slum-ridden”, your comment is quite ridiculous, you state that you believe over 50% of the world lives in these “slums” and I am assuming you are under the assumption that the people in these “slums” are unhappy, that is just false. In fact documentaries have shown that people with less material possessions are generally happier.
The fact the that you dont care that most of your country is fat is just appalling. Do you have any idea how many health concerns come along with obesity? Do you not care that your fello americans are going to suffer these consequences? Not to mention the how unsustainable the FAT AMERICAN life style is, when every person is eating triple what they need to be you essentially are forced to produce enough food for three times the population!
What I can tell from your post is that you, as an american, think that the rest of the world (in there slums) desire to be more like america (which I hope you will some day realize is false). This is what the article was trying to tell you about yourself… and your comment has only proved the author correct.
Thanks for being a prime example of what this author describes as the generalized american.
Amen, my thoughts exactly… What a disgrace
I agreed to cassandra’s comment… Kyle’s a bitch
Having moved to this country as a child from a post-Soviet country, I’m going to disagree with you on many of your points. This country will be the alcoholic brother as soon as other nationalities stop fighting tooth and nail to enter it and live here, either legally or illegally. Americans are full of themselves … they think the world revolves around them … they think working, making money, and spending that money stupidly means a better life. Some eat terribly, then look terrible as a result, and then just die sooner. There are several cities that are not like this, though – many New Yorkers (where I live) eat better than I had before arriving here. My mother – a doctor educated in in the USSR during the 1980s – was deeply impressed by the nutrition programs we have here. She died at the age of 54 – from cancer, caused almost entirely from smoking for 25 years and living in a polluted wasteland of a city in Eastern Europe most of her life. I go back to my country every year, and wish I had more vacation time – my measly 20 days a year is “great” on American standards, but abysmal on European standards. But, when I go home and see the people I went to elementary and middle school – women who felt the only worth they had was to become mothers by the age of 21, and men who are college educated and dying to come to America because there are no jobs in Europe – I’ll take the workaholic life that allows me to feel some sense of self worth and appreciate the time off I get, and I’ll take the life in a country where I am not pressured to be married and have three children before the age of 27. I think your views on your country, the USA, are noteworthy and comical, but are also very clearly from the opinion of someone who had the luxury to grow up here and who never struggled in a country outside of the USA, from the outside looking in, hoping and wishing to be a real part of America.
Alina, thank you for this important corrective. My Russian grandfather loved his homeland, and went there later in his life to visit family and help them whenever he could; but whenever he returned to America, he literally stooped to the ground to kiss the threshold of his home because his life in America, the life he built as a Russian ex-pat working for the Civil Corps of Engineers, was so much better than that of his siblings and nieces and nephews in the USSR. He brought as many of them over to visit as he could; two of his brother came here to become citizens, but died soon after due to horrible health conditions acquired in Russia and Iran. So, while we do have problems, and are too provincial and self-centered in many ways, we also have a lot to offer. It’s also clear that the author has not spent enough time getting to know a wide range of Americans, because throughout the USA, there are many lovely, committed, helpful people over here who do all they can to improve their local and wider communities and help those who are less fortunate. Charitable works abound in this country. Those who fail to see that are as myopic and self-centered as they say others are. Oh, and FYI, I have lived overseas for several years myself, and agree that there are wonderful societies and people in other parts of the world (and they also have problems from mild to severe, just different ones). But I don’t hate MY homeland just because someone else has something better; I want to work to make the USA better and help persuade my own countrymen/women to BE better. It’s a more positive experience, brings more happiness, and creates better Karma. Just sayin’. Thanks for starting the discussion, though.
Bullshit, to no one hating us. Maybe less recently but during the bush administration it was bad. I went to school abroad where there was a picture of bush with a bulls eye on the bulletin board in my school in Greece for months. During a water polo game in Serbia, people who cursing and shouting at the American team while the national anthem was played. Not because they were playing against them but because they hated Americans. The truth of the matter is that if you are going to made broad statements like that travel to a lot more countries before you make those decisions. Not to say that many don’t care or actually enjoy the United States but we do have a large group of haters and in most cases rightly so.
Most of the comments whining about this article are written by Americans that have never left the continent. Guaranteed.
Mom and Dad used to punish me as a child and I didn’t like it. So I moved out, and saw the world. Wah. America sucks. You have the same dbag personality as the rest of us. I’d LOVE to sit and have a few drinks with ya. Because, clearly, you’re just as American as me. MURICA!
Mark––
You have used my photograph of the family at Mt. Rushmore from my Sightseer series without my permission. Seems kind of ironic to me that you would use my image without permission, given the holier-than-thou tone of your article. Please remove my photograph or I will be forced to press legal action against you.
Roger Minick
Hi Roger, this is not my site and I did not use the photo of your family. I agree it’s used in poor taste. The original article can be found here: http://postmasculine.com/america and does NOT use the photo of your family. I would advise emailing the site own (who is German I believe) and talk to them.
You should obviously not come back to the US. You should stay where it’s better.
We are a different culture — we behave differently. It isn’t “wrong” — it is different. If you’re honestly trying to tell Americans what it’s like to be an American, I’d suggest you are talking to a stereotype that doesn’t exist. I love my country, I’m the cousin of founding fathers, and I’m a liberal Democrat who knows VERY WELL how crappy things are here now. We don’t need someone else to lecture us. Europe is now being taken over by the people who ran us into the ground since Reagan took office and Bush stole it back again. We’ll see how powerful and influential we were over our own country in about twenty years when you find out who really owns you now.
Reblogged this on valdetb.com.
When I lived in Los Angeles, I picked up a French guy who was hitchhiking all the way around the world. He hitchhiked from France through Europe, through the Middle East, down through Africa, got picked up by a boat in South Africa, got to Panama, hitchhiked through Central America up to Los Angeles, where he met me.
We kept in touch for the next couple months of his travels. He said, by far, the hardest to hitchhike, least friendly place where he met the most suspicion and ill-will was in the heartland of the USA. Central Africans would pick him up in a heart beat, but Americans avoided him like the plague.
I asked a woman in Lithuania, “How do you get around?” “Hitchhiking.” “Alone?” “Yes. Why not?”
You ask a woman in the USA if they would ever consider hitchhiking, you might as well ask them if they’ve ever considered suicide.
The saddest part is that it didn’t always used to be like that. I have a friend whose grandparents met on the road: her grandmother was hitchhiking, accepted a ride from grandfather, and to his surprise had three children in tow with her! Now, I can’t even think about taking my daughter hitchhiking for fear of getting her taken away from me.
great, great post. thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I’m Canadian and totally agree! But wait, not the way you may think! Canadians need to hear this as well. Often we think people in the 1st world are happier, but they’re not. People in the 3rd world honour their families, work together to survive and laugh more than we do. They are happy. When they fall in love. They. Fall. In. Love. They have more passion and zest for life. Maybe we have creature comforts but they have love and passion, they have the things we will be wishing we had when we’re on our death beds.
I’m from Canada, too, and I have lived and worked abroad for 16 years both in South America and the Middle East. You can’t generalize like this. I am Canadian. I honour my family. I work to help them. I laugh. I have passion and zest for life. I fell in love with my husband and we have been happily married for over 22 years. What the hell is this obsession North Americans have with self-loathing? Stop romanticizing the third world. It’s not as rosy a picture as you make it out to be. And stop bashing the first world. It’s not as negative and morally bankrupt as you make it out to be.
As a (French) Canadian and someone who studies anthropology, first, thanks for this article. It’s quite accurate in portraying the illnesses I’ve noticed of America (some are quite evident, some less so). Also, to the above poster. I’ll say happiness is quite relative. Who knows if those same 3rd world people would act differently if they had the opportunity to profit from a 1st world country? =/
Philippe — partially agree. But I think the author should be careful about giving this perception that the grass is definitely greener on the other side, whereas there are likely ups and downs no matter how it’s nurtured.
Yes I get most of that, but don’t you think it is a bit one sided? You seem to focus on all the negatives and ignore the positives, if which there are many. I am not going to go into detail, I will leave that up to you for your next blog
That’s because people know the positives already. The article was meant to be about things that people may not be aware of.
Adored it! I’m sure you realise that the vitriol is a badge of honour and confirmation of just how correct you are. Well done!!
no no no no no no no.
I really don’t agree with the author’s premise that “most American’s” have the same delusions. As he claims to have lived/traveled in such a variety of environments I would really hope that he learned not to make such gross generalizations about any culture. This article says more about his own background and insecurities than about the current American mindset. I’d like to think it’s possible to speak against nationalism while not sounding ashamed of the 300 million people who share your nationality.
This article tells more about the author than the US.
While it’s really great the author took the opportunity to travel and see the world, a feat many people across the globe only dream of, I have to point out that I didn’t quite see the “humor” he was going for. Good for you, you’re sarcastic and feel like you have something to say and the internet it the best platform for that, but honestly you don’t sound like the ‘good big brother to America the alcoholic’…you just sound like a douche. In fact, I couldn’t really get past the notion that the author sounds like a spoiled brat with something to prove. Condescending at best; spoiled and childish at worst. I’ve heard similar tirades from 16 year old girls. In a word: quit your bitching. Yes, our country has it’s flaws, whether it’s being compared to other countries or not. And it’s not even that I am especially sensitive to the US being criticized. It’s that you’re pointing out the things that most Americans (in my opinion, at least) are already fully or at least partially aware of. If anything, this article is meant for the smallest percentage of Americans that really do embody what you are talking about, and the fact that make it so broad is not only completely contradicting to your article, but it’s to your OWN people, much less.
So whether it’s a superiority complex, or a frat boy who just graduated college and is spending a few years “branching out”, or maybe a mix of both, dude, please: stop. If you’re going to say something, consider using some thoughtful writing, instead of a sloppy excuse of poor language in an attempt at being “edgy”.
I don’t know if a lot of these were really anything new. I think a lot of people know that the U.S. isn’t the greatest place anymore; in fact Americans criticize each other more than anyone else in the world.
I think we can notice that here with all the personnal attacks towards the author… =/
Hey, Mike and Dan W. He’s talking about people like you. You throw a stone at a pack of dogs, and the one it hits barks the loudest. (You’re quite offended, and I don’t know why. Maybe you didn’t read the lengthy foreword…)
Excellent! Very well said. I’ve made the same observations.
While I agree with your points, I take issue with point 3 as it says “Native Americans were wiped out largely disease and plague (not us)”. The US had a policy of removal and elimination, and while Native Americans lost huge numbers to disease, American settlers/US government were responsible for a huge amount of death and destruction.
As for inventing democracy, the idea of a confederation of nations united was taken from the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois people.
Pretty good read, but none of the info here is a mystery to anyone right???
i know there are some generalizations in here but most of my personal experience in upper middle class parts american and of other countries probably extends up and down the line for most other people in these and other parts of the world. i’ve got plenty of datapoint … i mean, what am i, 28 now?
Aww, looks like someone got to study abroad for a semester!
How has this guy lived in multiple countries on 3 differnt continents in just 3 years?
How can you be happy if you are uncomfortable? What if you don’t eat big macs? This guy is probably an English teacher who thinks what he is doing is the greatest achievement since some European caveman discovered how to make fire.
He hasn’t. He’s known as a scammer and a liar. His writing is on par with a high school kid. I’d just disregard his nonsense.
This article was written by a “dating coach” and self-help huckster. Nice try, Mark, but you’ve got zero credibility.
Spanish-speaking monolinguals tend to have the same attitude toward people who can’t speak Spanish well or at all that English-speaking monolinguals have, only they’re more polite about it (mostly).
Here’s my biggest problem with your post, it has nothing to do with whether I think you’re right or wrong about your points – I have mixed feelings on those – but about your statement that, “I realize these are generalizations and I realize there are always exceptions.” While a good point to make you fail to connect that your own perspective and experiences are just as subjective as anyone else’s.
I was raised in the Midwest and lived on the West Coast for several years before moving to Europe. Your post is 100% accurate. Kudos!
One thing we do know is that bloggers have a propensity for lifting images from the Internet with asking or crediting the work. http://sightseerseries.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Family-at-Mt.-Rushmore-SD-19981.jpg
What a fantastic article!!!!!! I loved every bit of this, you have truly opened my eyes and my mind as to what it will take for me to break the
cycle Ive been raised with, so thank you
You make some good points.
However, think about this. If you were Chinese and writing this post about China, it could be removed within a few days by the government and you could risk imprisonment or loss of privileges.
Excellent point! Also most Middle Eastern Countries and Turkey (who has the most imprisoned journalists) and several Asian countries I can think of!
Mark––
You have used my photograph of the family at Mt. Rushmore from my Sightseer series without my permission. Seems kind of ironic to me that you would use my image without permission, given the holier-than-thou tone of your article. Please remove my photograph or I will be forced to press legal action against you.
Roger Minick
Roger your family is disgusting and you should be ashamed. My guess is you’ll probably die from a massive heart attack before Mark has a chance to read your comment and take your shitty picture down. You’re a terrible photographer and an even more terrible father.
Randy, read Roger’s post again. It’s his photograph NOT his family.
Wow Randy. Ever heard the word, “ASSHOLE?”
It looks like Roger is a professional photographer, and the image is from a series he shot. The photo is not necessarily of his own family. You can see the series on his website. http://sightseerseries.com/
Here’s an article about this topic (borrowing others’ images without permission)
http://www.blogher.com/bloggers-beware-you-can-get-sued-using-photos-your-blog-my-story
Brother, that was the most refreshing thing I’ve read in a long time. I too love my southern neighbour (I’m canadian for those who don’t know the country just north of the US), but a lot of what you said is true for the North American culture in general.
A big thanks! Your wisdom fascinates me.
You are welcome to come back to the United States and visit us. We live in the Midwest and attend a Christian church. My experiences do not match yours (thank goodness!). You sound very young to me and perhaps as you age, you may change your perceptions.
Ah, the prodigal son comes home from his world travels and book larnin’, and has a few things to tell his yokel family. How precious.
I won’t argue all of your points (having neither time nor inclination), and I have to admit your correctness in a few places. Geography, for example. We are horrible at it. Present company excluded, of course. For instance, the Cambodian lady in Frisco, TX who cut my hair a few days ago was surprised that I knew where Phnom Penh is, and the Chilean taxi driver who drove me to SFO last week was surprised that I knew where Punta Arenas was. However, these two experiences point to a larger problem with your argument, than geographical awareness, which boils down to “we ain’t all that”.
I travel professionally. Mostly around the US, Canada, and Mexico, and to other hemispheres less frequently. I’ve even been an ex-pat briefly. In short, my experience differs greatly: we may not be perfect, but we do capture the imagination of the world, and the world does look to us. I’ve seen much more US news on foreign broadcasts than vice-versa. And I’ve seen many fewer American taxi drivers in Chile or US barbers in Cambodia. There must be a reason for this…
Your comments are little more than a reflection of the writer and his cooler-than-thou-homeland hipness. They are easily refuted tit-for-tat with anecdotes, or by history and raw data.
Oh, and for all the “free stuff” you like to gush about? Read some economics, it ain’t free. None of it.
Reblogged this on __________World Wanderer_____________________.
Reblogged this on lospensamientos und kommentierte:
Very thought provoking.
You got this part wrong:
4. We Are Poor At Expressing Gratitude And Affection
There’s a saying about English-speakers. We say “Go fuck yourself,” when we really mean “I like you,” and we say “I like you,” when we really mean “Go fuck yourself.”
The way it is supposed to go is if you are from LA when you like someone you say, “I like you”, when you don’t like someone you say, “I like you”. Now if you are from NY and you like someone you say, “I like you”, if you don’t like someone you say, “I don’t like you”.
Get it right.
Yawn, boring and uninformative. It sounds like you think you’re a rebel for having lived in other countries. Newsflash, not that uncommon. And some of us enjoy our time abroad and still love coming home afterward.
It sounds like you have counter culture shock. My personal experience has been that the culture shock returning home or viewing home is much worse. When you move to another country you expect things to be outside your experience and comfort zone so even irritating things about the culture are more easily tolerated.
It is illuminating to come back after being broken out of the routines of your own culture in that it, as you said, causes you to see things from an outside perspective and question things you took for granted. And yet there is an inclination to focus more on the negative with your own culture than with others.
Every country and every culture has it’s good points and bad points. But, to paraphrase you, unless you are actually one of those people doing something to make it better then most people simply don’t care about your opinion. It’s all well and good to say, “This is the problem with America.” So great, come home and put your experience to use trying to fix those problems or stay abroad and shut up. Sorry if that’s harsh but I’m sick of lists of things that are wrong and no one doing anything to make them better. Don’t bother unless you can follow each listed item with at least one solution; even a single small step toward a solution. It’s negative. It’s not helpful. It’s a waste of my time and yours.
Americans love to spew their opinions about everything and anything. Like writing blogs and essays as stupid as this one….
I agree with almost everything you said to a point. I do think that it is the majority that believe this way though and the ignorance of these things is not shared by all Americans. I think that our education system is lacking to an extent that we are breading our own ignorance. No one will even want this change without the education to know that it is possible. I learned that in certain counties you are guaranteed a college education and it is paid for by the government not you, this does cause animosity between the students and their government who is always looking to cut programs, however I would take that trade any day with my $20,000 in debt before I even finished college. If we educated our children on credit and how it works affects us and had classes on health in elementary or secondary schools it would change how things worked. I don’t mean some half ass’ed attempt at health class but continuous food and health education throughout their schooling life. With the healthy food starting in the school lunches. Healthcare is a joke as I work for a health insurance company that is NPO and very ethical standards but still have crappy insurance saying we utilize it more than others (however the doctors in our corporation get 10 x better insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expense thought they need it less). Some of the change is coming but how to change a system of health insurances and premiums and facilities and overpaid doctors is something that will never change overnight. I think it may take a century for a full change to come about or any.
breading our own ignorance? hehe
Hi Mark,
On a general level, I find much of what you say to be true. …but mostly in U.S. cities. I too have lived overseas, in four countries, but I had an profound experience in America that left me with a very positive impression of Canada and the USA.
A few years back I took a sabbatical and my family and we set out on the road, visiting 18 U.S. states and 3 Canadian provinces. Red state / blue state, it didn’t matter, we discovered real, salt-of-the-earth friendly people still exist in N. America once you get out of the TV bad news day to day of our urban environments. Locals would proudly share where to find local treasures, like waterfalls or hidden caves, they gave 100% working at the feed mill or at Wendy’s and there was plenty of kindness shown to us. Here are things we encountered in our travels.:
• We always felt safe.
• Wildlife abounds. Seems despite the constant guilt trip on nature being on retreat, there is a prodigious amount of wildlife on the increase.
• The world is a vast, beautiful place, and N. America is no exception.
• People are fundamentally friendly.
• On a general level, people living in rural levels seemed a lot more content to us.
• For many folks, Christianity is not a political movement, but rather a motivation that causes them to live their lives beyond just being tolerable human beings.
From living overseas I’ve also observed that:
• 3rd world living can be pretty terrible and there is a huge number of people who could, would trade places with you or I in an instant to be in the 1st world.
• A lot of people *do* think America is populated and lead by idiots. Our choices on maintaining an exorbitantly priced and dysfunctional health care and bizarre attitudes towards public safety vs. gun ownership rights would seem to bear that out.
• The wait times for Americans for health care is comparable to Canada. The trouble is that if you can’t afford U.S. health care you’re going to bankrupt yourself or you’re going to die. Anyone who believes socialized medicine can’t or doesn’t work, you may have drank the koolaid some U.S. fearmongering politician in the pocket of big medicine has been putting out.
Thanks. Your post was an interesting read.
Paul
I can see your point of view. I understand why your motivated to write this blog. I can agree with things written here but there is a twist in each statement that seems unfinished. It is possible that you wanted to stay focussed in your writing statement or that you are unable to reconcile the other side of things. I am not sure.
I too have traveled. And, lived elsewhere. American history includes that “Can do” attitude. What comes with it are some of the negative things mentioned in your article. “The American Dream” as it is referred to historically (and not the Hollywood twisted view) is also a wonderful unique character that also has its negatives mentioned in here. My point is balance. Our line for judging a cultures is much longer and deeper than most countries simply because of our multicultural involvement. Can you really find a more diverse melting pot than LA county? I believe every culture is represented and with a full thriving town mixed in next door with another full thriving well represented culture. It is a microcosm to the rest of our country. Not saying that there isn’t the other side. Your written side.
I guess what I am saying is… it’s easy to point out negatives. It is easy to point out positives. What might be more interesting is pointing them both out and seeing/understanding the trade offs. For example: Hollywood has many negatives but also notice the positives. And Then, finish with how could it play out in a more positive way in the future.
Negative without the positive is not the whole truth. Joining Positive and Negative is truth but not mature. Your really need positive, negative and a vision to be compelling.
YES!
This is tantamount to a 14 year old girl saying, “Ugh. My parents are so clueless and lame.” I actually agree with some points he makes, but the biggest irony is that this author is in every way a stereotypical American: Arrogant, self-important, and utterly clueless. My favorite is that he lists his qualifications to discuss these issues as “I have been to 40 other countries.” Also, the opening of this piece is basically admitting that he grew up and realized what most other people realize at an earlier age: Nothing’s perfect. Duh. Attempting to write about it like it was some profound and controversial revelation makes the piece’s adolescent temperament even more obvious. The silly people who find this to be serious intellectual discourse and mindlessly repost it all over Facebook only reveal how severely sheltered their upbringing was.
All this to say, America definitely has her faults. Yet she remains the number one destination of people looking to migrate out of their country. By quite the significant margin, too: http://www.gallup.com/poll/153992/150-Million-Adults-Worldwide-Migrate.aspx
While each item on the list has a grain of truth, the article as a whole is riddled with errors and exaggeration.
For example, he says “We Are Very Unhealthy” and cites the fact that the U.S. health care system was ranked by the World Health Organization as being #37 (out of 191 countries) in the world. Being in the top fifth isn’t “very unhealthy” by any standard. He then cites Buenos Aires as a positive example, ignoring the fact that Argentina’s health care system (#75) was ranked far below America’s in the same study. See http://www.who.int/healthinfo/paper30.pdf
He says one thing we don’t know is that “The Rest Of The World Is Not A Slum-Ridden Shithole Compared To Us” (a bit of a straw-man argument there). Then he compares the U.S. to OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRIES: Sweden, South Korea, Japan, Norway, & Singapore. He also points out HIS OWN ABILITY to live well in poorer countries after presumably earning his money in the U.S. That proves nothing. While “the rest of the world” may not be a “slum-ridden shithole,” it is a fact that 22.4% of the world’s people live on less than $1.25 per day. Virtually none of them are in developed countries like the U.S. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty#Absolute_poverty
He says “The Quality of Life For The Average American Is Not That Great.” That’s a completely subjective statement than can neither be proved nor disproved. But, I will point out that according to the United Nations Development Programme, the U.S. is ranked #3 (out of 186 countries) in the world on the Human Development Index. Only Norway and Australia rank higher. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index
The U.S. also ranks 3rd out of 36 countries on the OECD’s “Better Life Index.” Australia and Norway barely beat us. See http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org
As a fellow traveler, I couldn’t agree more. Well done!
