When it comes to bashing America, some people have their head buried so far up their ass they couldn't find their way out with a road map. Every single criticism of America is either exaggerated or the problem also exist in every other Country, sometimes much worse than it exist here.
A good post. I generally agreed with the piece but his three years of traveling around the world leaves me thinking he's still in a honeymoon mindset. He hasn't been anywhere long enough to deal with reality. After a while, if you travel enough, you understand most people aren't terribly bright, and seek instant gratification and aren't picky in how they get it. And no matter the culture, the laws or any other factor, everywhere on Earth, stupid rules are made everyday by people who like being in charge for the sake of being in charge and these rules are enforced by the kinds of people who like enforcing stupid rules. Then again, maybe he's onto something. If you never stay anywhere too long, maybe the hardships that are universal never have time to take root... All of the criticism of the US is legit, but it's not as though it's a bed of roses anywhere else. Israel is full of expats and the only ones that don't complain about their home countries (or their new one) is maybe the African refugees. I'm an equal opportunity complainer, and no place has everything. Personally, I hate the way the IRS is empowered to tax me even though I live and pay taxes somewhere else. I don't make much, but Uncle Sam gets awfully cross if you don't phone him. Even if you have no assets and are making less than what would be minimum wage in the US. I also hate the Cult of the Invisible Hand. The private sector can't compete for major infrastructure projects in the same way government can install fiber, build high-speed rail, dams, efficient power grids, or provide decent medical care to non-rich people and so on. It has less to do with ideology than it does having politicians that aren't corrupt or incompetent. But these days, in the US, you get to have the worst of all those possible worlds. No one wins except the private companies that....get contracts from the government. That's starting to happen more and more in Israel, and the result has not been good. The last thing anyone here other than the Prime Minister and a few of his wealthiest friends want to be is "like the US." That's largely what the J14 movement is about. It's also true that life is very different when you are clearly an outsider. It's going to color your experience. I moved to Israel years ago with a girlfriend who lived in the US since she was 13. She hated it here. "In the US," she explained, "I'm an exotic Middle Eastern woman. In Israel, I'm a short mizrachi girl who speaks Hebrew with an American accent and looks like everyone else." For me, I'm often the beneficiary of my otherness, which is cool at first, but in a place where families are close-knit and loyalties and friendships are formed in grade-school, it's a bit hard to have a normal social life in a small country where everyone knows everyone and where social conformity and the draft are ironclad rules. Or let me put it another way, getting an easy hookup with a girl because she likes your foreign accent generally is not going to lend itself into becoming a serious relationship based on mutual respect. It's also just as likely that you will be pre-judged as a moron or uncultured barbarian for being an American. That certainly does happen. The thing I like best about the US is the culture of individuality vs one of conformity. I work in advertising and I write very differently for the US and UK than I do for Israel / North Africa / Southern Europe. In the US, it's an appeal, to "This is the bestest thing ever, and it's awesome and new." And while that's mindlessly shallow, it still beats the alternative. In the Med it's "This is the most popular thing ever and your friends all like it, so you should too." Israelis say Americans are fake but pretend to be friendly. Americans say Israelis are rude and pretend it's honesty. Both are correct, and I'd prefer a happy medium. Quality of life overall in the US is not terribly great unless you are very wealthy. I had reverse-culture shock food issues and found it difficult to eat things that were inexpensive, healthy and tasty. In most cases you were forced to pick two. The biggest freakout was coffee (sorry the coffee cultures of Italians, Turks and Arabs is going to beat Starbucks any day). It wasn't long before I was on a chicken-fried steak and Whataburger diet, which was a nice treat, but I gained like 5 pounds in two weeks I saw my father and grandmother both go broke because of health-cost issues...while I pay $30 a month and almost all medication is subsidized. I don't need to own a car and if I spend more than 20 minutes a day travelling for work, it's because I'm walking. I weigh less. I'm more active, and I'm generally happier, which is saying an awful considering that I live in a corrupt right-wing theocracy that taxes the hell out of me to sustain a military occupation of it's neighbors. Most Israelis I know do NOT want to live in the US. The ones that do are largely uneducated and believe if they go there, they are going to get rich. That isn't to say people don't want to visit, but the US is not very user-friendly for travelers other than maybe NYC. Israelis like India. It's cheap, it's easy to get around, crowded and rude, and in short, a lot like home. If people do want to emigrate (and there are plenty) most are going to Berlin. Last, I appreciate that the writer of the article touches on the problem where the US is divided into camps that see the world in out-of-proportion-with-reality extremes: a left that wants to apologize for being born American and believes the whole world hates them, and right that's really butthurt because the whole world doesn't love them. If both share one trait in common, it's an irrational, paranoid fear of the rest of the world for their own partisan misconceptions. I think that's largely accurate.
