How the USA is regarded from the rest of the world

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGO42gvCSPI[/youtube]

Well, considered superficially the only thing that I really judge very awfully about the United States is, that so many of them are highly religious and conservative and that their "democracy" would in most far more educated countries in Europe be called plutocracy in the best case, only two parties who are both conservative, just one of them is it to an insane degree and the other one is ok.

The rest is fine!

This clip is from almost 20 years ago.... and not much has changed -

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbO0f9uaWZE&feature=related[/youtube]

USA is basicly a much more crowded arrogant pissed off version of Canada with guns.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVXGQeciJaM[/youtube]

This one is hilarious.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hWJ5cI-uQ8[/youtube]

When my brother visited China (several different places in Northeast and Southwest China), he spoke passable Mandarin. As he is white, the locals were amazed. Many Han Chinese families wanted to take pictures of him. They were even more fascinated by his black travel companion, who also spoke Mandarin. I know a couple other white Mandarin speakers who visited China, and they tell me something similar.

I know nothing about the general Han Chinese perception of the U.S, and less about the other groups. I know that, while the U.S. and China are cordial and often constructive on a diplomatic level, the U.S. is far from an ally. They demonize us in a similar way our politicians demonize China, and maybe even worse.

What I do know is that these anecdotes support a narrative in my mind that the typical Han Chinese families like American individuals, or at least Westerners. They could just like us for our money, but the Japanese have money, and I am sure the Chinese do not like them. What I do know is, based on the prominence of American brands in China, most Chinese urbanites are embracing American culture. It is something I wish to learn more about.

Like McGattet says to Danno on Hawaii Five Oh : F*ckem Danno!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJYY1CFKzTg[/youtube]

Just as you (and I) disagree with the Americanization of Europe, I think the converse applies as well. For example, French social democracy and the restriction of gun ownership (both things you've cited as differences) would work quite differently in the states and this is primarily because of cultural differences in the populations. Also your perception of the rural U.S is quite skewed. The most natural and beautiful parts of my state (Pennsylvania) are the rural parts and that is why most people who can afford it live in rural areas. The cities (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, etc) suffer urban decay and poverty. They are far less beautiful (although Pittsburgh is quite nice) because of industrialization. Furthermore, because of a huge difference in population density between the states and Europe (even in the Northeastern states this is true) homes and land are VERY cheap compared to even an apartment in Europe. Hence, people who wish to have fewer restrictions by their local government or the state will find it much easier to own land and build their home in a rural, isolated, place.

The biggest difference between the Americans and Europeans is rooted in how each has historically approached liberty. Europeans approached liberty as a positive government aim, in which certain groups gained special advantages based on their original placement in society. This enables collectivism. Americans have historically aimed toward negative liberties, meaning less government and fewer interventions. This enables individualism. This of course works because the United States is a huge federation with a population of 300 million, of diverse mindsets, and no national identity. It's as if we were to say a the European Union would collectivize its constituent countries and diverse peoples.

Of course, with mottos like



one would expect a certain level of government involvement to help assure equality and fraternity.

Since 1956, our motto has been



and we pretty much dropped E Pluribus Unum. "In God we Trust" is a silly motto.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0rUtSLZTlc[/youtube]

F*ck the rest of the world.

ruveyn

He does the American accent quite well.

When Monty Python used to do our accent, they sounded like Canadians

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkp7f8IxJNU[/youtube]

i think americans remind us brits what the world would be like without a state to rise up to, so that in itself is a reality bleep., secondly we all lost ancestors during the gulf and second world war days.

i think that maybe there are certain colonies out there which admire american patriotism, after all they did help us win us the war, but besides that, im sure that
without certain people such as us europeans in the world there wouldn't be a divided culture
in the way we think and shape our morals now.
im not a military activist either and am not sure whether to believe that actions speak louder
than words . In the case of former liberals and bystanders we wont critiscise others
if the nation goes up the creek for no reason but what are we to believe when the aid does
not come to our rescue at all? look at syria for example.
The mere factor that you can achieve a party poll based on the public vote of one constituentcy
decreeds that we're probably marginalised enough as it is and dont need another round of
who plays who next in the polls during the former retired labour party pm gordon brown, who has dampened the nation with answers that has only gotten false results.
Us europeans dont need war and dont want a war.
one thing we possibly have in common is we've both recieved terrorist attacks and suffered
consequences and both declared a war on iraq, american troops killed bin laden and harry shot an afghan
tali rebel leader. wars were fought lives have been lost and we're still in the thick of it trying to make up
for a day that seemed never ours to leave in the first place.
all i know for sure is you cant throw a petrol bomb over all the graves of those who've killed and lied, or
you'd submit a post war attack on more scoundrels who have fled the courts of injustice and hailed
themselves leaders of more nations. the retaliations goes on, lets not withdraw on the basis of failure,but unite in empathy for all the lives once lost. i especially felt sorry for the victims of 9/11 and their families.
Las thing we need right now is a cold war over fuel costs.