Well written, a bit simplistic, but overall quite interesting. More Americans should travel if given the opportunity to appreciate what they have and see what the real world is like.
Where did you get the photo? Do those people know that their family photo is being used to illustrate this article? That’s a shitty thing to do. These people were just enjoying their life and you have to make fun of them for it?
Absofuckinglutely brilliant and on point. Thank you for articulating something that’s been stewing inside my head for years as someone who has travelled extensively and lived outside the US.
I really enjoyed this. Though by the very end I was a little bit concerned. If America is indeed this over-entitled, self-indulgent nation, then why not actively attempt to change that? At a more local level, is what he’s doing not the same as the problem facing “ghettos” and “projects”? People who become successful enough to help so often leave and never come back to make it better, so it stays ‘trash’. This is clearly a very intelligent, successful individual, but not everyone has the privilege to travel the world and leave their friends and family behind. His (really awesome) analogy of an alcoholic brother confuses his intentions even further. If you truly love someone or something, it’s more than okay (at times encouraged) to take a break from them/it. But at the times when they seem to be struggling most is when you help them, out of love. And this article is help. Yet, instead of making it a goal to educate Americans on their misconceptions and ignorance of outside culture, he has chosen to haphazardly apologize for “ranting” about how stupid his fellow Americans are while subtly bragging about his adventures in what a good 98% of Americans would call exotic places. This is such a good article that appears to be written by someone who could make a difference and is instead, just living life as another over-priveleged, over-educated American. Thanks, bro.
I’m pretty sure we brought the disease and plague to the Native Americans, so yeah, that was us.
One of the more poorly written articles I’ve seen in awhile.
Just because you were an arrogant American prick who wasn’t had, apparently, no manners or global education, doesn’t mean the rest of us are. Sounds like you left the States to travel and bragged about being American and got brought down a peg. Don’t think you’re above the rest of the US because you’ve been enlightened.
Great post!
MARRY ME.
I’m an American, I love my country, and I found myself nodding in agreement when I started reading this post. By the time I was near the end, I found myself yelling “AMEN,” and “PREACH IT, BROTHAH!”
(Also…I’m single, I’m awesome, I’m wicked smaaaaat, and I have a crush on you. The next time you’re in the Washington DC area, call me maybe?)
You read my mind!! So well written and thought out, too! I wish everyone could read this with an open mind.
For those responses of distaste to your article….maybe next time, then maybe not! I for one appreciated your view, your critcal thinking skills are well received here in Canada!!!
“Every country thinks they have the worst drivers.”
Don’t agree, China has the worlds worst drivers, no contest.
Im not an US citizen, I’ve only lived there for a couple of moments, and loved it! I’ve also lived in some other countries, some well developed, others not so much. I do agree with most of your points, but most of them can just as easily be translated to any random country, with some adjustments.
For example, many people in, lets say, Latin America consider their country a paradise. That’s the only place where they are really happy. Yet, still they would make a dangerous trip to the USA, not to be more happy, but to be more comfortable (and most likely more unhappy).
I also dont consider health insurance in many countries that good, yes in some countries it’s very very cheap (for me), but still it is not affordable for a lot of the people who live there. I think the health care system in my country is pretty good (yet not at all perfect), but I hear people complaining about it CONSTANTLY.
I think almost anywhere in the world, nations think that other nations think about them all the time and have a strong opinion. In reality they rarely do.
One thing i do disagree with you on is that you consider Americans to be unfriendly, I think they are very friendly and in some ways open. In other ways they are very closed (I agree with you on this), for example they say one thing, while they actually think the opposite. In my experience this happens in most countries though (with some exceptions). Most countries in Latin America and Asia definitely NOT being an exception. In some ways they are even more ‘false’. This sounds very negative, but there definitely is a positive side to this falseness; people are more friendly and most of the time I enjoy it more, just sometimes it is really annoying (just say what u mean and be sincere!).
I do agree with u on the fact that US-citizens (not Canadians) have very little knowledge about other countries, even among people that are fairly well educated. In (most) other countries only people that have had very little education, have so little knowledge about the world around them. And what they think they no is more an ideal that has very little to do with reality.
“…unless you actually are Steve Jobs or Thomas Edison (which is unlikely) then most people around the world are simply not going to care [that you are American]. There are exceptions of course. And those exceptions are called English and Australian people. Whoopdie-fucking-doo”.
I don’t know exactly where you got this idea from but the vast majority of English people are none too impressed by you either. I don’t know how many Americans there are walking round thinking that their nationality automatically generates them any kind of respect from the average English person, but that’s a myth that should be dispelled right now. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that as England (and other parts of Britain) have come to have a more negative feeling towards you than most. Thanks for the insult though. It’s good to know that even if we did revere you as you claim, you wouldn’t appreciate it.
Good job trying to banish one arrogant belief whilst simultaneously propagating another.
Excellent!!! Excellent!! Man, you literally have put all my thoughts into words. Thank you!
Brian
For clarification, point 1: I’m English, and actually, we don’t care either.
Really enjoyed this – well written, tongue in check, and interesting.
Not knowing the name of the Country.
Ugh. As a fellow expat, people like the writer are THE WORST types of fellow Americans to run into. Making broad generalizations and shitting on the U.S. are the easy ways out as well as cheap, superficial ways to impress people while abroad.
Very interesting I would love to make more comments but as I am working in the tourist industry I have to be careful. What I do oppose to is the vulgar language used by commentators it just shows to me their lack of education and disrespect for the english language. From where I stand this kind of language reflects on the person that they really are. Surely you could verbalize in a more conducive manner to put your point accross
Serioulsy? You oppose the language used by the commentators???? Did you read the language used by the AUTHOR????
Really Lady? You take objection to the language of the commenters (not “commentators” like the people who are paid to narrate sporting events or news events) but not the author, whose piece is full of expletives?!? Your lack of punctuation and capitalization of proper nouns shows YOUR lack of education and disrespect for the English (notice how I used an upper case E on that?) language. And you misused the word “conducive”. Look it up!
BRAVO!! Well said sir! I noticed many of these same things after living abroad for a few years..most foreigners care about the US people about as much as your average American cares about an Iraqi man, or Croatian woman..
Danke! Danke! Thank you so much! I’m an American and I agree with everything! The best time I have spent as a person was outside the United States. Coming back is still a culture shock and I’m not sure I like it so much. Europe has a different flavour to her. There’s more to see, more to do and no strings attached.
More to see and do in Europe than in the United States? Go figure. Europe is a continent and the U.S. is a country. As far as countries go, the U.S. is one of the greatest places to explore.
BTW English and Aussie’s aren’t that impressed either.:)
Thanks for the thought-provoking listicle. Much of my life experience mirrors yours and the advice and insights are all on target. One of the things that always impressed me about non-Americans is that they tend to be much more inquisitive than Americans. This has a lot to do with US media culture—people here don’t inquire; they look for reinforcement of their own ideas and can find lots of it (including in blogs like this). As a New Yorker, I love encountering people who are coming here for the first time. They’re almost always awe-stricken and have a gazillion (usually smart) questions. This is when it’s fun to talk about my country and when I travel, I strive to be as awe-stricken as they.
I was born in and raised in the US by Colombian immigrants. While everyone seems to think Colombia is this dangerous, disease ridden third world country, it is one of the greatest places on Earth. Granted I may be quite bias due to my affinity for my nation, I took my wife (a nuyorican) to Colombia for the first time. She could not get over how nice everyone was to her. She couldn’t believe that when we went up into the mountains to see a farm that my farm owned which required a half hour drive up the mountain from town, plus another 20 minutes on horse due to the road not going all the way up, we got to the mountain top with perfect cell service. I live 20 minutes outside of NYC. I lose service in my living room. People in this country to need open their damn eyes and realize it’s not all about them.
You’ll be back.
This is simply brilliant and so true! I have traveled a lot also, and I like pretty much every place I have ever been more than I like “home’ these days. I went to Egypt by myself; as a woman travelling alone people said I was crazy. I have never been treated better and the hospitality was such that I saw pretty much the entire country in 8 days. Great post!
Reblogged this on There's No Backspace With a Pen and commented:
Somethings to think about.
AMEN! Well said.
in other words, we’re still self centered idiots.
Interesting post, perspectives to take note of. However, criticism of US needs to be tempered with recognition of the fact it is made up of 50 states and various territories, all having their own laws and customs.
I don’t have a passport, but I would have to travel 1000 miles before I’d need one. Travel that requires a passport is beyond my means, yet we make an annual trip across 700 miles (one way) and 5 states to visit relatives. The language and the currency are the same, but the culture is not.
While I would love to see a greater emphasis on learning other languages, the fact is that learning another language, with the possible exception of Spanish, does not significantly increase the number of people with whom you can communicate. The payoff for being multilingual is much greater in Europe than it is in the US.
When I was in college, I overheard two foreign grad students planning a weekend trip. Looking over a map of the US, they considered going to California for the weekend. They didn’t seem to have looked at the scale on the map. From where they stood in North Carolina, California was over 2,000 miles away.
Best read in a long time. Thanks.
There is more hate for America by Americans than there is outside of this country. This article is evidence of that. America used to be proud, and even if external countries did not agree all that matters was we were proud and that made us strong. The more Americans believe in Articles like this the weaker America will become.
Thank you for sharing your honest view points. Even if I don’t agree with everything, I honor your breviary to express your bias especially if it goes against our social norms. Thank you for sharing your personal experience to support your rhetoric.
I mostly agree with all of the comments here, the good and the bad. You are entitled to your opinions and I enjoyed reading them. There is only one other thing I would like to say here that has not already been covered in the top 20 or so comments I read, and I would like this to be taken as a friendly reminder, not a lifestyle criticism, but airline travel is one of the highest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption after industry. The ability to travel by air is most certainly a gift, and I agree that more people should get out and see the world, but being conscious of our consumption is necessary if we want to live a utopian future.
If you dont mind, im going to ‘steal’ this article.
Althou it will be translated, i’ll give you all the credit.
6 and 7 are especially true. I am an American student spending the semester abroad in Russia. Before I left, almost everyone I knew was convinced I was going to get robbed/hurt/killed in the “crazy and backwards” former Soviet Union. I’ll tell you what. I feel a LOT safer here. The police are nicer and have helped me out a number of times. I’ve hitchhiked with total strangers to get places (one time it was FREE because the driver was a particularly nice guy) and would NEVER have ever considered hitchhiking in the US. In Russia, this happens every day because people are more trusting and less paranoid. And speaking of the paranoia factor… It’s almost nonexistent. I feel safer and more relaxed than ever before in my 20 years of living in America. If my Russian was more fluent, I’d consider moving to Russia if I possibly could.
Wow, a WHOLE SEMESTER??!?! You are now an expert! Try living there 2 years, and then share your opinion. You live in a dorm with other foreign college students, and live on the American dollars that your “Capitalist American” parents provide. Am I right? And lucky for you you’re just a college student. If you were older and more affluent, you might just be killed for your watch! A surgeon friend of mine was brutally beaten and left for dead for his. He spent 6 days in intensive care, and a month in the hospital recovering, and then wasn’t able to perform surgery for a year due to his extensive injuries. The Russian doctor (now very happy to be an American citizen) we travel regularly with to St. Petersburg for work (where WE teach THEM how to perform advanced surgeries, because THEY don’t have the funding to do the research) has schooled us so many times to leave anything that might identify us as “affluent” in any way at home, due to the fact that we may be kidnapped or killed for whatever valuables we might have on us. My former roommate is also Russian and from St. Petersburg. She wants badly to take her (American) daughter back to her homeland to visit extended family and see where she grew up, but she doesn’t, because she (and her family who live in St. Petersburg) think it’s too dangerous!
Grow up a little college boy, before you bless us with your wisdom from a whole semester abroad! Good thing you’re not a girl! Or you’d likely be kidnapped and sold into prostitution/slavery on one of your hitchhiking jaunts! Which by the way DOES happen OFTEN to pretty young things in Russia. They (and I do mean Russian people) are the #1 exporter of this particular commodity.
Another observation – the amount of homelessness in America compared to Europe. I was in Northern Europe and saw almost no homeless people. An Australian I met told me that when she came to the United States she was “Gob-smacked” by the sight of so many homeless people. Very sad and doesn’t have to be this way.
I left my hometown at 17 to study abroad. I have travelled and live in many countries. I have never had a strong sense of national identity (being Basque and feeling equally Spanish is a complex reality); but when I first moved away, I realised that I do feel European, regardless of the great cultural, political and economic differences; there is some common understanding amongst us.
I cannot agree more with your post about travelling and realizing how little we know about “the other” and how complacent we are with our own little “peculiarities” whilst being extremely critical towards the “strange habits” of others.
As you rightly said, the reality is that regardless of the language, the geography, the culture; we are all still humans and worry about the same things: family, health, future, work…
I strongly recommend you “The Other” by Ryszard Kapuściński. It is an interesting book for someone that enjoys travelling and getting to know “the other”. Plus, you will see that not only North-Americans suffer from an “imposing character”, it is something common to many cultures/ countries.
These are some reviews of the book: http://www.iwm.at/files/nl-87.pdf http://dspace.flinders.edu.au/jspui/bitstream/2328/8197/1/The_Other%20Review.pdf
I mildly agree with some of these statements, but strongly disagree with others. A lot of what you said were very generalized statements about the American population as a whole. Sure we’ve got our insecurities, health issues, and overly inflated egos, but these are 1st world problems! What country in the world doesn’t have problems? I know you’re arent trying to say other countries don’t have problems, but in comparison, ours are minimal.
I lived in Jakarta, Indonesia for a year where I taught English as second language. The amount of poverty stricken slums throughout the masses is staggering. Traffic, pollution, smog, and overpopulation is just a minor glimpse into the problems they’ve got there. Along with corruption and the usual, 3% of the population controlling all of the wealth. I saw beggers in the street on a daily basis, people who have been maimed, and others living on the side of the road on a couch, near a garbage dump. These are places with real problems. But you know what? As a whole they’re still basically happy. They’re not rioting and attacking their government. They aren’t robbing or stealing from people. They’re simply doing the best they can to survive.
Then, when we look through the rose colored glasses of American society, we forget about these places, people, and situations. We think our problems are the worst, or the most unfixable. I think its pretty logical to assume we can correct these “problems” and move forward as a society. This country is not as dumb as we, or others may think we are. As a nation we’ll learn,overcome, and push through these societal boundaries that hold us at bay. But none of that is going to happen until we take a step back, recognize that our problems aren’t as bad as we perceive them to be, and do what we can to help other developing countries around the world.
This is a very interesting and well written article. I have one question for you. Why would someone with your experience, intelligence, and expertise need to use offensive language? Surely your vocabulary includes more appropriate descriptive words. From the picture it appers that you have two children. Is this the kind of language you encourage them to use?
I find it interesting that you think the author a.) has “experience” (a 3 year tour of the world paid for by mommy and daddy) b. “intelligence” (maybe when he matures a bit,actually makes a living for himself, and functions in the real world rather than the frat house/college campus he was living in before his 3 years of “finding himself abroad”) or c. “experienced”.
You’re pretty much wrong about democracy, which emerged out of New England town meetings. Parliamentary systems aren’t democracy.
Reblogged this on Facts & Other Fairy Tales and commented:
This is a great piece that sums it up…. Since living abroad, I’ve fielded so many questions/ comments like, “An American once asked me where I lived, I told them in Frankfurt Germany and he said, ‘Great — I’ve been there, I really enjoyed Belgium’”, or asking why we seem to hate poor people, how we elected Bush twice, if people really pay attention to Fox News, and the list goes on. Most of the time, I just kind of have to shrug my shoulders and say, “yeah… that’s why I wasn’t sad to leave”.
The greatest random compliment that I get from folks after just a conversation about the world is, “You’re not like most Americans”… thank goodness.
One of the top ten things American men don’t get about women: we are not obligated to be grateful to you for finding us attractive. Surprise! Being approached by a random stranger who tells us we are beautiful is not necessarily either flattering or interesting.
haha right…..
“Yes, we had Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison” – interesting picks!
We could assume the technology would be further and better if Edison won’t fight and stop Tesla.
* Steve Jobs was maybe a visionary but also was a patent troll, sucking $ for every single thing. Yes, Apple is the most successful company these days but also one of the most hated for their politics.
* Thomas Edison is a bad guy compared to Nikola Tesla. He was patent troll too (most people think he invented light bulb but he just patented it)
So from the far perspective one could say it’s a pity you had Jobs and Edison
Cheers from the country where “there be dragons”
Wunderbar. Found this pretty accurate (though not 100%). I’ve spent a fair amount of time overseas myself and think that this is in the ballpark. It comes down to the view from the top. With America being on top of the international system for so long, they have lost perspective and under understand the reality of the world as well as others, who have less power to dictate, might. Just like a boss who never leave the office; doesn’t really know the workings of the company.
I find the point that Americans are poor at expressing emotion somewhat odd. In England we find American’s enthusiasm that “its SO GREAT to be here/meet you/eat this sandwich/catch this train etc etc” with a beaming smile from ear to ear thoroughly unnerving. how can they be SO happy ALL the time?! and for no apparent reason. We find this highly suspicious and meanly put it down to the belief that the average American IQ is about 70 points lower than the rest of us. A somewhat unfair judgement if you’ve ever been to Manchester.
But a heads up for Americans thinking of going abroad – we can sense your presence 5 miles away. Your drawls of “oh my gaaaaaadddd” prick our eardrums like no other dialect on earth and we know any minute now we’ll see a shorts and trainers wearing, hawaiian shirt clad boomba bellied dad waddling our way, camera swinging around his neck as he happily informs us “We’re from the US”. You don’t say…
Don’t take this as too much of a slight, but a display of one of my own countries quirks; british cynicism. Besides, your pressing need to divulge your life stories to the waitress before you order a cup of coffee provides us with endless amusement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7H6v1xSZIU&NR=1&feature=endscreen
You are not as insightful as you think you are. I came hear expecting to hear something new, many or most americans are aware of these things. When you are older, you will realize what a dbag you came off as.
“My generation is the first generation of Americans who will be worse off than their parents, economically, physically and emotionally.”
Quotes like this are on FIRE baby! You definitely nailed it in the first few points (and I think we had the same driver in Bankok).
That said, you sound a bit like I did in my first couple years abroad. I’ve since amended some of my perspectives on how the USA compares to other places in the world.
For example I, like you, found many people in the Middle East and East Asia plenty welcoming to a white, straight, English-speaking dude, but super racist and sexist and homophobic to those who are not like me.
Attitudes of Europeans are not as neutral as I had first thought — there’s quite a range, from openly hostile to awestruck, thinking that I’m old chums with various celebrities.
Though healthcare is a LOT cheaper in every country that’s not America, it’s not necessarily more accessible to those on a local salary.
Y’know. Shit like that.
As you more or less point out in the article, no country is ideal. I think the best thing anyone from any country can do for themselves is break from their comfort zone and see the world. But especially Americans, because while we may not have single-handedly beaten the Nazis, we are without question a major player in global politics and economics. It couldn’t hurt us to pay a visit to some of the countries we may one day decide to invade.
If every country was represented by a kid in a school-yard, America would be the fat, rich kid / school bully… with a gun!
I’m an American who has been living in Japan for the past 2 years. I’ve also traveled to Europe and other Asian countries. In my experience, you could replace the word “Americans” for almost any other nationality (Japanese, Indian, German, etc.). Japan, for example, easily fits your description of numbers 3-7. Every country thinks that it’s the greatest and has most of these same problems. The important thing to learn is not that we are so different or wrong, but that we’re all the same!
It’s funny to me that you mention Colombia. I’ve been there 10 times, each for about a month, and stayed for several months the last time, living in with my Colombian in-laws. I’m basically not allowed outside the house by myself while I’m there, for my own protection, but everyone who lives there (not just extended “tourists” like me) arranges their lives around the things I’m about to mention. I’m told repeatedly not to take papers from anyone on the street because they might be laced with scopalamine. Everyone fears beggars (and thus ignores them) because they might have “un chuzo”–a sharp object to stab you with. While I was there this time, I met a woman whose tennis instructor had been killed for his cel phone. Everyone knows not to resist when they ask for your cel phone. A friend of ours was followed home from the airport. His tires were shot out and he was held at gunpoint for his suitcases. I literally can’t put my purse on the seat next to me while I eat at the mall food court because I’m told it will get stolen. I have to hold on to it at all times. I can’t carry my camera in plain view. I can’t get into a cab off the street; it has to be called by phone and someone at my location notes the plates and driver’s name for fear he should kidnap me. The one place I’m allowed to go alone is the neighborhood park and I’m not even allowed to give directions to nuns or children “because the ‘bad guys’ dress up as nuns and use children to lure you in and then rob you.” So no, no one is friendly (unless you meet them at a family gathering or through friends) because they are all scared that you’re about to jack them, no matter what you look like. It’s a state of total and utter distrust in anyone who’s not of your “clan”–and that’s not freedom. I speak Spanish fluently and without an accent and I learned it entirely living in the States. (I also speak French and studied Arabic and Farsi for two years and Latin for 3 years. I agree with what you say about Americans and foreign language, but most people I talk to actually really want to speak another language but have trouble with it.) The point is, I’m capable of communicating with any Colombian very well, but it’s not safe to with just anyone.
Now, I’ve resisted these ideas vigorously. It seems to me Colombians ascribe almost mythical power to common criminals, and I have a hard time believing it. It’s actually not me wanting to believe this, but after years of being warned and shielded by all my Colombian relatives and friends (and no, my husband and his family are not like this with me when I’m in the States, it’s simply a safety issue), I guess I just have to accept they might really know what they’re talking about. So I have to laugh when you try to portray the slummiest parts of South America as really nice and friendly. Really? El Cartucho, anyone? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIod1tGfiZk
Soacha was mentioned. Colombia IS a lot different than the 80s. I don’t expect to get kidnapped by the FARC or blown up in a bombing. But street crime and the fear thereof is UBIQUITOUS and all-permeating.
Professionals live in tiny sqaure footage and many struggle to pay bills and pay exorbitant amounts for water bills. People in Bogota mostly prefer to live in highrises or low rises, so that it’s harder to break in and there’s a doorman. Even so, maids and doormen are always the first suspected when there’s an apartment break-in. And have you ever breathed in Bogota?
Do you want to talk about quality of life? The work hours aren’t shorter. They’re as long or longer because your employer has someone younger and more eager waiting to take your job for a lower salary. Anyone over 35 is discriminated against in the workforce. God help you if you’re older than that and looking for a job. The big scandal lately is the same old HMO outrage of leaving people in the halls of hospitals to die because they weren’t on a pre-payed plan but on the regular EPS most people are on. Sure, the costs are very cheap compared to the US (and I would say the care is very good if you can afford it). But when your salary is the equivalent of $250/mo and a doctor’s visit is $40, that’s pretty steep. Clothes are about the same as the US on a smaller salary. Food is cheaper and is marginally less chemicalized, but I’d like to see your selection is limited. So imagine what it’s like to try to cover basic needs for the same or greater cost as the US (for many of them) on smaller salaries. Sound less stressful?