I was born and raised overseas (middle east). I've visited the United Arab Emirates (Dubai), Qatar, Germany, the Netherlands, France, among others, and I still think that nothing even comes close to how freaking awesome this country this. Yes, there are a lot of $h1tty aspects here, the expensive healthcare, the cut throat profit-oriented life style, the over commercialization of life in general, but when it comes down to it, this is the greatest country in the world as far as I'm concerned and I am damn proud to call it home. On a separate note, I think the geographic location within the U.S may have a huge influence on what one thinks about this subject. I've been to the west coast (L.A) and I've been down to Florida, and I sincerely hated the hell out of L.A and thanked god once I got back to Houston. Houston is home. She's not pretty, but she is damn great in its own little way. Oh, and foreigners are obsessed with the U.S culturally. People try so hard to copy everything we do down here. The music, the fashion trends, the TV shows, everything. 'Murca, F*** yeah
This is a good article that only enlightened people will take time to think critically about. America does suck. I've never been able to get out of here, but Colombia is high on my list of places to possibly move to. Seems like a great place. Health Care is so ****ed. My friend recently tore her ACL after being thrown from her moped after a car pulled out in front of her. The insurance companies did nothing, the cop didnt even write a report, and even with a lawyer it had been 4 months and she still is no closer to landing surgery. Most Americans have the personalities of complete bores. Take a look at your Facebook page. Of course we are robots programmed by television. Nobody wants to admit this. the food thing is obviously right too. And how many people are going on anti anxiety meds? America is a sinking ship. See you all in New China
I have family that doesnt live in the US. They're always whining of the "3rd world ways" they're in. I've lived outside the US for 4 years (in US territory though, but you can narrow down the possible locations yourself). I thanked God that when I arrived back in Texas seeing how neatly run and governed it seemed in comparison to where I lived. A lot of perceptions can depend on size of the country or region, if you're a small community type or family type, if you like to see new things in places that have lots to offer, or if you're a "home body". If you value stability and predictability over volatility and changeability. If value the "life is what you make it" mantra over a life must be provided one. Personally I think the "life is what you make it" part of America is very self serving. You get credit when you do well, and when you don't its your fault. And the people that do well hold it over you. Yet there's so many measures of what "success" is. America for all its variances and so called diversity, they really can narrow the parameter of success into really small areas. The saving grace of America is you DO get a second chance. But nowadays with all the monitoring and tech tools to measure things, its harder than it used to be. Once they've "pegged" you, you might be buried and ruined before gaining a legitimate second shot. Thats a DEFINITE sign of Haves and Have Nots. Everyone values tv and movie entertainment. And the US brings it big there even with all the recycled sequels. Yes I was upset that people didnt "get" Star Wars where I was at. But they didnt mind a regular Chris Tucker movie. Its the LITTLE things like that
There is definitely something about looking different from the norm. When I was in Beijing last year I was with a buddy who is white and has a shaved head and dresses like Bear Grylls and he seemed to be the most popular guy in Beijing. Chinese would want to take pictures of him or would even openly gape at him. Conversely I seemed fairly popular in Ireland and in Temple Bar and had many people want to take pictures with me and a few Irish girls came up and hugged me out of the blue. Now I would like to believe that was due to my uncontrollable male magnetism (all of us can't be Ronny) but I think most of it was due to that they hadn't seen an Asian-American. Ironically my same buddy who was a hit in Beijing was treated like crap in Dublin because they thought he was Polish.
This is a big no-**** list, except #2, which is wrong. I know from talking to friends from other countries that the US is a four letter word in a lot of countries outside of England, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Ouch. For those who mostly agree with this list (I do not), what are you going to do to make it right?
QFT. I do think things have been good enough here that the disconnects presented do exist. Some is true for some people. Overall it's just to rile people up. A little too much loathing there for my taste. Whatever. It's all too fashionable now. Maybe stuff like this is good in that the bandwagoners will find another team for which to play/root, and anyone who is disenchanted and wants to cut bait rather than change, or create and affect change, probably isn't worth their salt anyway. I'm not a rah rah patriot necessarily and enjoy other places and cultures, but I think we have enough good here to work with. That said, can't say I like what's happening in our political/governmental climate these days. I could care less if this year's pageant hopeful knows why maps are, you know, and so forth in places like South Africa and the Iraq.... but there are things happening in this country that seem to be headed in the wrong direction in terms of freedom, equality and prosperity, in my personal opinion.
I agree with the both of you. While I think the guy is more or less right on every point, he seems to seriously lack some perspective on America and why it is the way it is, and why everyone else is the ways they are. As if the USA had a monopoly on dysfunction. And, he seems to have this naive belief that if Americans only understood these things like he does, that something would be better.
i tried reading this twice and could barely get past #4, so I forced myself to finish. some guy just became enlightened to all this and needed to write an article about stuff we already know? congratulations, you've been to a ghetto in a third world country, didn't get raped, and lived to write about it. the title alone is laughable. those "things" he listed over and over could have been summed up in one paragraph without the "10 things" list.
looks to me like some commie god hating fascist liberal wrote that. let me show the author my shotgun and bible bring knock some sense into him =/ the article was right on with all of them but left out one important thing or two. The rest of the world likes our shi*** rap music, bad remakes and greasy food.
Actually, this pretentious d-bag's criticisms are primarily... you know what, I am not even going to bother. I'll just say, he should have named his article 'Ten Things I Don't Understand About America' and not 'Ten Things You Don't Know About America'.