I could go on, but I won’t. I came to Colombia with a very open mind, and I don’t mind roughing it, living humbly and simply, etc. Colombia has wonderful people. Wonderful. If you meet them in the right scenario, they will bend over backwards to be kind to you. They do say what they mean and mean what they say. Family is very important. There is always fresh juice and tropical fruit available. You can’t beat it for natural beauty. Parts of Medellin are gorgeous and the people much more open despite the crime. But when you say that your Colombian neighborhood was nicer than the one you lived in Boston, it’s very disingenuous to lead people to believe that means life there is generally better. It has its advantages, but I wouldn’t choose it over the US, and my husband would have a hard time going back at this point.
As someone else said, on almost every single one of your points, there is some truth to what you said, but it’s not the whole truth. It seems like you’ve created a conflated proto-American that’s a fat, sick, ignorant, self-absorbed, arrogant, status-obsessed, aloof, paranoid bombast and compared him to a the best among people and countries from anywhere else in the world So A-mur-ica is pitted against all the technology of Japan (but none of the suicide) with all the healthcare of Sweden (but none of the high taxes) and all the close-knit communities of small-town Latin America (but none of the corruption and crime)? Hardly accurate. On all counts, I acknowledge that the US has those problems, and yet, pretty much all other countries have their own assortment of problems as well. I don’t know if we’re “the best”country in the world, but on the whole, I feel grateful to live here.
Very astute and well written! You should write your own blog!
I learned almost all of the Spanish I know from the large Columbian community at my church in the U.S., and you’re right! Columbian people are simply WONDERFUL! Warm, kind, so much fun to be around, and would bend over backwards for a friend. I loved them so much that I desperately wanted to visit Columbia, since I was already pretty well traveled and had already spent time in Centro America….except that my Columbian friends absolutely insisted that I never do so due to it being extremely dangerous. They themselves took great measures to be able to leave Columbia and emigrate to the U.S. (legally or illegally!) and although they all loved their home country and spoke of it’s beauty and food fondly, they had no illusions of ever returning there due to the extreme crime, corruption, and very poor economic conditions.
Geezus…. The article was so good I was afraid to read the comments. I was right to be fearful. This is not a political piece… please don’t make it one. Also I disagree with the “safe everywhere” idea. There is nothing wrong with using a little precaution in a foreign country. I lived overseas for many years, I loved it, I miss it, however, I am thankful everyday for a clothes dryer. I am sick of people acting like the rest of the world holds some secret that Americans will never get. Yes, appreciate every culture you are lucky enough to experience, but never allow yourself to think that your experience makes you better than someone else, never believe that you are above the American luxuries you take for granted everyday. Try visiting some where like Ghana or the Congo. Build a one room school and an outhouse and watch the kids shower you with gratitude, then come back here and put down the Americans.
Amen!
Well…….
Some of these are probably correct when looked at from a particular perspective, yeah? But from other perspectives, maybe not so much. Like the bit about us being cold and non-affectionate. It really depends on the culture looking at Americans. Japanese people consider Americans very emotional, very affectionate, very easy with the expressions of love. Yes, we could say that is because the Japanese are even more reserved so it is not quite accurate BUT we could say the same about the South Americans referenced, that they are just MORE emotionally warm so we only appear cold in comparison.
Same goes for the bit about people not being interested. This is going to change depending on where you are in the world. Again, here in Japan, most people assume any and all westerners are from America until told otherwise. American flags are a fashion accessory, and people want to know all about your homeland. In balance, those people who are interested are those who are learning English and are interested in travelling to western parts of the world. But still, the point remains.
Point being, this is a decent editorial piece; but it is lacking in real analysis and in real depth. It mostly seems to approach America from the European perspective, or from the perspective of an American who is familiar with the European perspective. I know this is the author’s perspective so there is nothing wrong with this. But it leaves out huge swaths of the world and their perspectives on the United States are all quite different and varied.
I agree completely! I have lived for 2 or more years in each of 5 countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, and traveled extensively throughout the world during holidays. I, too, grew up drinking the kool-aid that had me believing that “everyone hates Americans”, and was very surprised to learn otherwise. True, most people disagree with American foreign policy, but they ARE happy to have an American friend and strangers you meet love to chat about America, and share some positive story about a friend or family member who visited the U.S. and loved it. My first clue that not everyone in the rest of the world hates us is that in literally every single country I’ve lived in or visited, everywhere you look you see people on the metro, on the street, in cafes…wearing American flag t-shirts, purses with the stars and stripes, and converse high tops featuring American stars and stripes are everywhere. I was just in Amsterdam a month ago, and was surprised how many fashion chain stores had the word “American” in the title. Like “American Style” or “American Spirit”. Even when I was in France several years ago (probably the most “American hating” country, n’est pas?) it seemed to be all the rage for teenagers to wear sweatshirts with logos of U.S. universities, and Levi’s were a must.
The title of this post could have just as well been: “I’m an angry little leftist who thinks that going on an anti-American rant is a courageous act when it’s the most cliché thing possible.”
Grow up, little boy.
I concur!
“the Vietnamese believe the Vietnam War was about China (not us)” Can you back this up with facts? or is this just something a guy in a bar told you.?
I’m a U.S. citizen now over fifty years old and traveled for my first meaningful stay outside of the U.S. to France a couple of years ago. Because of geographic and economic realities, many of us simply have never traveled outside of our rather geographically large country. Because of immigration, I do bump into Spanish speaking people occasionally. However, daily life in the U.S. does not typically reward or incentivize proficiency in any other language. People in the U.S. do not act or think in one single way. Stereotypes do apply to our citizenry, so I have no problem with Mark calling out these stereotypes as he sees them. Let me stereotype a bit. People in the U.S. generally want good things to happen throughout the world, and we are sometimes arrogant enough about it that we actually try in very visible ways to make “good” happen. We do not always get it right, and when we feel we are getting it wrong we vote in new leaders. By the way, my ancestors are from Norway, Germany and Denmark. Most U.S. citizens take pride in their ancestry and almost all of us trace our ancestry to somewhere else in the world. The U.S., being such a young country is “of the world” and fiercly “for the world”. We cannot act anywhere in the world without impacting our relatives or the decendants of our ancestors. In my opinion, this “of the world” and “for the world” perspective is what makes U.S. citizens “Americans”.
what is super sad is that if the author got to know any of the places that he visits as well as believes he knows america, he would likely come to find people there are just as put off by him there as they are in america, they just show it differently. i feel bad for this poor guy. he deserves like a million hugs. cheer up buddy!
“in america women usually get nervous and confused when i (tell them they are beautiful)”. this dude isnt a creepy socially-inept nerd. its totally not him. its just that most americans arent in touch with their feelings. he is right. 150 million female americans are wrong. problem solved.very glad this guy found a country where he can openly tell girls they are beautiful without them “recoiling”
I’m sure this has already been mentioned but I think it’s funny that he says only the english and australians love Americans, yet he mentions that multiple people that “scared” him invited him to their house for bbq etc. I think he needs to realize that the ‘invites’ are clear indicators of the world’s infatuation with anything American. Right or wrong, if it’s American it’s cool almost to a fault. I know certain cultures feel different, but I’ve personally been surprised by going to other countries and getting that “ooo I’m a cool American” feeling before. And for Mark to say the exact opposite of that while at the same time mentioning how “sweet, nice, giving, etc” every OTHER culture is, shows me clearly that this is a seriously biased piece of drivel. Some truth? yes. Many slants based on political belief? Hell ya.
This is just another typical America hating liberal. I’m so sick of this schtick. They have some self loathing problem because they are soft and feel like we are unenlightened and are responsible for everyone elses problems. I’ve been around the world, I’ve seen many places I’d love to visit again. But when I go home it is to America, The greatest country, and contrary to this douche we do have it better than most places. And to one of his points, ya singapore is a great clean city, where they will cane you for spitting gum on the ground. I’m sure if we were savages here and caned people for actions which at worst are rude, our cities would look the same. But I’m ok with a little mess because I also love my freedom.
The article contains some valid points. That said, you should reconsider the historical section. I can’t emphasize every detail regarding our involvement in the American Revolution, WWII, and Vietnam, but I can tell you that your points are overstated, and largely inaccurate. You’re blunt, and uninformed section titled “We Know Nothing About The Rest Of The World” proves two points. One, the popular historical narrative in foreign countries, is just as reliable as the one in America. Two, educated Americans love to simplify complicated issues.
It’s true that when you leave home, you immediately see the quirks and flaws of your own family in much clearer relief. That’s usually a phase people work through from about 16-21. Then, unless their parents really were abusive or their childhood was otherwise horrible, they start to realize that everyone’s family has issues, that their family is just made up of humans, like them, and that they don’t live on some imagined moral high ground where they’re immune from the frailties of life. If I met someone who is 35 and still obsessed with minor grievances at their parents and talks about how much better they are than their siblings, I would immediately be suspicious of that person’s emotional maturity.
Similarly, your view of your home country is what I would expect from a 20-year-old just returned from a semester abroad. Of course if you go around the world with upper-middle-class American money, you can enjoy the delights of Singapore, Hong Kong, and wi-fi enabled taxis in Bangkok. Have you ever seen how people live in sub-Saharan Africa, Bangladesh, or, for that matter, most of Central America? Let me clue you in: they live very, very badly. Children die of starvation, disease, warfare, and gang violence. Much of enlightened Europe, for that matter, is teetering on economic collapse, and for that matter is as deeply racist as you imagine the fat American rednecks you hate so much are (I’ve never heard of American sports fans making monkey noises at black athletes whenever they take the field).
You’re like a college kid who goes for a weekend at his rich roommate’s house in Connecticut and becomes ashamed that his parents are only teachers and live in a suburb of Cincinnati. Hint: there are just as many alcoholic brothers hidden in the closets of the mansion as there were back at home.
Reblogged this on Albin Henneberger and commented:
Awesome read, always good to receive new perspectives.
I think a lot of the commenters here are missing the point of the article. I don’t think the author is saying that the US is the absolute worst ever at everything or that no other countries have problems. He’s essentially just clarifying that neither are we the best country ever, nor are all nations besides ours varying shades of worse than us.
I get the point. When I lived in Monterey, California, my wife worked at an English pub (run by an Englishman who used to own a pub in England). As a result all of the British tourists came to his pub. They were rude, often insulting, presumptuous and arrogant. Just like Americans are often accused of being abroad. Fact is tourists are obnoxious regardless of nationality. And I don’t think the author would disagree with that sentiment. When I was in England I stayed in a hostel just outside of Heathrow with broken windows and drunks passed out face down outside on the concrete where they fell. And I, too have been to most of the states. And I’ve seen some truly wonderful places in the US. The point however, is that we’re not somehow above it all. We’re special, but not because we are universally better.
We, once upon a time, were #1 by several measures, and even then we weren’t above it all. Now we’re not #1 by nearly any measure. Neither are we last. Heck, we’re typically solidly in the top 20-25% in education, transporation, healthcare, etc. But
And I’m sure someone’s going to respond “yeah, so what, I already knew that”. And that’s fine, but believe me, I know quite a few people who feel honestly and truly that the US is in all senses better than anywhere else. Hell, almost my entire family on my mother’s side feels this way and will happily tell you over Christmas dinner. And they aren’t alone by a long shot. These sorts of opinion posts need to be written for people like my family.
This is solid bullshit. I’ve seen Europe. it’s a shithole.
We generalize and right crappy articles
Glad you left. Please don’t come back!
What to say about Australia that is the fattest of nations? We share some of this “comfort over happiness” with the Japanese too. I don’t really see how this is anomalous to Americans?
And if someone else is more comfortable than happy, how is this making you feel or affecting your life more than it is theirs?
Yes, there are things wrong with Americans that make us stand alone from the rest though I’m not too terribly sure. But that’s because there are things wrong with humans. We are imperfect… as humans. And it’s going to effect someone else – perhaps the next generation’s children or more. But when were humans or Americans ever perfect or even near it? Perfection as in satisfying each other’s individuality. We only got here over 250 or so years ago? What was going on before we came along? I don’t know too much, but I do know shit wasn’t goin’ down too well. What I am trying to say is that we’re not so much Americans as we are human to all the dark sides of our nature.
Do we want to go back a few decades where blacks drank at different water fountains? Do we want to revisit when women couldn’t vote and were considered inferior for just having a vagina? Do we want to go back and visit how the education used to be even in private schools? And it was worse back in my mom’s day. Do we want to visit the times where corporal punishment was even more commonplace? Do we want to visit a time where one couldn’t even come out AT ALL as gay?
I think we might have a habit of demonizing all-things-present day and future and romanticizing the past. We demonize our own and romanticize all-things-non-American. I think this is becoming too much of a fad for the sake of fad, in my opinion. The opposite extreme is no better. Surely enough, there are nice things we want to visit from the past, but it’s all covered up in sweet honey and packed up into a nice wrapper keeping us blinded from reality. That’s how I see it anyway. There is a lot that has improved over the decades – more than we realize – so much so that we are not grateful. We curse change. Perhaps that is human nature too? And change is natural. We don’t have to like it, but it happens.
And if I want to think about being happy, I will try (and this is a challenge for me) to accept change knowing that it is as natural as rain. I will try to accept my fellow human as different and not as pejoratives such as fat or entitled when we don’t know their journey.
I read this on the internet almost every day. Anecdotally, doesn’t this make a huge percentage of Americans holy? Then, we cannot be doing that bad if we are spending so much of our time in disgust over one another. Now, this is what I believe to be anomalous to the US. No other country that I can see (which is limited on the web) is bashing each other over mostly political choices and then personal ones.
And to think that being fat is comfortable is to think that being thin is…? Or regular sized as….? I don’t understand why body weight is a factor.
If the quality of American life is not that great and we accept this as true (as I do), then how in the world is it that we don’t accept the consequences of this? I think this article is lashing out on a political demographic or the extreme version of it and defining them as the whole when we are too diverse to be pigeon-holed.
We know nothing about the rest of the world? My question would be what does the rest of the world know about the rest of the world? And know so accurately. The operative word being accurately. I think that it is my knowledge of other countries that make me angry reading stuff like this on the internet. Because it’s only when we DO know about at the very least a few other countries, that we know this shit doesn’t make the US an anomaly. If we know more about our OWN country, we know the truth vs hyperbole and sensationalized data and outright lies to entertain an agenda.
We are paranoid? So some of us are afraid of Muslims. Some in other countries are afraid of Americans…. I wish the author would know that paranoia is nothing – nothing at all to be envious of. It’s not glamorous. It’s actually pitiable.
We seek attention? It’s natural to desire attention – especially when one didn’t get it during their formative years. I think this author needs to read NVC. I haven’t even finished the book and I am seeing nothing but violence and a deficit of empathy or at the very very least, some kind of effort to understand humans on the level that there is an explanation (not an excuse) for everything – every behavior.
We are unhealthy? His outrage is disingenuous. Unhealthy people die. Why strangers dying would effect him. Again here, the lack of health is a decision one makes caused by something that I don’t envy. Something, again, pitiable.
Walking down the streets on a major city somewhere in Europe listening to reflexive and mindless anti-American rants isn’t what makes us more educated. Asking why all the way down to its root, does. Being curious and getting all sides to whatever it is that one is looking at does. I think that is what helps me, anyway, find any compassion in me when I do at all.
The dude is perpetuating an all-American stereotype. Now, say, what if we were to do this with the Chinese?
i’ve lived all over the planet, and when i come home it feels weird, and i’ve never been able to sum it up, and now that i’m back in the US fulltime, this lingering feeling of “what am i doing here”…can’t shake it, and this finally says it. nod-a-thon. Trouble is, you can’t call a hormonal woman hormonal. you can’t call crazy crazy. and you can’t call an ill nation, ill. self awareness on both macro and micro levels is a mighty difficult thing.
Excellent article, i have lived outside the US for nearly a decade and agree with nearly everything you wrote. oh and James, you’re an idiot
Stockholm Syndrome… get him some air quick!
Great article, and very interesting and eye opening. I’m only 19, but I have traveled my whole life, and I can see many of your points are true (especially the affectionate part outside of family members!). Don’t worry about what anyone else says that is “wrong” about your post, it’s your own thoughts and it’s good to get some more opinions out there
17 years as an American living in Australia and I can say in all honesty they are also not impressed. Spend a bit more time here. Great article and I agree on all the other points.
congratulations on composing the most smug article I have ever read.
@ wolliw: It is so true that you need to live in a culture in order to know its problems. I lived and worked in Prague, earning a Czech salary for a few years, and was it ever an awakening. There was a terrible housing shortage, especially affordable housing and I had to rent on the black market, and work with no benefits most of the time, because the language schools wanted to avoid paying taxes and health benefits. I could write a laundry list of problems. Whenever I hear from either my left wing friends or from some jerk like Limbaugh say they want to leave the country, I point out that they really won’t live a better life, unless they are rich.
Funny thing, I went to Europe when everyone here was talking about how much Europeans hate us, so much so that you dare not speak English and if you do tell them you are Canadian. Also I read how you should put the Canadian flag on everything you carry, wear maple leaf t-shirts, just don’t let them know you are (gasp!!!) AMERICAN!!! We never experienced any hatred, we weren’t attacked, we were in the supposedly rudest most hostile city, Paris, and had no problems, even in the dicey areas. Once a woman got annoyed at our smoking, and a shady guy followed us (much worse in L.A.) When we were at the airport I laughed my ass off at a group of young people who had Canadian flags on all their baggage. I told my bf “Look at the Americans trying to fake out the Europeans.” And surprisingly, we met people in France who were somewhat impressed that we were Americans and liked the French.
As an American, I can agree with most of the standard complaints directed at Americans: rampant consumerism, an education system that is a shadow of what it once was, obnoxious nationalistic christianity, broken healthcare system, annoying uber-patriot arrogance. In fact, I think this article isn’t really telling most sensible people what they don’t already know. But I am annoyed at the American ex-pat who looks down his nose at his home country. It’s just as annoying as your token loudmouth and boorish American tourist.
Seems the author, despite his extensive travels, has a bad case of “grass is greener” syndrome. I’ve lived in other countries, and I experienced their advantages over living in America…..BUT I do not delude myself into thinking they are perfect utopias! And when someone stresses that “the rest of the world is not the shithole Americans think it is” as the author does, they almost subtly imply that these places are free from strife. They aren’t. Don’t fall into that fallacy.
Another thing about this author is that, again….despite his travels, he seems to have a profoundly narrow view of a country as diverse as ours. This is evidenced by his nauseatingly smug self-back-patting when he describes how he interacts with women. Yep….all American women are timid and intimidated by a man coming up to them and pulling out a ridiculous pick up line….uh huh! Wait a minute, I thought that American women are supposed to be easy conquests and ditzy dingbats, can you at least stick to one established stereotype? Seems to me the reasons most American women turned down your advances is because you were coming off a cocky sleazebag
There’s a very good reason why our culture (I was born in the USA and, unfortunately, was never in a financial position to ever get to travel abroad) is stuck in the adolescent phase: compared to the rest of the world, we are–temporally speaking–adolescents. Europe is pretty much Middle Aged, Asia is well into its elderly years, but we are still getting ready for the Senior Year prom and are promising that we won’t crash the family car on Prom Night. I guess that if one can’t travel outside the USA, then reading some classic literature helps bring about the same sort of perspective.
I agree with all you said, and reading the comments from those who are upset, it is clear they cannot handle the truth. I love the US, but I am so glad I had a year in high school in Germany. We need to get over ourselves here, our egos are too big and yes, we are going to fall…though that has already started.
I spent all of last year teaching English to Chinese students (in America) and they all said the same three things about America – that the multiculturalism and tolerance is stronger than in China, the people are friendlier and more likely to help a stranger who needs a little help, and that here, unlike in China, it’s possible to get a good job on your own merits and not on your connections. After that their observation is that it is much cleaner and less crowded than cities in China.
If for nothing else other than the Bill of Rights, America has a leg up on a lot of other countries. Going through life having to watch what you say because otherwise the secret police will come get you is no way to live. My Chinese students were practically giddy with the knowledge that they were free to voice their opinions and it was not going to get them arrested.
But it’s best not to accept out of hand the assertion that America is the greatest country in the world. In some ways it is and in other ways it isn’t.
Va te faire foutre (Go fuck yourself).
3 things: 1) Visited over 40 countries? Lived in multiple countries over 3 continents? You are in fact a tourist. I’m sure a more informed tourist than me since I’ve only lived in one foreign country and visited five others, but you are a tourist none-the-less. You are seeing upper class living in these other countries (I assume, but if you have the money to travel the world I doubt you’re doing it on $3K a year, the average yearly salary in Colombia) and it is shaping your worldview. 2) It’s always important to remember that we as individuals and communities are not as perfect as we think we are, and I respect people that take the time to remember that in themselves . . . but seriously we are not the alcoholic brother of the world. Over a million people come here legally every year, the most of any other nation, even more illegally, and we’re the most sought after place to visit by most other people in the world. If we were sicker than other countries those citizens wouldn’t flock to join us. We’re more like the overweight guy in the bar who keeps picking up girls (on first glance) way out of our league and everyone else is aghast at why because they self-absorbedly choose to see only the negatives but don’t bother to see how charming, funny, etc. (and rich!) we are. We get girls for a reason, and just because you don’t see it doesn’t make it untrue. 3) Our success breeds these things. No kidding we’re self-obsessed, we have the luxury to be. No kidding we don’t know much about the rest of the world, our lives don’t depend on them. No kidding we are hyper paranoid, we have more to lose than other countries. Oh and the average quality of life for the average American is off the chart good, compared to the average quality of life in other places. You say you’ve been to Guatemala. Are you honestly saying the average U.S. citizen isn’t noticeably better off than the average Guatemalan? I call B.S. I don’t know much about you so I don’t want to assume tooooo much, but I think it’s fair to say that you are wealthy compared to those countries you live in/visit (otherwise you would not be able to travel so much). You have grown up seeing the pretty average American experience, maybe a little richer, maybe a little poorer but you were exposed to the average. Now you are experiencing a hyper-wealthy situation in other countries. Good for you, can be super fun, and you’re right about most of the things you say are wrong with American culture but lets not pretend you Americans are “sick” compared to the rest of the world, you just don’t have the data or life experiences to back that up.
why don’t you and your family stay where you are? We don’t need anymore negativity or unwanted advice .The grass is greener there so stay.
11. We’re better than everyone else.
I think you probably don’t realize that whatever country you’re in you are still being viewed as an American. I have traveled just as much and spent much of my life living in other countries while my Dad taught on fullbrights. I do adore many of those places but I was always the American no matter how much I learned a language or whatever. Even at the age of 6. So yea your life as an American in other countries sounds pretty good.
The problem with this article is the generalizations you make about Americans and the countries you have visited.
My family immigrated here for a reason. Of course there are problems with America, but when you’ve lived in a country where expressing an opinion differing from the dictatorship that rules your nation means death, you tend to have a different perspective.
I cant really take this seriously because hating America is a popular pastime for loads of Americans weather they’ve lived out of country or no. In fact, I’ve been hearing most of these talking points from fellow Americans for years (I take them like I take my French Fries… with a grain of salt). I think its all to do with wanting to look down on people (Its fun to be tall, that’s why laddies where High Heels). Mind you, I hated America when I was a wee little gay teenager in rural Kentucky. That sin, however, is easily forgiven as that teenagers are generally useless over-dramatic know it alls (see every teen movie ever made). My point, i suppose, is America and Americans aren’t all that bad. We aren’t, as a nation, perfect but we strive for a more perfect union. Sometimes, yes, we fall flat on our ass. That’s fine though, we have plenty of ass to fall on, we pick ourselves up brush off, and keep trucking. To continue your opening metaphor, ‘”As your alcoholic brother, there’s a reason I haven’t begged you to dinner. You’re a little judgmental and it’s kind of a buzz kill. Everybody’s gotta have a hobby, and mine is gin”.
Reblogged this on Sprouts.
“I realize these are generalizations and I realize there are always exceptions.”
Quite the enlightened one.
This doesn’t really seem like a very critical analysis, simply listing anecdotal evidence which cites the extreme negatives of the U.S. and the extreme positives of other countries. Whether or not I believe that this is a one-dimensional article, I nonetheless think it had defensible ideas (regardless of whether I personally agree or disagree) and nothing more. To say any of these things assertively seems foolish. Despite all of this, I’d like to applaud the author on raising some thought-provoking questions.
Best wishes,
Michael
So out of all the countries you visited, if you wanted to settle and start a family in one country, which one would it be?
“Most people don’t think about us, or care about us.”
You are right. They don’t think about us while they wear their Nikes and Levis while drinking their Coca Cola, listening to Britany Spears (on their iPod or iPhone) on their way to the new Bond movie…
I’ve lived overseas too. Trust me they think and care about Americans A LOT.
an article making assumptions about peoples assumptions…was it meant to be ironic?
I feel the same way. I’ve been out of the US since 1994. I do come back but less often these days. The Bush years I was barely there. No one ever thinks I’m American which is a blessing. Even during Clinton people thought the US was the center of the universe. I agree about hospitals outside America being cheaper and better. I can get a full examination including many tests in Bangkok and it only cost barely over $100 including EEG, blood test, chest exam. AIDS test cost $1. Stool test in other countries cost $1 in America $100. It’s crazy.
bitch,… bitch,… bitch
The USA spends 515 billion dollars annually on their military. That is 5 times as much as China and Russia combined (2nd and 3rd largest military budgets). We are a hyper-power because of it and the rest of the world is simply struggling to compete with our dominance and is bitter and jealous because of it. But by all means please go enjoy the socialist paradise that is Europe right now until it dissolves into a mass of entitlement riots
So people from the American Continent are Americans… not just the US… there are 22 more countries or nations…
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Canada
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
Think again when you say Americans…
“some terrorist in Yemen is going to kill us because we didn’t torture him” What?
Amazing post! It’s funny I just stumbled upon this post when a friend shared it on Facebook. I just came back from visiting Las Vegas (I’m from Vancouver, Canada) and it was shocking to really see how different American culture is compared to Canadian. I know Vegas is not like every American city, and I’ve been to other American cities like Portland and Seattle with super nice people, but every single American I encountered in Vegas wouldn’t smile, didn’t say please or thank you, and went out of their way to be rude and say a snide remark instead of just holding their tongue and you know, if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Very strange, but maybe I just had bad luck when running into Americans there.
You paint Americans with very large brush. I’m not sure how you justify your generalizations with just a couple personal examples. With over 300 million people in the country, let’s not forget that there are plenty of people that live and act contrary to your representation.
Great point!
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/fullpage/top-10-us-foreign-aid-recipients-17534761
We give billions to all these shithole countries. I hope they like us just a little.
Another thing many Americans don’t know is that America is not a country, THE AMERICAS are several countries, but we’re The United States
Sanitation is far superior in the US. For that I am grateful. You don’t appreciate clean air until your in San Salvador trying to inhale some.
Ok, I have also live all over the United States, I don’t know how many states I have visited, it wasn’t a competition for me so I simply haven’t kept track and it is not important enough to me that I am going to spend time counting now. And during my 21+ years of military service I have live in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific, again I have not kept track of how many countries I visited, dido on the reason. My travels outside the US were not motivated by “wanting to see the World”, “a need to find myself” or a desire to become an international person, but by a desire to serve my country where ever that need maybe. Sorry my travels were not the result of condition of self-loathing.
1. Few People Are Impressed By Us – Its called nationalism and SURPRISE! All countries practice it. Children do not grow up to be confident and self respecting adults by teach them how lousy and insignificant they are as a people, a culture or nation. Teaching children about how their culture, country or people are better then others happens in the schools of every nation. I have seen it in Gambia were children are taught how advance their society was while Europe was struggling through the dark ages; in Egypt were they a taught about their nations accomplishments of the Pyramids, cotton and aquaculture; in China were they are taught about the Great Wall, silk and terrace farming; etc. Nations are destroyed, not built, by teach its people to loathe themselves. And people get irritated when you tell them how great your county is compared to theirs no matter what country your from and I have seen French, German, British, Russian, Chinese, etc all do it, so it is not a uniquely American behavior.
2. Few People Hate Us – Our perspective of the world is based on the information available to us, whether that be from the Washington Post, Fox New, Web bloggers or the town gossip. You point this out in your third sentence and then trivialize it impact. When the source of your information tells you, you are hated and that those that hate you can and are do everything possible to destroy your life it is not immature to feel threatened and be concerned it human nature. Remember that self-important person in high school? You know the one that thought they knew more, were smarter and more mature then everyone else in school. Yeah, you’re that arrogant high school student.
3. We Know Nothing About The Rest Of The World – Lots wrong here, first Vietnam gain its independence from China in the later part of the 1st Century and the Vietnam War was about French Colonialism according to Ho Chi Minh. Germany invaded the USSR Territory in summer of 1941. It was not until the after the invasion of Normandy that Russian forces finally push German force out of Soviet territory, and then only because of the supplies they had been receiving from the US since 1942. Soviet forces were no more responsible for defeating Hitler then US forces. The mass amount of materials and supplies for the US were key in England and the USSR holding out against the Germans for so long. Saying the Native Americans were wiped out largely by disease and plague and not US soldiers is the same as saying the POW in the Baatan Death March were not killed by the Japanese. And on the Revolutionary war, I have heard this same prospective from some of my French friends and it is unique to France and gives not credit to the Spanish (Britain & Germany vs France & Spain). The reality is King George stated he had no intention of giving up the colonial territory already occupied by the England’s Army, but little hope of regaining the areas under Colonial Army control. France claims a victory is this war because England sued for peace, but in the war had bankrupted France and lead to Napoleon overthrowing the government. The United State was the first country to have a truly democratic government since all prior government were controlled by the landed aristocracy (ie if you did not own land you did not get to vote). In the US all males of legal age had the vote, not just landowners. And most citizens of other countries are no better at geography then Americans so what is your point.
4. We Are Poor At Expressing Gratitude And Affection – Our culture in this area come from our mostly British heritage. You will find these same attitudes in of Commonwealth countries (Australia, Canada), it is not unique to the US. Oh and by the way if you every want to know what the inside of an Arab prison looks like try your female greeting technique in Saudi Arabia.
5. The Quality of Life For The Average American Is Not That Great – as you yourself stated this is just you opinion and not really support by any facts. Quality of Life is a very subjective matter and what is relevant in making that determination is a personal standard.
6. The Rest Of The World Is Not A Slum-Ridden Shithole Compared To Us – The measure of a country is not how many luxuries are available to those that have money but what is available to that county’s poor. When I was in Thailand the first thing some of my travel companions did was go to a local “bar”. They paid the owner $200 each and then pick the girl they wanted to take with them. These girls, for the next 2 weeks, did the cleaning, laundry and cooking for these men along with provided them with sex on demand and these 3 men went through over a gross of condoms during their stay. I had a conversation with the young lady at my 5 star hotel’s front desk and I learned these girls were making more then she would earn in 2 months. In Dubai the conditions for the men that are 3rd country nationals (UAE term for immigrate workers) are criminal (living in there work vehicles and being feed every couple of days), but for women they are worse and under International Law frequently criminal. In Shanghai workers sleep on piles of clothes under the stairs in buildings, which is also, were they cook and eat their meals. I am sorry, chalk it up to my catholic Midwest middle income up bringing, but these are shitty ways to live. Do you really think your rent/lease/letting agent is going to offer you, an American with money, the one room cinder block, tin roof building with rugs for doors and windows and no indoor plumbing that is the common living accommodation for a family in Equatorial Guinea? It is naïve to go to a country as a person with the money to lease and apartment or villa and believe you are living like the average citizen. How much repeat business to you think and agent would get if they started house their foreign clients in “bad” neighborhoods? You want to see what a country is like? Ask a local WHO or USAID worker to show you around. Or better yet ask the Regional Security Office (RSO) at the local US embassy or consulate were they advise staying away from. And over 50% of those incarcerated in the US are for crimes that are not illegal in most country (drugs, prostitution). When you remove these inmates for the totals the US is not so bad compare with other countries.
7. We’re Paranoid – Shitty neighborhood/area during the day with other people around? Of course no problem, but it did you ever do it alone late at night? What makes someone a victim is opportunity and part of what creates opportunity is behavior. The behavior of someone that speaks and reads the local language and is an experienced world traveler is not the same as that of a tourist that does not know any of the local language or customs. World travelers make better business contacts then victims. Being realistic and prudent when your behavior is like that of a tourist is not paranoia.
8. We’re Status-Obsessed And Seek Attention – Young members of any society or country tend to be optimistic which cause them to describe everything positively and with enthusiasm. This behavior is not typical of any society as a whole. Pubescent members of a society desiring the attention and trying to impress members of the opposite sex they find desirable are not seeking status they are horny. That said there are sub societies in the US (Beverly Hills, Manhattan, etc) were status is king and I can see how someone growing up in this type of environment might think this behavior the norm. Having grown up in a modest family oriented community environment I do not see, out side of “Reality TV”, this status or attention seeking attitude as common in the US. When I take the time to think about it I can think of several occasions during my travels where I found myself in a group of locals (French, British, Italian, German, Russian, Arab, etc) that were status-obsessed. If you take the time to look for them they are easy to find, they hang out at the same clubs, restaurant, and events as status seeking Americans. And the Soap Operas, Reality TV programs and commercials in other countries are just a prone to promoting status as in the US. If these programs/commercials did not sell products in these countries then they would not be produce or aired. The fact that they do exist and are put on the air is proof that member of American society are not alone in seeking status in this world.
9. We Are Very Unhealthy – Ok, working in the healthcare industry I have to give you this one. Our healthcare system sucks; people who need basic healthcare services have the hardest time getting them, while people least needy have an over abundance of choices. And our fast food mentality does not make the situation better. When I see the mother of some over weight 9 year old on TV complaining about not knowing what to do because her child doesn’t want to exercise or eat healthy I just want to start banging my head on the nearest hard surface. As Mr. Rogers would say: “Can you say parenting? … “
10. We Mistake Comfort For Happiness – It seem this should have been titled complacency and corruption, complacency is key to corruption thriving and growing which is a global truism. Complacency exist is China, Africa, South America, even Europe no county is immune. This is not something most American doesn’t know about them selves it is something most of the world does not know about itself.
I have share this article with several friends from the Native American community noting you comment about their decimation by disease and famine. I am certain you will be getting several post from them to educate you on their history.
ok, I don’t say this much but this guys a douche who hates us. You can’t generalize everyone like he does just because he has internet access. Somethings he said are right but that is right for every country. This guy is self righteous and pompous. OF course if I throw out words I can say something right. He thinks he is better then everyone because he has been away from this country then tries to bring himself back by saying a few words at the end on how he likes us. Every couture has problems and every country is flawed. He doesn’t mention at all that to get some of this stuff that other countries have they give up a lot, like paying 50% tax or higher. He can never come back here for all I care. It’s people like him that perpetuate the negative stereotypes people have of us. I know he smack talks us when he is amongst people of other countries. He also has no proof that he is from here and or is well traveled. Another big issue I have with the internet. It could be anyone saying this and unless we go to every square inch of this country and every other country talking to everyone on this planet there is no way he can say those things with such assertion. Thank you for posting this but my personal view is that he has no clue and don’t get me started with the pic of a fat family on vacation. He is also pushing the belief that pretty people only can go on vacation. Also, what does the size of the buildings matter? I don’t get it. In Dubai it’s illegal to hold hands or hug your wife in public. How is that place better? I would take his words with a grain of rice.
I am born and raised in the USA and I”ve just finished a 4.5 year solo sail around the world. While anyone can pick small points this author makes and argue them, on the whole, he is spot on.
not too sure about the Brits/Aussies being impressed by Americans…I dont think we’re ‘unimpressed’…but I wouldnt say anyone is impressed by an American purely based on the fact that they’re American?
Feel free to leave any time. Dont let the door kick you on the way out.
Great points. My only exception would be on safety in other countries.. walk through the same “shitty” areas as a female. As a study abroad student living locally in Guangzhou, China, I had to handle being groped in crowded subways, being physically attacked while passerbys watched, and being followed back to my apartment. I experienced similar harassment in Shao Guan and in Yunan (going back through Hong Kong, however, was great). You could argue that this was a unique experience- except that Japan has switched over to gender segregated subway cars- and other foreign female students were also followed and harrassed in the streets and even on campus. When I returned home, I didn’t have to explain the problem to my program advisor- she had similar experiences growing up in Japan.
I am not necessarily arguing that all parts of the US are safer- I am just arguing that there may be multiple perspectives to how “safe” an environment is (from my limited experience).
Reblogged this on This is Me Being You Being Me und kommentierte:
Interesting food for thought (hah, America)
This article was interesting to say the least. I find the comments particularly interesting since many of them are defensive, thus proving the point being made here. People just can’t take it. I guess because I agree with some of the points made in this article, i didn’t experience that tone some of you are speaking about. Someone made a comment about the author being a middle class white male blah blah. Look, cut it out. I am an African American female, who comes from an low-middle class family, and I worked my butt off to get through college, and go abroad. & I plan to live abroad because I have recognized some of these smugg attitudes in our society. I dont think the point of the article was to say that America is the only place in the world with issues, or that it isn’t a great place to live, and although perspective is everything, the points made here hold weight. I’m almost certain there are people who feel like this about their own country in every country, so stop being so defensive and own up to it seriously. It’s so refreshing to see a person be bold enough to call Americans out.
Hahaha, written in the true american fashion… no facts, statements, statistics, or references to back up any of these opinions.
Where did the Native Americans contact thier diseases and plagues? From the Europeans. So we did in facy kill them.
loved the article….absolutely agree…..made me laugh…..i am a well-traveled american
I read your article and mostly agree with it. I should add that I’m 62, was born in the US, and have lived the lst 18 years in the Netherlands. I have no plans of moving back to the US, the standard of living is greater here.
It’s great to go abroad to broaden one’s perspective, learn about other places and people, and dispell the myth of United States exceptionalism that some media try to sell us. The times I have spent abroad contain many of my favorite memories, and have influenced the person who I am. The main issue I have with this list is that it doesn’t actually describe anyone I know, nor do I think it describes the average ‘American’ (United Statesian). People in the U.S. are very diverse and have a wide range of experiences and cultural values. I think this list aptly critiques a certain stereotype of ‘Americans’ perpetuated by the media, and which we ourselves feed with posts like this.
I’m trying to be as open minded as possible as I read this, and I do agree with many points discussed here. But…I can’t help but be slightly offended and feel at a loss for making a change that you deem necessary. Okay, so we know how other countries do it, but you’re talking about a country that is 270+ million strong and stubbornly set in their ways. Other than bitching about all the things we ignore and take for granted, why don’t you propose a solution? Sure, I could move out of the US into one of the ‘nicer’ countries you mentioned, but that doesn’t solve the problem. And it’s not that easy for everyone to do something like that either. I feel like you’ve glossed over a lot of important stuff and failed to recognize that the issues this country faces are much more intricate than you have explained here. And while I do agree with a lot of what you said, I can’t help but shake my head in disappointment at the hypocrisy displayed.
My father was born and raised in Egypt and lived in several countries in Europe before he came to America and met my mother. Both my parents have doctorates and we spend a lot of time traveling to conference around the world. By the time I was 18, I’d visited something like 30 countries. That being said I also agree with a great deal of what you have said here. I’ve felt this way for a long time and it hurt to be called unAmerican simply for noticing flaws and wanting to fix them. One thing in your list that I think is a little ingenuous is the health care one. I agree our system needs work, and it’s more of a sick care than health care, but I feel like comparing our healthcare, social programs, and economy to countries that deal with these issues on a much smaller scale is a little like comparing apples to oranges. The statement isn’t wrong, but it may be exaggerated if you don’t take it in context. America has a population of nearly 400 million, Columbia has a population of roughly 100 thousand. Providing that level of healthcare to that number of people severely complicates things.
Anyways, thanks for stimulating a conversation.
You don’t just tell your alcoholic uncle what’s wrong with him, you get him help, open his eyes to his problem and offer an alternative solution.
I can tell you, in all honesty, British people certainly aren’t an exception to the ” not impressed that you’re American rule”. You perpetuated your own stereotype just there. Sorry.. oh mighty cultured one.
And Thomas Edison isn’t “all that” either. Google it.
This is the second time I ended up on this post in the last couple of weeks and as someone who travels the world for work, and who has lived overseas, I agree with you all the way!
Fantastic.
good response, wolliw, I agree that all cultures have good and bad sides. The beauty of it is they are unique. The article is good for bringing to our awareness some of these things we may temper and work to improve.
Breaking news! Straight, wealthy white male from America thinks the rest of the world is just great! He can’t understand why anybody would want to leave, say, China or Mexico or Egypt … Insights like these are what make America.
Why do you hate FREEDOM?
I am an old lady who has seen much too much of life to expect pure and perfect wisdom in one blog. So I mainly enjoyed the piece and its core message which is that many Americans think they are too hot and could use a bit of modesty and humility when assessing their relative importance in the world. Of course we are not all alike and generalizations are always faulty but the writer did acknowledge that himself. My main observation of the ensuing discussion is that it is sad that there are so many boors among us who think an insult is a worthy response to an uncomfortable comment. Not entirely an American fault but such a waste of space that could have held something positive.
One thing that is so typically American about you is your lack of nationality. In my travels this is what I heard most from people I met. That our generation of Americans, especially has no pride in our country. They did not make this observation because they think America is Rad and they were trying to ego boost. Like i said in a previous comment why wouldn’t you want to help fix the ‘drunk brother’ you secretly love? Rather than get a little tipsy yourself and tell him what you think once a year. Look at the French, that is a case study of national pride, and even they have their down falls. Just like every country, there is no Utopia, as you illustrated. So I am inclined to ask for a follow up. What is your point good sir? Besides that we are an overwhelmingly naive and morally lacking society. Or is that it?
You understood when you wrote this that it would be met with a myriad of emotions (probably negative). I am neither, I’m not inclined to agree with your “scathing” opinions, I agree with your right to say these things. I even understand where you’re coming from and see morsels of points with-in each bullet point. What I don’t understand is that if we are so complacent as a nation and that is one of our major down falls, where does that leave you? You don’t even live here anymore, I think that’s complacent and a little apathetic. Wasn’t it Ghandi who said ” Be the change” if you are so educated and worldly why not bring back what you learned. Get in and help to make it (the US) better, rather than move away and write articles that just point out what’s wrong?
Can I just say I love you? Because I love you.
You used one of my two favorite words in describing not the country but my fellow countrymen .. complacent. The other is entitled. We are, and have become the most self absorbed (like that high school girl) and entitled people in the world. And it shows in our everyday lives, in how this country is so easily pulled apart by politics and religion. It’s like living in the movie the King of Hearts, someone’s opened the door to the looney bin and no one notices .. with exception.
Great article written. I am also an American who has/is living overseas. I lived in Egypt before/during/after the Revolution then moved to a 3rd world African country. This is exactly what I have been telling my friends back home but very few listen and even less travel beyond their comfort zone of the USA.
Hilarious article-totally nodded. I am from New Zealand and we always roll our eyes the moment we hear the loud American accent.
Just a wording reminder: Native Americans were not wiped out. There are still hundreds of tribes throughout the United States who are sovereign nations. I know that you are referring to the fact that the native populations of what became the U.S. were more than decimated by the combination of disease, genocide, and land theft but please do not forget the many native nations whose cultures are very much alive today. In fact, there is a major native-led movement occuring right now in Canada (called Idle No More). It may seem like a trivial matter of semantics, and I doubt you intended to imply that native people are not alive today, but it is important to remember nonetheless since so many people have the mistaken idea that native nations do not exist anymore. Thanks for your article. Best wishes.
My analogy is more recent: we’re the jilted high school football star. We thought the girl called the rest of the world loved us. And now that we find out she’s drifting away, instead of finding another girl, we become a stalker. It’s those neo-con idiots and business-obsessed simpletons. They’re like hormonal teenage boys: they have to control everything and punish anyone who doesn’t celebrate them enough. Anyone who likes anything they don’t is a moron, etc., etc.
But they’re just the face of the ugly American. Most Americans are like the rest of the world you describe: they have lives. That’s why they don’t focus on elections until the last minute and buy into PR machines selling us the son of a former president of dubious intelligence and no real achievement. And yeah, we’re materialistic and we eat crappy, but otherwise we’re just like everybody else. The faults are different but no more numerous or especially odious. And we mean well.
You left and now ascribe your ignorance and misconceptions to the rest of us. I don’t believe one fucking thing that you suggest. The biggest problem here is that self absorbed morons like you think tht everyone thinks as you do before you became enlightened.
Thank you! For thinking and for sharing! It was a treat to read so simply and yet written just right; things that I have experienced and never put on paper. And hard at the same time, but this tough love is well overdue. A great country in need of awakening.
Man, I agree with your premise, but I feel you really missed the mark. There are much more serious things about American culture that we need to see (such as our hyper individualism, disregard for family or elderly, demand of all rights and fairness, etc), but many of your points are either trivial (communication varies greatly even among Americans), not specific to America (most of the World does not know about the World other than their neighbors), or questionable (the standard of living–life expectancy, education, opportunity, etc–is much higher in America than most of the World).
This kid has clearly never lived in a third world country.
America has a large rural population, and it’s rural areas are far less developed when you compare them to those of European nations. America’s major cities, which lie on its coasts, are very poorly connected with its interior. This is unlike Europe, which has a good rail system, better connecting its rural populace and making them less provincial. Many of the stereotypes people hold about America come from our very provincial rural populace. If you go into most cities, you will find the stereotypes mentioned above are largely untrue. Additionally, due to Americas higher GDP per capita, people of significantly lower education are able to travel to Europe, whereas europeans of the same level of education could not hope to vacation in America. For these reasons, among others, America is viewed poorly.
I would state, however, being an absolute foreign policy junky and news addict, that your comment about America being irrelevant is outright stupid. America is still the worlds only superpower, and the most important force in any international action. To say that people no longer think about America, rather than that they think it is a still significant (albeit in decline) power shows you know very, very little about world event.
Lastly, note that your ability to even attack America’s record is a result of how gracious America has been as a superpower. When the British ruled much of the world, they killed tens of millions, so did the Spanish, and the Romans, and the Qin, and especially the Soviet Union.
America is only attackable because it strives not only to be a superpower, but to be a just superpower. On some occasions it falls short of its aim, and on some it succeeds. But it strives, and weather you like it or not UK, you are part of that strife.
Together the UK and the USA, along with the rest of the English speaking countries have brought civilization to all the world. We have made it a far more pleasant, and peaceful place than before our work began, and all this enmity between us is nothing more than a who’s got the bigger empire contest.
Some day when both of our countries are old and irrelevant, I hope they can sit together and have a lager, reminiscing as friends about how we changed the destiny of every human being for the better.
Mistype when I said british killed millions, meant the romans*
As a Brit living the US I laughed my way through this, because it’s 25% right and 75% arrogant crap written by someone who decided they know it all. I think you are underselling your fellow Americans, most of whom actually seem to agree with you on many of your points, without being know-it-all-twats about it.
I agree with you, Troy. This dude took and extended “gap year” and now is an arrogant prig who thinks he knows it all and needs to school us!
Many of these things are true, sure. What I suspect Americans dislike about the post is your suggestion that you’re teaching us anything. The notion that “most Americans” don’t know this stuff make me think your impression of your countrymen is informed largely by condescending stereotypes and the 24-Hour News programs you mock.
Please excuse my typos in my previous comment. It’s been a long day.
While I might agree the tiniest bit on one or two points, I have to say that I think you’ve chosen the wrong title for this. I think replacing “Most Americans” with “Most Idiots” seems apt. This is a pretty poor generalization of “most” American citizens. People whose thinking aligns with your examples must be pretty ignorant. I shudder to think of what types of people you’ve encountered in your lifetime, because I don’t think I know anyone who thinks along such egotistical lines. My husband was medically discharged from the U.S. Navy, so yes, I do love my country and am patriotic, I also realize that the rest of the world doesn’t see us as “the greatest country in the world.” I do agree that some people in other countries don’t care for ours, and still others couldn’t care less. I’d venture to argue that some citizens of other countries are just as ignorant as some Americans are when it comes to this type if thing. However, I also agree with other commenters here who say that your elitist comments pretty much put you in the same category as those about whom you’ve written.
It doesn’t much matter if you agree with him or not. The point of articles like this is to allow you to agree or disagree, maybe find something you didn’t know or understand before. Not to complain about how lazy Americans are, or why white people suck, or why you shouldn’t call someones country a shithole, or whatever. I thought it was interesting, mostly because I haven’t had a chance to leave the country yet.
Incredibly interesting and refreshing. Probably all true and the health care part is especially true.
As an American, I don’t hate my country , I just hate the people in charge.
stupid fucker, do us all a favor and renounce your American citizenship then.
What a smug prick.. I live in Asia… For example, Bangkok is like the TJ of Asia. I Dj there all the time. Go out at night, go to the “ghettos” and then re-write your article you little trustafari pussy.
Great article, thanks. I’m half-French half-American by birth, have lived in Paris my whole life until moving to the UK a few months ago and visit the US about once a year – and I have to say I agree with basically all you’ve said. I think there are lots of great things about the US and there are certainly many I dislike about my own country, France, but the one thing that really gets on my nerves is this idea Americans entertain that the rest of the world wants to be like them – or, as you correctly pointed out, that everything revolves around them. Believe it or not, when I was younger my family had a few opportunities to move to various parts of the US for my father’s job, and we declined every time simply because we’d much rather live in France, where health care and education are free, to name but a couple examples. And yes, both are absolutely excellent as well – students coming out of the french high school system are often able to enter american universities in the 2nd year simply because it’s considerably more advanced.
To all the people who’ve posted comments with examples of other countries where the crime rate is higher, where more people die of AIDS, etc….there really isn’t any point. OF COURSE we know the US isn’t the worst-off country in the world. The point of this article is to demonstrate that you aren’t the absolute best at everything like you seem to believe. It’s absolutely ridiculous the number of American people I know who expect me to be aware of absolutely everything that goes on in that country when they’ve hardly got a clue who the president is in any other; or the number of American people I know who don’t know a single language apart from English despite going through good schools, when at the end of high school alone I spoke 4.
Of course I’m just making sweeping generalisations there and of course I know there are many exceptions to what I’m saying. As I mentioned, there are also lots of things I love about the US. I find you to be an extremely welcoming and friendly country, and overall you are much easier to get on with than French people, especially. But the fact that (most of) you think you’re some kind of world-leaders is just beyond irksome. I feel like you need to be knocked off that high horse.
To Tank, who posted on the 28th of April – I need to reply to your post specifically just because of, forgive me, how absolutely ridiculous it was. You said that ” we’re about 50 years ahead of the rest of the world on race relations. Everyone talks about how Europe is so advanced culturally – until a black guy walks in the room. They literally stop talking and look at each other figuring out what to do next.” I’d like to see you give any kind of proof for that, because, to put it quite clearly, it’s absolute bullshit. I don’t even know where to start. How about with ‘erm, no’? Where the hell did you get that idea that people stop talking when a black person enters the room here? Honestly I’m not even going to bother saying anything about that because it’s simply false…and really pathetic coming from someone whose country was still segregated under a century ago. So no, you’re really not particularly advanced when it comes to race relations, at all. And that’s the simple truth.
Regarding your other premise – “women have it better in America than any other country. It’s not even close. The are treated better in professional and personal settings than anywhere else I’ve been.” Again, proof please? Because it’s 4 am and I can’t be bothered to make this post any longer than it already is, I’ll refute that simply by pointing out that the US has never had a female leader, unlike, for instance, the UK or, currently, Germany. If you’re going to make such statements, you could at least work to make them believable.
So to conclude, yeah the US is a great country…just like any other country out there. All countries are great for a variety of reasons, but all countries do not consider themselves weirdly superior to the rest of the world, nor do they expect the rest of the world to look up to them and envy them.
I am a currently-serving noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Army, and a Christian (not the rant-at-everyone-for-their-sins kind, but the follower of Christ kind).
I agree with much that you said. It irritates me that most Americans are SO ignorant of our world, other nations, other people. I’m frequently disgusted by the American tendency to narcisism and alarmism. And so many of us utterly lack empathy for people of other nations and cultures.
I view several of these flaws in Christian terms: runaway capitalism is not well in accord with Christ’s teachings, neither is corporate greead, and humility is a Christian, but not contemporary-American, virtue. Too few people waste much time trying to show love to “foreigners”.
When it comes to health care, though, i think you would do well to research the “wage-price spiral” as demonstrated, for instance, in 16th century Spain. There are a couple of other issues on which you also might broaden your view.
Keep voicing your views, neighbor: it makes *thinking* Americans consider different points of view. And you can’t reach the other kind, anyway.
V/R
James
As an American who has spent their whole life in this country you might be surprised to say that I AGREE! We’re a very cold and calculated consumerist culture churning out a society of complacent individuals.
I do, and hopefully this doesn’t come off as biased, have to say that all cultures are flawed in their own special way
Exactly. You agree because you’ve never lived outside the U.S.! It would be a real eye-opener for you to live anywhere in the East (Middle East, Far East, Southeast Asia as I have) and see how completely “status driven” these societies are! You think we are cold and calculated?? Try living in China or Kuwait for a few years.
Anyone notice that the comment bar is in German?… Still butt hurt about WWI and WWII are we? That is besides the point. The fact of the matter is that yes we are the best country in the world. We are so because we have opened our doors to innovation and peoples from around the world and given them a platform. People come here for the opportunity to be something better and as a nation the USA provides that for them. I have been around the world and far more places then you my friend and if you think everyone else has caught up then you need to get your head out of your arse. Even Europe is not as modernized as we are. Why dont you move to all those other places you seem so fond of? Clearly you’re not bringing anything to the table here you unappreciative baffoon.
I don’t give a fu(k that you’re American and I live in Australia. The British couldn’t care less either. Your country isn’t worth a thing apart from starting wars and annoying everyone else. Also, Chaytons post was hilarious.
I’m willing to bet all who were angered by this article have spent no time outside of America. If they did leave the country it was most likely to stay at some all inclusive resort sheltered from the culture near by. The part about food is quite true. I always stop in a grocery store when in a foreign country and rarely do you see long words that can’t pronounce on the labels. Most countries have banned GMO’s while we just deny the harsh truth that our beloved corporations would actually poison the food to increase profits. I’m sad to be American and I wish there were more conscience people that would fight to be happy – not just complacent obese drones. Oh, I also find it funny how we hang on to the notion we saved the world 70 years ago from that scary Hitler fellow and that all of Europe owes us an eternal debt. Just like you said, they don’t even think about it.
HAHAHA!! I’ve lived in both China and Vietnam, and the food additives they add to EVERYTHING are illegal in the Western world! They added chemicals to baby formula to increase the protein reading during testing and increase the cost of it…until people realized their babies were DYING by bleeding from the stomach from the formula! Didn’t read about that in the news? Hmmm. Remember a few years ago when dogs in the U.S. were found dead in a pool of blood all over the country…from the dog food imported from CHINA! They add chemicals to all the produce to make it grow bigger and then more chemicals to make it stay “fresher” and sell it longer, and all of these chemicals are banned by the WHO. But since they are Communist countries they don’t have to follow Western laws. Most informed Chinese and Vietnamese who can afford to buy all imported food items, including milk and produce!
This is very interesting and definitely a different take on things than what I hear in the daily news. I used to want to travel the world, then got scared when a female friend of mine traveled abroad in one country and was stabbed, then traveled to another country on the opposite side of the planet and was kidnapped. A male friend of mine has been a globe traveler for years and never had any problems. I wonder then, if the world in general is just not as safe for women?
We Americans are pretty good at hurting ourselves. My city alone has over one hundred murders every year, there must be thousands a year in this country. September 11th scared us so much, but we murdered each other in numbers greater than the terrorists murdering us.
Meant to add ‘that year’ to the end of the last sentence.
I have to say your post IS a very arrogant and, by your view, a typical American perspective on the world. It seems you’ve adopted the very self-centered exceptionalism as an individual that you claim America as a culture is guilty of. As a wise young man told me recently: “Life is what you make it, motherfucker!” If you are so concerned with where our (what used to be your) culture is headed why don’t you spend the time in the United States making it better instead of self-indulgently traveling the world in your bubble of holier than thou superiority.
As someone who is not from the USA, but did live there for almost 10 years, I can say this is pretty spot on. Specially the part about every culture suffering from the same “cultural farsightedness” flaw. Which means that the other side of the coin is also true, and another article could also be written about it: living immersed in different cultures also helps you see better what is actually positive in your own culture.
I’m not American, I’m a Canadian and we were brought up to look down on Americans because we are jealous of them.
When l read about people from other cultures complaining that Anglophones are not passionate enough I think that maybe that’s why Anglophone countries are democratic and their countries aren’t. They’re just too passionate to tolerate opposition.
Seriously, I don’t have an English bone in my body but the countries my ancestors came from were not known for liberty and democracy.
Here’s #11. Thinking that your opinion is so special or unique to create this hilariously ironic and tragically obvious waste of time and electrons.
Got to say i feel better knowing this idiot has moved out of our country. Problem is i am sure he will be expecting someone to pay for him when he gets older because he hasn’t saved a dime and is total entitled to a good retirement and healthcare.
Got to say i feel better knowing this idiot has moved out of our country.
Aw look, you travel and think you know everything. How arrogantly cute. Everywhere is fucked. Ever hear of the World Bank, Wold Trade Organization, or International Monetary Fund? They benifit the richest persons in the richest countries fucking everyone over and export cultural imperialism everywhere. Most countries are about the same.
No, America is not special, but then again, neither is anywhere else. The whole world is a mixed bag.
Also, if you’re going to provide and argument, you need evidence. . . yeah I agree on some parts of these points, but you sound like you should be posting on some sort of geopolitical-anti-American version of /r/athiesim. Which is to say that you make a statement that could be a good argument but fuddel it all up with arrogance and a general lack of capicity to argue properly ( a good argument consists of statements that CAN be refuted – an argument is about convincing persons with evidence, and there will always be evidence to the contrary).
Not a person anywhere has any viable answers for the mess the world has put itself into, yadda, yadda. Americans aren’t the only oblivious ass holes and aren’t the only ones making the problems.
Danke! Ich bin Amerikaner. Obwohl ich meine Land liebe, es gefalt mir deise Artikel zu lesen. Das hat veile guten Ideen, dass Amerikaneren lernen konnten.
Reblogged this on danloney und kommentierte:
Well done.
I post comments on blogs because I have opinions and my opinions are important.
“There are exceptions of course. And those exceptions are called English and Australian people”
Afraid not, we English often groan in despair on hearing an American accent in the UK
Well written, sir!! Very impressive!! The only point I can’t agree with you on is about the Native Americans, as a previous commenter stated. Other than that, spot on!! As you can see from various other comments, some are blinded by their faith in this country and don’t think people; like yourself; can have an opinion. I don’t have to live outside of this country to see that is messed up; been wanting to vacate this premise for quite some time. Of course, I’m faced with an unsurprising problem… money!! Plus, the country I would love to move to, isn’t as penetrable as others (New Zealand).
Other countries may seem poor to us because they don’t have the shiniest cars, tallest buildings, biggest homes, newest technology, etc…. but, they have one thing that is definitely lacking in this country…. spirit!! Materialistically poor, maybe, but they are full of wealth by spirit, happiness, vigor, vitality, what-have-you. To me, that makes them wealthier than any depressed, unhealthy, self-absorbed billionaire…. just saying!! Thanks again for the article.
One of the most remarkable things about this country is that there are all kinds of people living in it, some of whom fit these descriptions and many of whom don’t. Except for the statement about health care costs, it kinda seems like this guy might be describing a limited and perhaps insular cross-section of 20-somethings that inhabited his cultural circles before he left, and/or other Americans he’s met abroad. If anything this article reads like a parody of the 80′s. I’ve also lived abroad, and in various parts of the States, and while it may be common to run into folks that exhibit one or another of these characteristics from time to time, it has not largely been my experience that all Americans can be so easily generalized.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I’d like to point out though that as a Japanese-born American residing in Europe, I’ve gotten a good view of three different cultures and foreigners’ responses to each one of them (I grew up in California, the most diverse part nonetheless, so my experience is a bit different… but CA is still in the USA!). Here goes:
1. When I tell people I’m from California, they are very intrigued. I love my home state- the sun, the people, the above-mentioned diversity, and the food that comes with it. So yes, people are impressed, but this doesn’t necessarily translate to a holier-than-thou attitude on my part nor does it mean that these people are scrambling to get to the USA. It just means that it’s something novel to them (like this idea of constant sunshine); being impressed with a place or a culture doesn’t always have to involve putting down your own. I know lots of non-Americans who are impressed by the USA but have hardcore pride in their own country.
3. It’s true, but same goes for the rest of the world. For example, Japanese textbooks don’t really discuss the Rape of Nanking. Korean schools usually (from what I’ve heard, correct me if I’m wrong) teach that the disputed islands between Korea and Japan belong to them (and very, very nationalistically at that).
It doesn’t make it okay, but still.. USA isn’t the only one guilty of this.
One quick thing… for someone who has been to so many places and is writing an article titled as such, it’s ironic that you’ve reserved the term “Americans” to refer exclusively to people from the USA. America is comprised of three parts; North, Central, and South.. technically, people in South America are Americans too. Though most of the world does refer to residents of the USA as “Americans”, it reflects the arrogance that you chastize the said people for.
I’m confused: Most Americans don’t know one of these things? Or do most Americans not know any of these things?
I’m curious to know your source for the claim that most Americans (i.e., 51% or more) don’t know these ten things. Because if the claim is just based on your personal experience, all you can rationally draw from those experiences is that you have a bunch of boneheads for friends.
I have done a little traveling outside of the US, only spending at most 1/2 a year in a single stint. Im sure my post is going to get lost in the suffle, but I must say that there is something that stuck out at me when you mentioned how strange North American women act when they get hit on. As a young, attractive woman who has done much traveling by herself I was aproached by men who found me interesting and wanted to get to know me. The best being a man who followed me through Vienna and finally approched me simply to ask me why I looked so confident in where I was going and tell me how he was lost in his personal choices in life, he was 27 and had not yet gotten a degree and was ashamed to tell his parents he wanted to study animation. The worst being a man in italy who became viciously angry when I refused to join him on a date.
I think, if I ever had the chance to tell people in outside of the US (and even in the US) how to approach a woman of any culture I would have to say this:
Being called beautiful is great, however there is nothing in it. You can call anyone beautiful, however you can not call everyone kind, or interesting, or smart, or creative, or talented, or someone you want to get to know. And having someone blurt out to me “You are so beautiful!” though flattering, is not necessarily the beginning of an engaging conversation. I have on several occasions, said “Thank you” but even that feels rather empty, the small talk of the flirting world. I have also on rare occasions responded to the dreaded “you’re beautiful” with “I really love talking about astrophysics.”. I know how it feels, there are times when I have been totally blown away by someone and have blubbered at them “You’re beautiful!” and have seen them react awkwardly even had one guy respond very defensively saying: “No Im not!”.
I think the best way to approach the women you find stunning is instead of complementing them on something that may lead them to believe that you want to only sleep with them. Is to say something that they will find engaging. After all, YOU are already interested in her, so you must give her a reason to be interested in you.
Would be cool to ERASE ALL BORDERS Worldwide let people be free to roam..
Reblogged this on ecotivity.
I understand where you’re coming from with this, and you’re pretty accurate on a lot of it, but I feel like this is comparing American media to other countries not America to other countries. You’re almost contradicting you’re article in itself by using American stereotypes to make these judgments.
Ahh. So refreshing. I wish I could travel out of the US, its been a few years and it such a good reminder to get out of the mindset that we are the best at everything. I have come to many of the same conclusions as you, that most of us are just trying to live and that who is best at what is just a distraction. But, we do need to get over ourselves, we look ridiculous.
Schreiben Sie gut, sehr gut
It’s interesting to see so many people taking this author seriously when he writes with absolutely no credibility. He is an individual writing on a blog relying on a usage of metaphors and personal anecdotes from his own experience in America. Never once in his writing does he ever cite any credible sources (or any sources for that matter) with statistics to prove any of his points. Everything is entirely based on his personal life and opinion which makes it a lot harder to take him seriously as he tries to speak for the entire country. I respect your opinion, and I respect his opinion, to dislike America if you so chose. But if you’re going critique a country and want to have your opinion taken seriously (while attempting to persuade others into believing why this country is so flawed as well) please present me with some credible facts. He opens up by using a metaphor that America is like a “drunken brother” and again uses a metaphor of an “annoying girl in high school” and fleshes out these metaphors to paint a picture for us and fill up his argument since he has failed to use any statistics to elaborate on his reasons . He uses these faulty generalizations and stereotypes as he attempts to reach his conclusions on such weak premises. As he tries to prove that he is somehow credible after asking “What the Hell Does This Guy Know” he feeds us the information that he has lived in different parts of the U.S and has lived in multiple countries outside of the U.S for the past three years. Let me start a slow clap because that clearly makes him so incredibly qualified right now. Perhaps, if he were trying to write about his own experiences in the U.S and how he feels another nation is a better fit for him, then maybe I would give him that credit but the fact remains that he is attempting to give reasons as to why the U.S is so flawed with, again, no sense of credibility. Is he a statistician? Has he provided us with statistics as to why the nation is faulty? Is he a sociologist, political scientist, cultural anthropologist? Has he conducted research or even gathered any facts to prove any of his “points”? Not once. Additionally, it’s also funny to see how he portrays so many Americans as arrogant, while making himself exempt, as he claims he’s “so qualified” because he’s lived in other countries. Sounds pretty condescending and arrogant to me. Now on to his top 10 points about why we Americans are so stupid. “Few People Are Impressed By Us”. I can only speak from personal experience when i say it has never been my idea that as soon as I walk into a room my glowing, radiant “Americanness” just leaves people in awe. Since I can only speak for myself, however, I would never make a generalization and say that “All” Americans feel this way. If I wanted to prove this point, I would contact several researchers at a credible university or organization to conduct a survey and analyze the data to see if there would be any proof to back that up. If my research came back and showed me that 90% of Americans believe that Europeans are impressed by us, then, and only then, would I take that statement he made with any sense of credibility. The same applies for all of his statements (none of which have any statistics or sources to prove any of his “points”). When he says “We Know Nothing About The Rest Of The World” please show me some statistics. Again, he is using stereotypes and sweeping generalizations. Never once does he show us any statistic that shows that as a whole we Americans know nothing about the world. My personal favorite part of this section was when he goes on to say that many falsely believe that Native Americans were wiped out largely by disease (not us). I shook my head when I read this because it is a widely circulated understanding that the plagues and diseases WERE IN FACT caused by us. No one is denying that. When European settlers and the “White Man” which I guess he is now attempting to call Americans came over, the Native Americans didn’t have the immunity to fight off this disease. So actually, no one is denying that the “White Man” (which again I’m slightly confused about why he is tracing this to Americans when they were not yet citizens) brought over this disease that wiped out the Natives. People acknowledge that and they know that. My other favorite point in particular is when he states that “We are Poor at Expressing Gratitude and Affection.” Again, no statistics here. No research conducted by Harvard showing that 90% of Americans have reported that they don’t feel loved by their fellow Americans. This is an insane generalization with absolutely nothing to back it up. When he attempts to back this up, however, he states: “In dating, when I find a woman attractive, I almost always walk right up to her and tell her that a) I wanted to meet her, and b) she’s beautiful. In America, women usually get incredibly nervous and confused when I do this. They’ll make jokes to defuse the situation or sometimes ask me if I’m part of a TV show or something playing a prank. Even when they’re interested and go on dates with me.” Wow. Would you look at that. His proof is based on HIS personal experiences. When “I” ask Americans out they react this way. Does he speak for everyone? In my personal experience, which again I do not speak for the whole country, I have seen a variety of reactions from women. It sounds to me like a personal problem this guy is having. I’ve seen some American women react well to a man telling them they’re beautiful and I’ve seen some Austrian women roll their eyes when a man tells them they’re beautiful. This is a universal situation and an individualistic situation at the same time. On one hand, it’s universal in the sense that this happens cross-culturally (some people will be turned off when certain people tell them they’re beautiful, some on) and individualistic because it all depends on the person. This isn’t a strictly *American* thing. He claims it is a strictly American thing for guys to call each other names and mess with each other. I go to a university where there are a lot of international students, some from Westernized nations and others not. I have male friends who are German, Austrian, British, Sri Lankan and Nigerian who ALL mess around with each other. As far as stating that we Americans don’t know that we are very unhealthy…I don’t even know if I need to go there. Unless people have been living under a rock, this isn’t shocking news that we Americans “don’t know.” I end this long analysis by asking, if America is as bad as this “author” claims it is, why are so many more people emigrating to America for economic opportunity than so many other nations? I’m not claiming the United States is without flaw, certainly everyone can see that no country is without flaw, but if the countries he has lived in are so vastly superior to life in the U.S, why aren’t we seeing an influx in immigrants overseas as large as the one here? Surely there must be something about this horrible inferior nation that caused so many people to move here? Or perhaps I should write a blog answering these questions on my own without seeking outside answers in attempts to persuade others of my “truth.”
Having lived in other countries, I believe I might be able to address some issues with some grasp of reality:
#1 is spot on, because #2 is partly incorrect. The title should have read, few *countries* hate us, but the countries that do are rather nasty pieces of work.
#3 is partly correct because our educational system is more interested in teaching how children feel about things. And though England stupidly decided to tackle two wars at once, the Americans *did* win the Revolutionary War.
#4 deals with cultural differences. Americans still express gratitude and affection. You just don’t like the way we do it.
In #5, the quality of life for the average American is dropping dramatically, mostly thanks to Obama’s inheriting a serious situation and running it into the ground with all the force of a steamroller. However, up until the mid 2000′s, the quality of life in the US was in the upper 90% when compared to the rest of the world.
#6 is partly accurate. Most of us know that other countries are doing quite well. In fact, I suspect that most Americans would list Japan, Australia, and possibly New Zealand as countries with a better standard of living than the U.S.
#7 is now true thanks to our media. Can’t argue with you there. I suspect we are now the most brainwashed people in the world.
#’s 8, 9, and 10 are spot on.
My biggest shame for America is that in my world travels, I meet people who routinely speak 2 to 5 languages while the vast majority of Americans speak only English. I was hoping that with the influx of immigrants from Latin America, we would become a bilingual country with Spanish being the #2 language, but the resistance is incredible.
I hope this post was good therapy for you.
Might as well have called the article “why I fucking hate the US of America”.
Reblogged this on Miguel in Belgium and commented:
So true!
I think this country is too big to fit into one box as has been done here. We aren’t all obese, hamburger eating, un-cultured racists.
Your article is very well done, but I can’t say I agree with everything. For example, “My generation is the first generation of Americans who will be worse off than their parents, economically, physically and emotionally. ” I’d say that American Indians will eclipse you on that account. George Washington said of the native people: “The immediate objectives are the total destruction and devastation of their settlements. It will be essential to ruin their crops in the ground and prevent their planting more. ” We Americans don’t call it genocide when it is our history. Since 1492 disease killed more numbers of indians than bullets did, but America’s (remember the land of the free and the brave) intention has been to completely remove indians. As recently as 1890 we had a massacre initiated by the US military. And after that we had internment camps etc. Each president going back to Teddy Roosevelt has had a pathetic opinion of human value when it came to indians, as he famously said, “The settler and pioneer have at the bottom had justice on their side; this great continent could not have been kept as nothing but a game preserve for squalid savages.”
Reminds me of the college kid who travels to Mexico for the first time. He buys a bunch of garbage at the market to feel like he’s changing the lives of the poor merchants. He feels a tremendous sense of culture. He goes home to his parents, who did nothing but love him, and he bitches about how good we have it here in America. “Hey mom, do you realize in Mexico, most of the poor have to kill their own chickens just to eat?” Hey Johnny, and we don’t have to, so what’s your point? Well, my sociology professor told it’s more advanced and cultured to be poor. He told the class he lived in Spain once, and nobody praised America. We’re just dumb Americans.” I’m sure the author is happy to hear we have a President who feels the same way about America as he does. I wish they’d both get lost and join Gwyneth Paltrow. They can talk culture and read the NY Times together. Sorry, but just writing you don’t want to come across as pompous ass doesn’t mean you won’t.
you are 100% right ..and american citizens are victims of their misleading media and tyrant political systems
I remember my first time oversseas.
Some of these points aren’t absolutely ridiculous. Unfortunately most are. You are also a terrible writer. You used two analogies before the article got moving. Neither was good.
You mention how arrogant most Americans are (which, excludes yourself, of course), then you compare the US to the rest of the world instead of individual countries. Naturally you’re able to pick and choose areas that are better than the US on the whole in terms of health or standard of living. Of course if you take a country on a continent of three and compare it to continents that have 40-50 there will be a lapse in what is known of different cultures. You def. missed the boat on the quality of life for the average American. Sure there are some countries that may be better, but not many. That’s absurd.
And you live with your head up your ass you “join the bandwagon” communist.
Native Americans died from plagues caused by European diseases from which the American Indians were not immune. The American army deliberately gave smallpox infested blankets to tribes causing the plague and huge death toll. So us, indirectly and directly.
The trail of tears was not disease it was a forced death march to reservation far from that tribes familiar landscape. So, us.
Overcrowding on reservations without resources, food, or adequate means of survival caused disease and death; so us.
Soldiers with guns. Us.
It’s funny because he mentioned, “paranoia” Haha
Hey author you suck. You just want to fit in with the world because you are a loser here so you trash us to sound cool to your new friends. Sounds like an ex-gf I kicked to the curb that now has self esteem issues. 1) True, but mainly because they hate us which goes into #2) False, most hate us 3)there are idiots in every country 4) False, sounds like a loser that can’t get dates so he blames America. Typical, goes into #2 again. #5 & 6) True 7) we have reason to be 8) same can be said for certain individuals from every country in the whole world #9) True 10) False
Americans feeling like the victim and blaming others should have been number 11. No one forcces us to watch crappy news programs. No one forces us to continually elect corrupt politicians term after term. This is a product of the self-absorption about which the author wrote.
Quit blaming the media – turn off the TV.
Quit blaming politicians – get involved and vote them out.
Quit blaming restaurants for being fat – stop shoveling unhealthy food into your face.
America’s single greatest problem is the lack of personal responsibility.
As a fellow American traveler, I thought your article was well written and thought provoking. I agree with you on most, however I would urge you to rethink your opinion on the true reason/cause of the deaths of the Native American people of our country. Your article best explains why most travelers, including myself, find it hard to readjust to “American life” and/or prefer to remain outside of the country. Thank you for sharing!
agreed – great response.
I was going to write the exact same comment (but without the being a traveller part).
Yes, much of the disease of First Pepoles
was spread by the whites, sometimes deliberately, like smallpox-infest blankets given as “gifts.”
I agree with you about rethinking the real reason/cause for the deaths of Native Americans and not just because I am a full Native American but I’ve learned a lot about the history of it and yes some of the cause was disease but that was only cause of the situation we were put through by the white people.
Agree. That’s the only sticking point for me – the reason for Native American deaths. The rest is brilliant and insightful.
No, that is the real reason for the millions of deaths of Native Americans, disease. If that is the way it is perceived outside of the USA, that I am not sure. When I was at school in Germany I cannot recall a time we would have even talked about that.
it was not his opinion. it’s what others around the world (the vietnamese in this case, i believe) think had happened to Native Americans. regardless of outcomes, it’s not all about americans (simply by way of their participation in events) in the eyes of the world.
Why are you urging him to rethink something that is established fact? Do a little reading — by the time the English started establishing colonies in North America plagues that swept northward following the Spanish conquest of Central and South America had significantly depopulated the continent. In just one example, by the time Americans got to the Mississippi River the several thousand-year-old Mound Builder cultures of the region that the Spanish had visited less than a hundred years before were gone. In short, by asking him to rethink, you are proving his point about Americans not knowing the facts.
I agree with your lack of background on the Native Americans. But I do find this article interesting…and unfortunately informative. I would only add however that if our generation if worse off, economically, emotionally and physically, then the next generation suffers from more ignorance rather simple self-absorbtion. And that would on their parents (us) to dissuade the lack of knowledge by encouraging multi-cultural adn healthy experiences.
Yep, I thought the same – Native Americans might have been partially wiped out by disease but I doubt is was the bigger part and even if, who brought the fancy new diseases to them? The “new” Americans
Awwww, an American who went overseas for a little bit and now thinks he knows everything about everyone everywhere!! They’re so CUTE at this age.
Especially when the write about American arrogance in the most unsubtly arrogant fashion possible.
Seems that you got your toshie swollen.
Excuse me sir, can you be anymore ignorant please? I swear your comment is what I live for everyday! Oh wait…
First off, I literally can not get past how much of a baby you are. Most Americans would not speak of any of the points above because a) we were taught that we were/are the best and not the other side B) not many Americans would actually know any of the above because we’re so heavily consumed in what the media wants us to believe. So honestly your comment is invalid because he isn’t being arrogant at all he’s stating an opinion/a possibility most american would not know of. And, if he’s being arrogant/nationalistic his whole article would be flipped and be supporting Americans.
The next thing is , wether he went to seas for 1month or 10years, it does change a person. I’m an exchange student(17) and I can definitely tell you that my views of my home country has changed irrationally. I don’t think my government is 100% stable, yet I believe that my country was the best place to grow up, because I grew up with freedom and not fear. I’m not saying America is the place to grow up, I’m saying I’m happy I can call the States my home and accept all of her flaws. By going to another country has open my eyes to the different cultures and views… But without our “arrogance” I don’t think our development in make EVERY country better, because there would be one less competition as well as another country to be better at.
So narrow minded behind your post, understand we’re not the “perfect country”, but we are a young country learning. Yes some people in the States are arrogant and ignorant, but all countries have those types of people. So! I hope you learn to not be so dim minded because honestly you’re post is somewhat a 13year old boy would write to get attention and not understand that every country has its flaws , yet all countries do have people who are considering and openminded as well.
((And by calling the writer “cute” at “this stage” then what stage are you at? fetus…or wasted space?.. sorry that was rude.. oh wait it’s okay, you probably already thing I’m just another arrogant, ignorant american who is “cute” at the stage she is in because she’s been spending some time over seas and seeing that her country isn’t all what is cracked up to be but still thinks it’s the best… yeah, okay, i agree on that because I’m a proud American as human being.))
Awww someone who’s never left the country is a little butt hurt at the sad realities…
Now, THAT’S arrogant, Mike. You are the epitome of what the author is speaking about: self-important, snide, and trapped in the “exceptionalism” thought process. Have YOU been overseas for any length of time? The author lives outside the country. I’ve lived outside the country, and I know from experience that this article is the truth.
That is…the truth in MY perspective. It’s not meant to be based in fact, but rather the author’s personal perspective, illustrated and supported by a few generalized yet well-accepted statistics.
wow, you didn’t even read his intro properly did you?
You just proved his point..well done.
Exactly….
And thus the reason he writes this article you moron ….. YOU
So true.
Agreed.
Just thinking the same thing!
“So this is my lecture to my alcoholic brother — my own flavor of arrogance and self-absorption, even if slightly more informed — in hopes he’ll give up his wayward ways. I imagine it’ll fall on deaf ears, but it’s the most I can do for now.”
Well, he was right, it did fall on deaf ears for sure.
wow. Complete and utter arrogance at its absolute finest. The person who wrote this didn’t even bother to check their facts about the WWII. Russia had the weakest army in the fucking world, their size was their only, I repeat ONLY, asset. And Stalin took care of that for them! I didn’t even read past that point. Complete and utter shit.
Sir you meant to say ‘when THEY write’. Jackass
Lol, I was coming here to say exactly this same thing.
Instead, have some internet applause.
Congratulations, Mike – you’ve proven his points – all of them – in three sentences!
Now, how about growing up and taking a really close, honest look at yourself and your attitudes, hmm? Cause brother, you are the problem!
Mike is butt-hurt
What a condenscending jerk. And its a Republic, not a Democracy.
^^^^
Exactly what I was thinking.
but this is all so true… ask the people of the world… have been working for 8 years with all different types of folks especially Americans… He described everything so well.
Awwwww, you’re such a friendly little asshole.
I agree. If you wanted to change something I think you could have included more hope into your message. If you want people to treat themselves like your alcoholic brother you certainly made me feel like shit…and I guess I know my solution to feel better…. A more hopeful metaphor would inspire me to change instead of excessive negativity.
lol the irony. It’s funny cause you’re exactly the kind of “americans” he’s referring to in this piece. Instead of appreciating his unique insight from based on his travels around the world, you feel the need to criticize him, smh.
I agree. While there were SOME good points made I feel like most of this is just really pretentious. I am also an American who travels abroad a lot, and I went outside the US for college and a job because of some of the financial problems you touched upon. So I agree with certain points, but mostly your post comes off as a bit “anthropology student-esque.” I cringed while reading a lot of the sections; it was so simplified and aggressive. It just seemed that, while you attempted to make this come off as thought-provoking and original, it mostly came off as pandering and whiney.
He doesn’t say he knows everything about everyone everywhere, just that he knows when the U.S. ranks in comparison to other places. Someone’s a little butt-hurt.
So, how long does he have to be outside of the US before he is allowed to have an opinion that’s different than yours? He was not even remotely arrogant – he just expressed having a broadened perspective after being outside the US for awhile?
Your 3 sentences are oozing with more arrogance than the writer’s entire blog.
Did you read the last paragraph?…..the Author admits (in an ironic manner) to the falvour of arrogance he writes with.
I can agree 100% with everything in the article. I am Irish and live in Ireland. I have seen many a distant shore and this very article could well have been composed by an Irishman. We live in the same self-absorbed bubble that America is wrapped in. Controlled by that bloody TV screen. The Media play with us like puppets.
We don’t know how to think for ourselves.
We seem to think that the be all and end all of the world is to be found on our shores. The reality is that in Ireland people don’t live. We follow a path in life that is simple and very unfulfilling. Work, drink, sleep. Work, drink, sleep. We pride ourselves on being the nation that drinks the most in the world…which we are not. When we go abroad we look for an Irish bar to drink Guinness in and then complain that it tastes like sh*t before continuing to drink it for our entire trip. We look for an Irish breakfast when abroad and complain if we can’t get it.
When speaking to somebody from a different culture our instinct is to tell them how great Ireland is instead of learning about a new place, a different way of life and absorbing ourselve in the beauty of ‘getting to know’ a new person.
When I travel abroad I prefer to avoid Irish people. I prefer to learn. I prefer to discover. I prefer to live a little differently. Try something new. Give your body and soul a new delight.
To really view one’s self you have to do so from a distance. Only then can you identify your flaws.
If you are reared on TV dinners then that becomes the norm. If you are reared to think that a social life exists only in a bar then that is something you will carry throughout your whole life and in Ireland there are communities built on that ideal.
You fall into a cycle of life that is hard to break. After all it is what you have learned since you were a young child and it is instinctive to follow the path set out for you by your parents…..or more modernly the Media and TV in particular.
Start living people. The world is a wonderful place. Embrace it.
Use the one unique gift you have been given. Your thoughts. They are yours alone. Don’t let anybody or anything influence them to a degree that controls how you live your life. You can be sure that your welfare is not a consideration….only somebody elses profit.
Whilst we all have so much beauty around us on our own doorsteps we should never be ignorant towards the wonderful world all around us.
We are very lucky to have been given the opportunity to live here on Earth and a day will come when we are no longer here. Whether that is by a natural cause (as is the case with so many species every day) or due to our own self destruction (which is at a very advanced stage). We will no longer exist one day. Humans seem to be the only species that are self destructive. We are killing each other….and all over a piece of worthless paper called money. Most of us no longer live. We simply exist and the longer we exist in the manner we become easier to control.
Start to live. Experince life.
Burst the bubble and have a look at the beauty which is everywhere.
Twat
Hmmm, if that is all you have to counter the blog, then I’m with the post.
good points made here, however, many are personal observations and if anything, everyone sees the world through their own eyes. I was born in australia, grew up and schooled and switzerland (20 years) and have been living in the US for almost 25 years. I have been nothing but welcomed everywhere I have been in this country and on many occasions have felt more at home here than in switzerland. I believe the US to be a “young” nation, far younger than many of the other nations spoken about in this post. there is much to experience and learn here for everyone and i have faith this will come. the other point i’d like to make is that having lived and delved deeply into the swiss culture while growing up there, this very small country which is only the size of connecticut, has a whole slew of its own problems (high unemployment, immigration issues, gap between rich and poor is staggering!, cost of living is ridiculously high, $10 for two cups of coffee, depression, etc, etc, etc). look at greece, italy, spain, all those nations are going through unspeakably difficult economical times, people are suffering, are angry, and want change, riots break out, political figures are a farce, etc, etc, etc, does this sound familiar? the old adage is true, the grass is always greener on the other side. But when you have been on the other side, you realize that it’s not the case. There are problems everywhere, different and sometimes the same, problems and issues are part of growing up. that said, i do partially agree with points 3, 7, 8 and 10, although arguments could be made to the contrary. Lastly but not least, i think every culture is its “own” culture and it’s difficult to really know a culture intimately, let alone several, without having spent a significant portion of your life living in “it”. sure, people are friendly all over the world and that’s great, however, everyone is “human” first meaning we all have problems, issues, likes, dislikes, obsessions, depression, anxiety, highs, lows, dreams, aspirations, hopes, and hopefully freedom of choice. i’m glad the author of this post had the opportunity to go out into the world and experience other cultures. those chances are immeasurable and i wish everyone could see the rest of the world. these are all good points, really. But if you really know the cultures of the world, you will also know that none of them are “problem” free, you just have to know where to look. thank you for a very interesting post.
uhm, about switzerland: no.
just no.
I grew up here (for 22 years) as a child of immigrants from the Czech Republic and because of my job, I have since lived (briefly) in Russia and for the last 5 years in the US.
and what you say about Switzerland is just not right! Since you write that you’ve been in the US for the past 25 years, maybe you just remember a different kind of Siwtzerland.
high unemployment – no! low compared to America and many other countries (it’s currently 3.2% and even lower in the German speaking part)
immigration issues – yes, they have issues. but imagine being a tiny country with 23% of its population being immigrants (not counting the ones who hold swiss citizenship, but do not always integrate well). aren’t some problems bound to arise??
gap between rich and poor is staggering! – uhm, NO! just because there is an incredibly high number of millionaires and billionaires living here, does not make everybody else poor! plus, people who earn less than the minimum (of 3,800 a month) get government support. And yes, their lives aren’t easy, but you cannot compare them to those on gov. support in the US. Just go ahead and compare the “working poor” in the US to people from the same group in Switzerland. It’s way better there!! way! we had several kids in class whose parents got financial support, but they went to the same school, the same university, ate the same food and had an opportunity to do the same after-school activities. and none of us had to count pizza as a vegetable, btw.
cost of living is ridiculously high, $10 for two cups of coffee — that may look super-harsh for people who don’t live here, but we earn way (!!) more! while I was an undergrad, I worked part-time as a waitress (25 Fr./ hour), a babysitter (25-30 Fr./ hour) and had student jobs at the university (35-50 Fr./ hour). You show me undergrads who make that much at their part-time jobs in the US and THEN start complaining about 4.50Fr. for a cup of coffee. I had no problems paying for my flat (one bedroom, but still, close to the center of Zurich), food, insurance, school and everything else on student jobs.
plus, of course I came out with no debt at the end, because my school was paid for by the state.
depression, etc, etc, etc — yes, I give you this one…
and yes, European countries have problems of their own, but that does not diminish the fact that the problems described above hold for the US.
Also, everything looks worse on the news. atm, the economic problems are very apparent, but poverty problems are still not as staggering as in the US. And the average, non-super-high-achievers don’t have as hard a time. on the contrary, actually, because there is a system that also rewards those, who do well at things besides grades and sports.
10x better than the author’s post. thank you.
Good response, I am also a “very well traveled, multi-lingual” American and currently do not live in the US. However, my observations are closer to williw’s than Mark’s. Mostly the things that he mentioned are correct but they could easily describe other countries (including some of those he mentioned). Point 5 and 9 are correct and are very American in nature. I am currently living in another country but often I feel that instead of making me dislike my own country it gives me perspective on the good and the bad.
It makes me realize that humans are humans. Many countries tend to think they are the best or have the best of something. For example, men would hit on my by saying how much I looked like I was from their race and country as if it was obviously a compliment (plus there was no way I look like them so it was a little bizarre that they would even say that). People are often ignorant of other places. I’ve had many people in Asia ask me where in the USA Brazil is when I tell them that I’m a citizen of the USA and Brazil. These are people that understand the language I am speaking so it isn’t a language barrier. Humans often feel that other countries are more dangerous and scary than they are because that is what media reports. I’ve had lots of people ask me if I’ve left the US because of the violence when I’m actually from a small town where most people often leave their cars and houses unlocked.
On a side note, Mark, please don’t go up to a woman you don’t know and call her beautiful in all countries. That is only acceptable in some situations as it is in the USA. In some countries (outside of the USA) that could get you pepper sprayed or beat up by her brother/husband.
I feel that it’s better to understand than condem no matter what country you are in and where you came from.
Revision: I mean you could get a negative reaction from women IN the USA AND in other countries if you walk up to them call them beautiful or anything else in that vein.
You miss the point of the article and your sweeping statements are questionable.
Swiss unemployment at 3.2% as of March 2013. USA 7.6%.
Mercers (American company) rated three Swiss cities in the top ten in their 2012 ‘Quality of Living’ survey, Monocle’s ‘Most Liveable-City’ had Zurich at No. 1. There were no US cities listed.
Cost of living is off-set by very low taxes and higher wages.
Number of children in poverty as monitored by UNICEF in 2005 is 6.8% in Switzerland compared to 21.9% in USA.
Immigration is perceived problem global – I say perceived as it depends on a persons opinion as to whether they view the people coming into the country as ‘desirable’ immigrants or not.
You miss the point of the article – the author is not stating that the rest of the world is perfect and doesn’t have problems – they are highlighting the issues that a modern day America faces. The inability to look at oneself without defence by citing other countries issues is part of the problem – it is like a naughty child when rebuked stating that ‘the other boys are doing it too’ rather than looking at their own behaviour…
I agree with a lot of what you say, wolliw. I’m a born and raised American, but have lived and taught in International schools and local schools (2yr. contracts) in 3 countries. Two in Asia (Shanghai and Hanoi, VN) one in Istanbul, Turkey. And I have traveled extensively throughout the neighboring countries. I lived in local neighborhoods, worked with locals, and associated with mainly locals (which is my advice to anyone who gets the valuable experience of living overseas) and have loved it and learned a lot! We surely have our faults, but I can only identify with at most half of what Mark says in this piece. And by the way…the Asian cities/countries that he references (Singapore, Hong Kong, S. Korea, Bangkok) are the “cream of the crop”, or even the “cream of the world”! so to speak of Asian cities. But I absolutely PROMISE you I did not find what I would even call “acceptable” cleanliness or technology in Shanghai local hospitals (foreign hospitals, yes, but definitely not local!) and I’d almost rather die than find myself in a “local” Vietnamese hospital. Yeah, you can eat off the streets in Singapore. Hong Kong is the Queen of all International cities. But many Asian cities are in absolute squalor and it’s silly to compare Asia in general to the Asian cities Mark mentions.
As far Marks #4 assumption: I assure you we are very much more warm and friendly than (from personal experience) MOST French, Swiss, some Germans, S. Koreans, the Chinese…
I’ve worked around the world and have friends from around the world. Many of my friends have lived in US for over 20 years, and still have no idea what our culture is like. Even when they know our language inside and out don’t really comprehend what we mean in many cases. Their children do but they don’t. Just like you speak several languages you don’t think in those languages. You hear amour you
think of the word love, not amour. I do agree we are very stupid in so many cases, and spoiled, and like the worm thinks the apple was created for us.
I’m American and I absolutely agree with you. I’m trying to break the cycle with my children, family members, and friends
Excellent article! I’ve lived outside of the US for a year…and I have to go back in a few months. Not looking forward to it. The US is the drunk brother. I enjoy having government regulated healthcare…medicine costs next to nothing! It’s healthier here, food tastes better, easier to get around…I can’t wait to find a job within Europe (hopefully in Sweden because it is wonderful there!).
“food tastes better”
Agreed, except English sausage. (shudders)
yes it is nice having your health care paid for. But remember that the health care will be paid for by you the tax payer. First find a job in Europe but also be aware that they have a huge unemployment problem but if you do find a job and go to work you will pay over 50% in taxes. If you make 2,000 euros per month and pay 1,000 in taxes that will leave you with money to pay your rent which is high and food and transpertation. Well it all adds up. And yes Sweden really is wonderful. They have a wonderful social system to to take care of its people of course by a huge tax bill. And if you do take a job there be aware that you will always be the foreigner taking the locals jobs.
This guy just goes abroad cause he get laid easier.
waylaid – sidelaid — overlaid — underlaid — but just plain laid? expensive!!!!
Clever way to get your liberal points across while you claim to be above it all. Go tell some old Jew how arrogant we were to liberate the concentration camp she was in, days from death. You’re not writing anything new or interesting. Madonna went through the same phase, not sure where she stands today. Remember the whole fake British accent thing? You’re right on one thing. People do rebel after they get out of their family homes. It’s called perspective. It’s the same rebellion liberal college professors love to manipulate. You eventually realize all families have their problems. That “enlightened” hip gentleman sipping wine in France could be molesting his young daughter at home. That’s a human tragedy, not a French one. Grow up and get some therapy. Remember Jenny from Forrest Gump, she ran away too.
Wilton, If you personally were there to liberate the concentration camp, then thank you, and I hope you’ve done other significant things in your life since 1945. Otherwise, re-read the sentance about Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs, but change “Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs” to “the actual soldiers who put their lives on the line to liberate Europe on behalf of democracy” and your “we” becomes fairly condescending. If you’re an exceptional American, you have a claim to exceptionalism. Sliding out of your mother in a specific geographic location is not a birthright of anything other than US citizenship. It’s what YOU personally do AFTER that that’s your legacy.
I agree completely that many people in foreign countries don’t conflate one’s own achievements for the achievements of a society they come from, yet I think the author overlooks the extent to which other cultures do not associate “individually.” For example, having grown up as a Russian-American, visited Russia several times and spent a considerable time there, as well as interacted with many Russian emigres abroad, the Russian concept of face is one of group identification. If someone you meet in Russia takes a liking to you and invites you over, his friends will often approach you kindly as well because their friend who has befriended you is “ours.” In other words, who you know often determines who you are in a material way we don’t experience in America. Similarly, when someone in Russia asks the literal question “who are you,” they refer to your profession. The consumerist, materialist “American” cultural viewpoint is rampant in Russia today precisely because having lived in a Socialist economy for decades bred deprivation. I’m very happy that the author has had these experiences but I think that the article claims far too much authority from a far too American perspective without necessarily intending to do so.
“… sliding out of your mother in a specific geographic location is not a birthright”
Thank you so much for this expression. A foreigner living in the US for 12 years now, I have been searching for an approriate term. Yours is beyond awesome.
And yes, Wilton seems to suffer from assumed exceptionalism.
Well, aren’t you just a wound up ball of hate.
You are special, do you know why? Any opposing view, any criticism, any negative you don’t like, you can’t take that into consideration at all. No, you sir/ma’am/whatever must apply a political label to everything you read, because you can’t think, you can’t look at text, you can’t understand anything about the world without dissecting it into liberal or conservative, left or right, capitalism or communism.
You’re the problem with America, people so short sighted that everything you don’t like is wrong, because you say so. You refuse to think critically, you refuse to apply logic or reason, and you shut your ears and eyes and kill your own common sense because you think something is “liberal” and therefore bad. That sir/ma’am/whatever is how fascists think.
The republic could do with fewer of your close-minded diatribe spewing arrogance. Use your brain and openly accept criticism without deflecting problems to other countries like a spoiled teenager. Accept criticism like an adult.
Thing #11 Americans don’t know about America
They suck at taking criticism.
Well said, Tucker. I assume you were directing that at Willton, right?
I’d be willing to bet my entire savings that the folks here criticizing this very enlightened article have never set foot outside the US…therefore disqualifying them from making any sort of comment whatsoever. We should really just shake our heads, accept that these folks are examples of what’s wrong with America, and move on without giving them the attention they so obviously seek.
Tucker, this is the rudest comment I’ve read on the internet all day. (I couldn’t say ever because I’ve read some pretty nasty comments on the internet.) I enjoyed reading the blog, and I enjoy reading the comments to get other perspectives. Willton gave a perspective. Sure, maybe it was a little too sarcastic, but I actually found what he/she said really interesting. What you just gave is best described as a tongue lashing. Please be kind. Just because you’re hidden behind a computer screen doesn’t make it OK for you to rip someone apart. Thank you!
Ignorance and arrogance are unattractive no matter what country your from. You made some good points but be careful, at the other end of ethnocentrism is xenocentrism. You speak to the stereotypes well, I hope many will look in the mirror and improve our country.
amusedinil and tucker: Thank you for providing yourselves as prime examples of how Democrats/left-wingers are truely the “hipsters” of the political arena. You show that you are so deluded by your hipster-like tendencies to avoid being labeled and labeling others that you don’t even have the common sense (nor the sanity) to call a spade a spade; to call things for what they are. Another thing that doesn’t help is when leftist articles like this one use revisionist history which goes against actual history itself. Tie that in with diversionary language that is designed to keep you sheep from seeing how the world REALLY views us, and altogether it creates people like yourselves who are so apathetic that you won’t lift a finger for your rights (or any that really matter anyways), you won’t call out those who attack us as our enemies for who and what they are, and you’ll continue spewing your hypocritical, backwards, intolerant, and anti-intellectual BS wherever you go. If you want to help the situation here, then grow up.
Cheers for Tucker’s response to Mr. Willton I-Hate-Everything-And-Am-Smarter-Than-Everyone-Else.
this is exactly the point of the author…not all concentration camps were liberated by american soldiers. the “dreaded” soviets liberated concentration camps also. americans were part of a greater force in ww2 called “the allies”, but the majority of americans often fail to remember that. since so many americans don’t know much about the outside world and don’t care about the outside world, they aren’t privy to the fact that there is good in the world and it’s not just the domain of americans. there’s bad in the world and americans aren’t exempt from it. you stop being the insecure teenage girl, wilton, and grow up.
Your comment is demonstrative of several of the points made in the piece. I would have been disappointed if some American didn’t didn’t make the same ridiculous comment you did.
I agree with the article and many of the comments following it. However, to call it a “clever way to get… liberal points across” is just massively disappointing. If the problems of this country (our country… yes, both of us irregardless of political affiliation (I have none)) are to remain suspended in a finger-pointing match between liberals and conservatives, they will never be solved, because it will always be the other sides fault. We really, truly need to ALL grow up, start working together, reach some obviously useful, simple and productive agreements, and start fixing what is broken here… and I can’t even imagine how anyone could rationally argue that at the very least, we’ve got a critically damaged nation that is dangerously close to irreperable disaster.
@ wilton, and Tucker, yes this article requires some reasonable abilty to distil euphamisms, Liberal? a word used when a conservative feels intelelectually threatened and think it an insult, it is an opinion, something this American Soldier (liberal in your view) signed up under a goof ball prez like Bush, but still why do we have so many FAT ASS RETARTED Pumpkin people in my southern us city of Shreveport LA? this article explains it, but your generation gave us disco and the debt , Monsanto exxon and all the orther shit in world, now I say thank you to the wwII gen and fuck you to the (30 soemthings in the 70′s) generation, you are the problem, you saw the success of the greatest geration and like the rich kid who partied out the savings of his parents,(people like newt G.) and most 70 year olds now dont realize what they have dont to the world…very sad.
Willton: well on the one hand you might be right about the author, i dont know his age, and most do go through a phase (nothing bad about it, it is one of several phases of adulthood, just like the old geezer after about the age of 80 doesnt mind telling anybody anytime what he really thinks and what he really did as a young man, no sugar coating, that is another phase). But according to Willtons reasoning, then all young people of all cultures when they rebel could never have a good reason for the self-reflection on their own culture, no matter how bad the culture is that they speak of and no matter how true their words might be in this self reflection, i.e. according to willton they must always be only taken with a grain of salt. hmmmm , not much of an argument
I’m going to try to put this nicely: you obviously have not understood anything at all from what you read. All that stuff about the concentration camp you wrote, I’m guessing it was a response to the part of the text about not everything being about the US. What the writer meant with the Russians and all was that Americans tend to think the people of Europe have an altar to them in their living rooms and that it was the US army al by itself who punched Hitler in the face, while the truth is that, even though the American intervention was 100% decisive in the outcome of the war, it was an intervention in a war that was already happening with a lot more people already fighting in it and the US was far from having done all the work (the Soviets were the first to reach Berlin after all).
You also prove that american scepticism and fear of the outside the write mentioned: “that enlightened hip gentleman sipping wine in France could be molesting his young daughter at home.” pretty much translates into “if it’s good and from somewhere else then it has a terrible hidden flaw” or “good things can’t be from outside”.
Also, I’ve seen that attitude before, bashing against liberals who “claim to be above it all”. That’s not a point or an argument, it’s just bashing against opinions you don’t like while putting a tag on them that you relate to something you see as evil.
My advice? Open your mind and accept your country how it really is; if you keep denying all it’s flaws and mistakes and say it’s 100% perfect, that’s just fake love; when you see both the pros and cons of your nation and still feel pride and will to make it better, THAT is real patriotism and love for your homeland. That’s how we managed to build the EU and put an end to centuries of war and bloodshed, by getting our heads out of our asses and realizing how stupid we were to think that “my country is the best and the rest must know”.
Interesting opinion piece, and I’m inclined to agree with many points, but there is no supporting evidence provided, other than the author assertion that he is well-traveled and multi-lingual.
This isn’t meant to be based in fact, Grigori. It is a personal observation, an editorial, if you will. An essay…not a scientific study requiring supporting evidence.
I’ve lived outside the US…and my observations were identical to those of this author. Therefore…it’s a “truth” to me, but it may not be to others.
Not so. The WHO data is both accurate and supportive, for example.
I am a naturalized American citizen. As in, I chose to become an American. And I agree with all the observations here.
I hope you didn’t have to give up your original citizenship for that.
Thanks for your article Mark. As an American living and working in Spain, I am in complete agreement with you. It is so refreshing to read an intelligent and well-written piece by someone who has had similar experiences as me. Having lived in Spain for the past four years, I find Spanish culture to be more affectionate than American culture and Spanish people certainly know how to enjoy life to the fullest- aka three hour lunches with friends and family and weekday siesta from 2:00-5:00 pm. While the healthcare system over here is not without it flaws, it is a million times better than the U.S. system. I have an American friend who is considering moving back to the states with her Spanish husband but first wants to have a baby here in Spain due to the outrageous cost of birthing a child in the U.S. Sometimes I find myself annoyed with certain aspects of Spanish culture, for example the laid-back attitude of “mañana, mañana”; however, your article has helped me to not only reflect upon American culture but to appreciate the Spanish culture in which I now live. Gracias!!
Yeah Claire I bet that the 30% of Spaniards who are unemployed right now are also living life to the fullest too. While many of the authors points were interesting, people like you, and apparently him, who have the privilege to go live and work wherever they want make hard working people stuck where they’re at, wherever that is, somewhat nauseous.
Spain currently has a 27.2% unemployment rate; for young people it’s 57.2%. I’m sure that if you’re an American who moved there because you already have a job, it looks great, but I’m not sure you’re exactly appreciating everything about the situation. Perhaps taking three-hour lunches followed by a three-hour siesta is not a recipe for national greatness after all.
The manana syndrome is not that bad: fewer ulcers. There is a reason for it obviously.
Spanish culture is great but please have some conscience on what you write. If you are living in Spain you should know that there are 6.2 million of unemployed people and we will be in deep crisis for the foreseeable future… I am Spanish (living in Spain now and having lived in the US 12 years before). While i do agree with a lot of the points made in the article this response really bothered me…
All good except point in number 9 re: “Chemically-laced” food
Everything is a chemical. An apple, for example, is a complex combination of hundreds of chemicals. So this type of notion of food being chemically laced, I believe, is in error. Now if it’s about fatty, high sugar and highly processed foods, yes that is a problem Other than that great article.
I think it’s implied that he meant engineered food additives designed to enhance profit but that offer little or no nutritional value and, in some cases, may even be harmful with decades of consumption.
Start with “preservatives.” Rule those out, then look at “pesticides.” After taking away those foods, avoid “antibiotics.” Once you’ve removed those “chemicals” from your diet, see which foods are left (hint: you probably won’t find a logo or a name brand on them). Try eating like that every day in America.
Oh for gosh sakes Bill…you can’t tell me you don’t know what the author meant by “chemical-laced”? Go to your cupboard, pull out a box, and check the last 10 or so ingredients listed…sheesh.
Item Number 12: Americans will argue about anything, no matter how ludicrous it is…just for the sake of being “right”.
Bill, while I do agree that everything is technically “chemical”, please read beyond your short-sighted “chemical” analysis.
I believe the author refer to chemical-laced food, as all the hormones, toxic preservant/additives, toxic fertilizer/insecticides, genetically-modified food that is the norm in the US.
Thats why organic became a hip boom in the US, because other parts of the world eat mostly organic and besides being very tasty, you are certainly intaking less toxic/nocive man-made “chemicals”
Chemical
n.
1. A substance with a distinct molecular composition that is produced by or used in a chemical process.
2. A drug, especially an illicit or addictive one.
When the author talks about the food being chemically laced, he is obviously not talking about foods that occur naturally in nature. He is talking about the foods that have been processed and changed into some foreign chemical that is not safe to digest.
When you take things out of context, you lose the true meaning of what is being said. About 80% of foods in the US are GMOS (genetically modified and produced in a lab). So what he is saying is backed by fact.
Btw…I know for a FACT that China and Vietnam use food additives (chemical preservatives injected into fresh produce, hormones in animals and milk, and chemicals that accelerate the protein contents of foods when tested, but are harmful to the human body!) that are illegal in the Western world and have been highly criticized as dangerous by the WHO. Even local people go out of their way to afford buying imported milks and produce! While living in VN, I was told by my French doctor not to even buy VN rice, and buy Thai instead!
Bill,
When someone says ‘chemically-laced food,’ they mean that there are non-natural ingredients that in some instances are out and out poisons. The amount of poison may be small, but yet poison indeed. My question is: how much poison do you think is too much poison?
I was told by a German, that he received 3 months vacation every year. I asked him is that was only where he worked to which is said no, it is like that everywhere. I think that is amazing. What that means is the Germans earn in 9 months enough to support them all year. Hmmm, doesn’t sound like a bad deal.
Bill also
You’re being a pedant. The “chemicals” that make up an apple are very different from the “chemicals” that make up the pesticides and preservatives that make their way into a Hostess apple pie, for example — and you KNOW it.
Ehh. Not really an error. Just add “synthetic” in front of chemically and it makes perfect sense. We don’t think of most things as their constituent chemistry since it has absolutely no practical value.
Great writing, I agree with pretty much all you say apart from who is impressed with the US. But I´m not American so don’t have your perspective. I´m English. Woopie-fucking-doo.
I’m English and I agree with you Sarah.
Sarah,
who is impressed by the US?
I don’t know anyone.
I live in Germany and I also stayed in the Philippines for quite a while. Even Filipinos laugh about Americans, and the Philippines are a third world Country. They like Americans being White and having blue eyes, but that’s it.
The author of this great article is completely right.
Nobody wants to threaten the US and nobody loves them either.
US YOU ARE JUST COMPLETELY UNIMPORTANT TO EVERYONE, as long as you stay away with your army from other countries.
With apologies to the great Mel Brooks,
“You’ve got to remember, that (we) are just simple farmers, (we) are people of the land, the common clay of the new west. You know . . . morons.”
Bagoliuff: I’m going with Stripes:
The hell’s the matter with you?! Stupid! We’re all very different people. We’re not Watusi. We’re not Spartans. We’re Americans, with a capital ‘A’, huh? You know what that means? Do ya? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We’re the underdog. We’re mutts! Here’s proof: his nose is cold! But there’s no animal that’s more faithful, that’s more loyal, more loveable than the mutt. Who saw Old Yeller? Who cried when Old Yeller got shot at the end? [raises his hand] Nobody cried when Old Yeller got shot? I’m sure. [hands are reluctantly raised] I cried my eyes out. [even more hands go up] So we’re all dogfaces. We’re all very, very different, but there is one thing that we all have in common: we were all stupid enough to enlist in the Army. We’re mutants. There’s something wrong with us, something very, very wrong with us. Something seriously wrong with us! We’re soldiers, but we’re American soldiers! We’ve been kickin’ ass for 200 years! We’re 10 and 1! Now we don’t have to worry about whether or not we practiced. We don’t have to worry about whether Captain Stillman wants to have us hung. All we have to do is to be the great American fighting soldier that is inside each one of us. “
I really enjoyed reading your article. You hit the nail on the head!
You say you live in Colombia. The sister city to Bogota, called Soacha boasts the third most cries for help from its adolescents (those contemplating suicide) in the world. I think it onlyCalcutta and New Delhi in India beat out Soacha. These children are born of single parents, most on drugs, they feel helpless in a government that only takes care of the middle and upper classes. There is no sanctuary there for the poor who have no extended family, money is king in colombia and when you go you meet those who have either land or education or both. But I have seen these same people step over the dying young in the street on their way to their jobs. On the contrary in NYC where I grew up the city provides shelter for over 100,000 people a day qive or take when the weather is bad. It is a losing battle but it is fought everyday to combat poverty and help the less fortunate ones, We know that we have more people than Sweden with less resources.
Maracaibo in Venezuela has so much crime while it is next to the greatest resource of pretroleum in the world. Kidnapping and murder are common there making it the worst city in the world, worse the Juarez.
I agree that middle America needs to want less and share more. Live closer together and not spread out their communities. Build better transport systems and cut down on the calories and sugars. But America is so diverse and sometime refreshing at times. I could go on and on with differences from all the countries I have worked in and the US.
tnough I know it is mentally hard to readjust to the USA when you are native because of how estranged you feel. An mmigrant has a better chance of success than us Americans because they don’t carry our baggage around –
one last point – health costs are the worst thing about America which loses jobs and send us abroad
Agree with your points!
very good points!
My girlfriend live in soacha (yeah, she’s poor), but really happy, all her neighborhood is, she’s studying a master in the most expensive university in Colombia… what i’m trying to tell u is fuck u, Colombia rulz! yeah, there are places not so nice and lots of troubles, but we are one of the most happy countries in the world, with the nicest people most amazing woman, etc, etc, etc.
I’d have to partly agree with you now. My general gist would be that the US are more the ginea pigs of the world than anything, discovering the bleeding edge but after a few steps abandoning it for something “better”. Other countries and people pick up where the US left off and make a viable option from that and are successful. I feel that the US is trying to keep itself modern without keeping its successes strong and competetive, let alone alive (for lack of a better word). It insists on perfection before implementation, ergo a complete lack of implementation. This exists in nearly every field of study, politics, life. It is the mentality that the US has, by comparison to the author’s idea that mundane subjects are gratified. That is not the work of the US, but rather by technology. Instant gratification is the main effect that something like the internet has had on people in general.
This was a really interesting point. I personally had never thought in that direction before but I can see the relation.
I very much enjoyed this article. Though I am American myself I was certainly nodding my head quite a bit. A lot of us do feel entitled, and paranoid and we are declining as a culture and as a people. Thank you Mr. Manson for putting it in such endearing and amusing words. It made my night. ^-^
I agree with everything you say here, except one thing: you say Native Americans were primarily killed by “disease and plague (not us)”, however, the diseases and plagues were BROUGHT here BY “US”. F
Agreed. The government also had legit programs set up to literally move the Native Americans from their homes to whole other regions (see: the entire state of Oklahoma, until it was decided we needed that too) of the United States so that WASPs could spread themselves sea-to-shining-sea, without the fear of having to interact with people who weren’t of north-western European origin.
Reread the piece. He never claims that is his view, he points out that non-Americans see the native peoples being wiped out by disease and plague. Both of which were not brought by “us”, but rather by 15th to 16th century European colonists (personally, I’m neither of those and neither side of my family came to the States before the 19th century).
e2415410@rmqkr.net
Always nice to see someone fighting the good fight to replace baseless stereotypes of what other countries think with baseless stereotypes of what Americans think. Smug self-congratulations for travelers all around!
Thank you Mark, for an excellent article ! I plan to forward your link to many friends. I would agree with John (26 April) who replied very well on the Native American issues. Other than that small piece I believe that your writing is amazing ! Thank you.
I agree with about…..half of your points. I’m an Asian American female and have lived in Southern California my entire life, so I’m unable to comment through firsthand experience. However, my mother and father were born and raised in China, and my father has returned to visit for several months almost every year.
I guarantee that you have not been walking through the shittiest parts of Asia. My father, who is very prideful about being a Chinese man, will still condemn China because of it’s awful standards of living for the common person. For example, simply consider the air pollution problem that large Chinese cities are facing. Consider how difficult it is for their youth to find work. Consider the fact that it’s nigh impossible for the average man to move up the social ladder. Safety regulations are a joke, and work hours are long.
My mother’s experiences in Asia are outdated, as she has not returned to the continent in over 20 years, but when she was there — she literally almost starved to death. Her siblings almost starved to death. She spent years in a tiny metal closet on the roof of a building with no doors, only a window to crawl in and out of, and it took them months before they were able to buy used, cheap clothing on the floor.
My parents basically fulfilled the American dream. They came here with less than $20, and now own a house and two cars. I grew up under the poverty line in America, but I never once went hungry. How many other countries is that true for? My sister and I are both going to great colleges on a combination of scholarship and financial aid, and our family is a far cry from perfect. I could instantly tell that you were a straight white male. If you had a daughter, would you feel that it’d be safe for her to walk alone through the shittiest parts of the places you’d visited? And if you were not white, or not straight, the reaction you would have garnered from many people of those countries would be different.
I dated a man from the UK, and he wanted to move over to the USA. Employment opportunities here are still better than they are in the UK and he hails from an upper middle class background. There are a lot of flaws in America — for example, the political system and the corruption of the government are two big ones — but I don’t think all Americans are as complacent as you paint them out to be.
Many students I know regularly participate in rallies and demonstrations, others try to get the word out through media online, and others still, enter the political system in the hopes of changing something.
Thank you for the insights! Sometimes we Americans can be hyper-critical of ourselves. And I tend to agree with 6, 7, 9, and 10, but as you pointed out, we still have it better than many people, and a lot of people here are kind and want to improve. That said, I think we Americans can be very selfish…it’s in the culture…and very helpful for us to meet others who value the right kinds of things (family, friends) over the things our media has fed to us as important (looks, appearances, money, getting what you want).
This is a Truthful perspective.
Excellent points!
This is a great post, and as an American who choses to live abroad, I agree with most of it. However, I live in Japan – where it is safe to say that emotions are expressed much less freely than in the US…and if you walked up to a girl here and told her she was beautiful she might physically run! “Status” is also huge here – brands are more important than they are in the US, easily. Anyway, the point is that America is “better” by your standards listed here than some other countries, but I would just say “different” in this case. It’s all personal interpretation – I’d rather be left alone during my commute than asked inanly about the weather by an overly friendly American suburbanite who just drank 4 cups of coffee. And do I mind when I see $2000 handbags left and right here? No, I do not.
But again, great article. Hope it gets read widely in the States.
I totally agree! In my personal experience, “status” is much, much more important in Asian countries and in Turkey than I ever experienced in the U.S. And I taught in exclusive college prep academies in the U.S.!
This is idiotic. Your entire point is how arrogant we are and no one cares about us. Here you are judging other people and thinking a lot about the USA. How about you stop being a hypocrite and do something useful. Like visit Juarez Mexico I hear its lovely. Wear something shinny too.
Your response is idiotic, stubborn and butt-hurt…pretty much like how
the stereotypical American who is in arrogant close-minded denial would react….a bit ironic actually
11. Some people will risk life and limb to become a citizen of the USA because their native country is such a shithole.
This is so untrue. There’s Mexico and maybe two or three other countries where their citizens want to go to the states. If they could choose to go somewhere else, like going to the EU, theyd probably have a hard time to choose from. Hell, if canada was closer they’d go there for sure
Riiiight?
Very true!
Some people will also risk life and limb to become citizens of plenty of other countries too, for all manner of reasons that aren’t — as you so arrogantly put it — “their native country is such a shithole.”
Fact: Only 20% or so of the immigration that happens in the world is into the United States. The vast majority of people leaving their homes are headed OTHER PLACES.
I really enjoyed your article. Refreshing yet devoid of arrogance. I’ve lived abroad and seen most of the US and share your sentiments. I feel people like us need to stick around so our country doesn’t fall to the idiots. Oh wait, too late.
This is just terrible. You sound like that ultra-conservative family member who abandoned your brother and deemed him an alcoholic because he has a few beers from time to time.
Get over it, be a good person, do what’s right and quit calling your brother (who rarely even drinks) an alcoholic.
The world is not utopia, and whiners like yourself will likely find something to complain about in any scenario. It’s a real shame that the 300 million + Americans don’t live up to your expectations. If only we were all so smart and autonomous as you.
Also, after three immediate analogies, I realized the writer is incompetent, and the rest of the article proved that I was right.
So, my lecture to my smug, close-minded, self-serving brother – I’m not an alcoholic. You’re head is just so far up your ass that you’ve separated yourself from your own family because you have a misconception about alcohol. Do us all a favor, and miss the next few family reunions. We could do without the elitist Christian condemning the whole family to hell because we drank a bottle of wine.
Huh? Boy John…did YOU miss the point of this essay…
Item Number 13: Americans are SO very defensive. And can’t recognize the difference between an objective and subjective essay.
This is a perspective-based essay, people! NOT meant to be a factual, objective article. If you don’t agree with it, so what? It’s not presented as fact, but rather as one person’s perspective. So what do you care if it doesn’t set well with your own perspective?
… a major problem of the alcoholic is that s/he believes that s/he doesn’t have a problem.
2/10 would not read rant again
Oh oh , looks like someone is a little bit offended haha…your anger sounds pathetic
…says the person who immediately stereotypes conservatives and Christians, ignores what the author says about admitting that he himself has plenty of flaws, and thinks that analogies make a writer incompetent. He’s just trying to point out that every country has good and bad things about it (even America), and just thinks Americans should be more mindful of it. As for analogies… he is doing it in a way that people can understand. Analogies are one of the most powerful writing tools for explaining something or making a finer point. Nearly every great philosopher/theologian/scholor/any intellectual writer uses analogies. Although, I must congratulate you on the way you so brilliantly turned his analogy on itself. It was witty, satirical, intellectual, and had that ever so subtle sarcastic touch that really fleshed out your well thought out argument. You must be so proud of yourself.
Denial tends to be the first step in the process…good luck with that.
Very interesting article with some valid points and others I don’t fully agree with–mostly because I think generalizations tend to be a really bad idea. I write from the perspective of a US citizen born and raised, who has traveled through 48 of the 50 states and lived in at lesat six of them–both coasts, north and south and in between, in the largest cities and in a town of 350 people. I have also traveled to more than a dozen countries and lived in three, including working there, learning the language and having mostly locals as my friends. The point I agree with the most strongly–accepting that it IS a huge generalization that does not and cannot apply to all–is #3. We, as a nation, are woefully ignorant of the rest of the world. Only about one-third of US citizens have a passport. That means two-thirds of the people will never visit a foreign land, never experience another culture, never even realize how different most other cultures are from ours. We also have one of the worst records in the world when it comes to learning languages other than our own. Mostly, we simply don’t see the need and have no desire to do so. I bemoan our general American lack of curiosity about the rest of the world. This insularity is dangerous and self-limiting. If you are raising a child/children, I think the greatest gift you can give them is to help them become bilingual (at least) and give them the experience of living in one or more cultures outside their own. The world is a big and fascinating place and they should know that.
On point #5–several people have rebutted this by pointing to our prosperity and income levels and the amount of “stuff” we are able to have. I think that misses the point entirely. Mark did NOT refer to the “standard of living;” he reffered to the “quality of life.” They are not at all the same thing. I would much rather have less money and fewer “things” but live in a culture where family, leisure, repect for others, and the joy of life has a higher value than the size of your house or your bank account. As a young Mexican friend said to me recently (as we were dancing at his daughter’ first birthday party) “We are simple people. We don’t have much. But we love our family and we know how to enjoy what we have.” That, to me, is a genuinely fine “quality of life.”
On point #7 – While recognizing that this is a vast generalization, I tend to agree. Far too many in the US live their lives in fear–of each other, of the government, of “them” as opposed to “us,” (and there is no “them” there is only all of “us”) of violence, of imagined bogeymen, of things they don’t understand and therefore simply fear rather than learn about. Most of this fear comes from ignorance, including a general ignorance of the rest of the world.
Point #9 – This one’s a no-brainer. We are unhealthy as a nation, we die at higher rates than other developed nations, our children die early at much higher rates, and we pay WAY more for health care than other developed countries.
Finally — a note about friendliness or the lack thereof. I spent several years working as a tour director for escorted coach tours in the western US. Many of my passengers were foreingers–from the UK, Ireland, Australia, Israel, Malta, India and other countries. Always, after a week or so on the road, I would ask these foreign travelers what had so far surprised them most about their trip to the US. The answers were almost universally the same–they were surprised by how friendly Americans were. And every time I asked myself “Why are they surprised? What did they expect of us? Did they really think we were all unfriendly, mean, rude, unhelpful?” And if that IS what they expected, then why? It was an eye-opener to be sure.
And to those who answer any any criticism of the US with “If you don’t like it, leave,” I would reply… “If you don’t like it, speak up! Help be the change! The only way things ever get better is when people actively work towards making them better, changing the things that don’t work and building on the ones that do.
I agree that many Americans are woefully ignorant about the rest of the world. We are not taught much about it in school, parents don’t talk much about it, and people (many, certainly not all) lack curiosity, as you stated. It is so disappointing that 2/3 don’t have a passport…however…I do have one, and have only been able to get as far as Canada. We do have disposable income here, and too much junk, but at the same time, it’s very expensive to live here. Nothing is free. In a capitalist society, everything comes with a price tag. Then add in the ocean…it is expensive for Americans to travel to Europe, Africa, Asia, NZ, or Australia…While traveling from one country to another within Europe is relatively inexpensive. So there might be more who would get out of the country if we had closely neighboring countries as they do in Europe. Instead, people end up vacationing in another state bc it’s more affordable. To see the world is my dream.
Just wanted to let you know about the passport thing. Only 20% of Americans have passports and less than 13% of those actually use them (according to the State Department).
I also though your point number 9 was interesting. I’ve had friends from the Middle East talk about how they thought everyone was really friendly, at first. Its after months of living here that they realize its actually fake. For example, when the cashier at the grocery store asks how you are, he or she doesn’t really want to know, or frankly care. So while it seems nice, its fake. And I think we’d do better as a country is we tried to cut out our b.s.
Wonderful comment. I am an American living in Norway, I’ve lived here for 3 years. I agree with much of Mark’s article and you’ve made some very good points too.
I have 3 adult children, one of them has visited me in Norway, loved it and wants to return. I hope my other 2 children will find the time in their very busy lives to come experience Norway or another European country.
I’m torn… almost every point is right, to some extent. But I do get sick of people who tend to think bashing America makes them look more intelligent or cultured. As if everyone who is pro-America is a flag-waving NASCAR fan with a “Don’t Tread on Me” tattoo. A lot of liberal intelligent types try to one-up each other with hating on our country, as if it gives them more street cred because they “get it”. I’ve had a taste of some other cultures, and appreciate them for what they are, but here’s a few nuggets people, and he, fail to point out : 1) women have it better in America than any other country. It’s not even close. The are treated better in professional and personal settings than anywhere else I’ve been. 2) we’re about 50 years ahead of the rest of the world on race relations. Everyone talks about how Europe is so advanced culturally – until a black guy walks in the room. They literally stop talking and look at each other figuring out what to do next. So, yes we’re fat, yes we have work to do, but we’re still a great country for reasons that – ironically – some people are just ignorant of.
Race relations in america good and ahead by 50 years? I feel you are misguided in that belief. Maybe in your experience, but America as a whole is nowhere near some other countries.
Also, America is where the western ‘showgirl’ was born. America prides putting women on show to the point where they are more object than human. Your view illustrates Mark’s points that American’s always portray themselves as the best and that they are ignorant of the world.
So sorry to disagree, but you wouldn’t believe the levels of prejudice against other ethnic groups in countries all over the world! Not to mention the caste system in India. In many Eastern countries, parents will not agree to marriages for their children to a partner whose skin is not “light enough”, even though they are of the exact same race, religion, and social status!
Ever heard of Rwanda where people were slaughtered simply for being from different tribes? Serbia and “ethnic cleansing”? Israel and the Apartheid actions against native Palestinians?? The way Kurdish people are discriminated against? Ever heard of the Romani people (gypsies) and how they’re treated in Europe? Bedoins in Middle Eastern countries are not allowed to graduate from Universities or obtain driving licenses! Asian immigrants are treated like slaves.
What “other countries” are these that you speak of that America is behind in race relations? Have you lived in those countries?
@Not so much..: Oh will you cut the femo-fascist rhetoric? Women are in a position of PRIVILEDGE in the US now! Look at how women screw over fathers who genuinely want to be with their sons! Look at how women are CONSTANTLY making FALSE CRIES of RAPE just because they regret having a one night stand or relationship with someone! How about the FACT that women are JUST AS GUILTY of domestic violence as men; actually a little more than men! Don’t believe me? Go look at the statistics which PROVE that feminism is a CANCER to our society and is nothing more than modern-day sexism by way of MISANDRY! Here’s a place for you to get educated and get your head straight on the issue: http://www.avoiceformen.com
Sorry, but you are wrong about the gender equality/women’s rights. You should check your facts before claiming such a thing. Check for example Global Gender Gap index, US is the 22nd on the list: http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-gender-gap . Northern Europe tops the list, and as a Finnish woman I can say that it’s really good to be a woman here.
As a hispanic woman, I’d much rather live in Europe than in the US for both respect for women and racial bs. I don’t know where you experienced racism, but my european experience was completely the opposite.
I actually don’t know how you can possibly have written your comment in all seriousness.
I can say after living for a year in a city on the East coast, that American race relations are the worst I’ve ever seen. I’ve lived in several cities in England, including some VERY white-dominated towns in the North (rough equivalent to your South) and NOWHERE else but America have I seen such overt socio-economic differences based entirely on race. I have never felt tense in the presence of a crowd composed entirely of black people, but being a white person in America makes me feel genuinely ashamed. I saw a girl at an Ivy-League school drop something then say “Oh just go get a black person to clean it up.” ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I know one isolated incidence of racism doesn’t make up an entire country, but it’s just indicative of the roles that black people have here. “The American Dream” is a tasteless joke. The gap between rich and poor is bigger in America than it is anywhere else, just don’t even get me started. I arrived here an avowed Conservative and I’m leaving a socialist. The state of the trade unions, the cost of healthcare, the cost of higher education, and this ridiculous knee-jerk reaction to the word ‘socialist’. Because without even finding out what ‘socialism’ actually means in the real world, Americans just use it to describe things they don’t like. THE COLD WAR IS OVER.
Nowhere else do people still delude themselves with ideas that were thrown out after the Victorian era. The ‘free hand’ of the market? The deserving and undeserving poor?
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for this to be a rant. America has much to recommend it. Achieving a level of comfort here is doable for most people, and I really admire the genuine belief people have in the ability of the political system to change things. I feel we’re far more cynical in the UK. But for the country to move forward America HAS to look long and hard at the race problem that is clearly ongoing. It’s the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about. I know people will quote Obama as the proof that the American dream is real and that America isn’t racist, but he is the hundred million to one exception, and I don’t think everyone should be patting themselves on the back for being liberal enough to vote in a highly-qualified U of Chicago graduate who, by the way, is as much black as he is white.
Also: to address your point about women. I haven’t had as much experience of the world of work to comment on professional standards, but from my experience women in the UK are treated absolutely as equals. From a personal perspective, the attitudes of men are the same. Though I will point out I have never seen ‘grinding’ before. Face to face dirty dancing? Oh yes, especially in continental Europe. But girls bent over while being essentially dry-humped to music? I have never seen that before, and I’ve been to some sketchy clubs in my college days.
Just some thoughts to consider before you embarrass yourself preaching to Europeans about how damn racist and sexist they are.
P.S Europe is NOT one heterogeneous lump. I realise that neither is America. But it is one country, with one federal government, and one language. The breadth of culture across Europe is far more extreme, so if Americans who CLEARLY HAVEN’T EVEN DAMN WELL BEEN THERE could stop referring to England, Italy, Sweden and Belarus under the umbrella term ‘Europe’ that would be pretty dandy.
Women in America definitely do NOT have it better than anywhere else in the world. Better than Saudi Arabia? Yes. Every other country in the world? No. You must have not been to very many countries if that’s the way you see things. Just look into maternity leave in the US and healthcare for women compared to other countries. Women are treated atrociously. Cross the border into Canada and women have it thousands of times better.
As for race relations, America is 50 years BEHIND, if anything. Race plays a part in every single aspect of American life and everyone is so concerned with race. Get over it. People come in different colours and many countries in the world have accepted that fact. Why haven’t Americans? If things were so advanced, the President wouldn’t constantly be referred to as a “black” man; he’d just be the President, as all presidents before him. There are racists everywhere, but in America, they’re far more in the open and seen in far larger numbers.
I was born and raised in America, have lived abroad for 10 years in three countries, and will never be going back. It’s a backwards place full of political and corporate corruption. I don’t trust US policy makers to have my best interests at heart. They only care about which lobbyist is taking care of them and if the company that lobbyist works for is killing Americans with their product, so be it.
People like “Mike”, who posted above, clearly haven’t experienced the world, considering him implying that Juarez is an accurate portrait of life in a foreign country. Juarez is a product of the drug trade and that drug trade is fueled by AMERICANS, so you caused Juarez to be what it is, Mike. The world outside America is beautiful and rich in culture, so why don’t you get out and see it?
@Tank
I’m from Germany.
Where did you get that tale from? …. -Ah, let me guess, it was another of this bad Hollywood movies…
I’m 22 years old.
I have never been in a room and observed what you want to have observed.
People stop talking when a black Person enters the room?
I don’t say there aren’t a few Nazis left.
But your Country isn’t any better in that.
How about the Ku-Klux-Klan?
Rings a bell? Founded in the US to oppress black skinned people.
Btw, I just recently read an article that even though half of the Americans who sells drugs are White (the other half is black)
Four times more black than White Americans are imprisioned for drug dealing. Where does that come from?
I tell you, you guys are way more racistic than you think you are.
That’s the simple and sad truth.
in the one video the professor cites average statistics, yet the fact is, America’s best are the worlds best. It’s bad enough to be liberal, but to be ashamed of your own country for no apparent reason is very sad.
Similarly, Jackson, if you’re one of America’s best, fine. Measure it however you like–income, contribution to society, volunteerism, first responder, etc.. If you’re exceptional, be proud to be exceptional. If you hide behind other American’s achievements as proof of your “above averageness”, it’s bad enough to be conservative. You’re not exceptional by virtue of sliding out of your mother in the United States vs. a few miles (or several thousand) north, south, east or west of the country’s borders…
fucking liberal…
Typical conservative…
I love the fact you state ‘liberal’ as though it is an insult… Also the use of the adjective ‘fucking’ must mean you think he’s getting laid. Cool.
Two things, and the exception to these things is Europe (generally): 1. The legal system in many countries are completely flawed in regards to violent crime. Violent crime goes largely unpunished in many places in this world, and the incarceration max for the most serious violent crimes such as murder is 20 years in most Latin and 3rd world countries. The authorities also have no oversight as well, and if you believe shakedowns/unlawful detentions are a product of American paranoia, then you have not spent enough time in Central/South America. Simply basing your opinion on your experiences is foolish and naive. Most of us are not going to be a victim of violence while traveling, but the people in these countries deal with it daily. 2. Cleanliness. Weird to think this applies to the US when you think about some areas, but having basic garbage disposal is a thing of beauty compared to many countries you have referenced. Simply leaving shit laying around in the public in the US is not acceptable, yet I am continuously reminded that many places hold that standard in little regard when I travel abroad.
Agreed on both points! In the U.K and Europe, a “Life sentence” is about 15 years and then they get out. Even child molesters and murderers! And I’ve been dumbfounded by the filth in many countries, especially in Asia. Complete with human and animal excrement, and fish or animal guts on the sidewalks, children literally shitting as they’re held over shrubs by their care taker out in public in broad daylight, men and children openly peeing against a lamp post or wall. Yeah, the author mentions Singapore (whose streets you can eat off of) and Hong Kong. Those are THE most advanced cities in Asia, possibly the world. The rest of Asia does not compare! While living in the capital city of Vietnam, I was constantly disgusted on my daily 10 minute walk to work, had several pairs of shoes and pants ruined (at the hemlines) irreparably due to the filth on the sidewalks and streets. That kind of filth doesn’t wash out, no matter how many stain removers you try!
Amazing–I have always felt like America was just tolerated. I’d love it, if we’d shut the fuck up and take into account how other countries run things. Good God, what a great read! Thank you– listening.
Brilliant article. It also summarises my personal relationship with Spain. Many Spaniards suffer from similar ‘illnesses’, especially those who vote the bunch of fascists and fundamentalist catholics that run the country.
“I speak multiple languages. I’m not a tourist. I don’t stay in resorts and rarely stay in hostels. I rent apartments and try to integrate myself into each country I visit as much as possible. So there.”
The only thing worse than an obnoxious American tourist is an obnoxious American tourist poseur who thinks he’s better than other obnoxious American tourists. Pathetic.
the head of the nail has been hit.
I agree with a lot of the points you made, most of them are so obvious and apparent but you don’t realize them until someone points it out to you. I grew up between the US and Italy and I have dual citizenship. The one error that I’ve noticed with a majority of my european and middle eastern friends is that there still is this false ideal of the ‘american dream’ for foreigners, especially when unemployment is high in their own country. There is something mystical about America, I live in Serbia right now and I know for certain most people hate the American government but envy the American way of life, not for what it is, but for what they think it is. Great post though man
As a US soldier who’s been stationed in both Korea and Germany, I agree with this. Coming back to the states after 6 years was a massive culture shock – after (for the most part) only seeing Americans who *must* keep fit as part of their job for so long, realizing just what a big country we are was a hell of a shock. I agree with the other points made, as well – for example, it’s well known that if you really want to get quality health care, you should try to get a referral to a German hospital (we didn’t have outside referrals in Korea, so I can’t attest to that).
Excellent article. One thing the author failed to mention was the woeful linguistic ability of the majority of Americans. Most of the people I met during a recent trip to Europe spoke at least two languages fluently and many spoke three or four. They are invariably surprised to meet an American who speaks any language other than English.
“Most of the people I met during a recent trip to Europe spoke at least two languages fluently and many spoke three or four. ”
Most people in the United States don’t *need* to learn more than one language. We speak English, then our nearest neighbor to the north speaks predominantly English. Go to Texas, New Mexico, SoCal, or Arizona and you’ll see *tons* of bilingual people who speak Spanish and English fluently. Why? Because they need to know it and have an opportunity to speak it with people whose native tongue is a dialect of Spanish. I guarantee if every state spoke a different language, most of us would know our own state, and at least those of our neighboring states or states we visit frequently, much like Europeans, who have several countries each with their own language. They *need* to learn it to talk people that might live just a few hundred miles or less away from them. I literally have to drive nearly 2000 (over an entire day’s worth of driving) before I reach a location that doesn’t have English as their primary language.
It’s easy to assume that being monolingual is always woeful. However, people in other countries who speak multiple languages usually do so out of either immersion or necessity. A European, for example, living in an area so densely packed with many languages, will come into contact with them frequently. If s/he did not naturally acquire a second or third language, s/he will likely have to study them later. Similar stories in India, China, Arabic-speaking countries, regions of Canada, and almost anywhere with multilingualism or diglossia (two dialects/languages in one community for different purposes).
In fact, in terms of studying hard to master a language they don’t need, most countries’ citizens are just as “bad” as Americans. Unless we are talking about an American who lives in a bilingual community, bashing an American for being monolingual is like bashing a Japanese person for not studying Telugu or French.
That said, of course being multilingual is great fun and many studies show that it’s beneficial for your brain. Because someone might assume that I wrote this because I only speak English, I’ll tell you I am bilingual and studying a third language, just because I like languages and traveling. I just wanted to point out that it’s ignorant to imply that Americans are inferior for only speaking English.
Let’s hear it from the immigrants themselves: America is Great! I am from Cuba and I wouldn’t trade this place for anywhere in the world. If you are smart and talented, America is the place to be. Most of the things Mark Manson talks about are common to ALL countries. This what he fails to realize. The grass is NOT greener on the other side. We, Americans, as a society have room to improve. But so do other societies. Just because you went outside and saw how different others are, and popped your bubble of what you thought it was supposed to be, doesn’t mean it is better over there nor worse over here. People that have gone beyond your current state of enlightenment agree that America is pretty damn good, flaws and all. Sure, in some statistics Norway is ahead of the US, or China graduates from engineers than the U.S., etc. But this doesn’t mean we are failing, it just means that the world is getting better overall, and that we must keep improving to stay competitive.
Claudia is a wise Latina.
Let’s hear it from another immigrant: America is not so great! It may be better for you in particular, but my perspective coming from Germany is such that I see an awful lot of poverty, corruption, violence, … and ignorance – none of which are necessary given the overall we