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 socioeconomic 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? As it turns out, stuff
you always assumed was normal your entire childhood 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 this: 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 (e.g., 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 send 55 emails 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.)
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 (twice), 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, how 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-stampers for me: the Vietnamese were more concerned with independence (not us), Hitler was primarily defeated by the Soviet Union (not us), there is evidence that Native Americans were wiped out largely by disease and plague BEFORE
Europeans arrived and not just after, and the American Revolution was
partly “won” because the British invested more of their resources in fighting France (not us). Notice a running theme here?
(Hint: It’s not all about us. The world is more complicated.)
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 a 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.
To
me, being wealthy is 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 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 — along with
Swedes, Luxembourgers, the Dutch and Finns — 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 (and soon to be Saudi Arabia). 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 nearly as many guns as 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 honest and open with me, it actually
scared me. Some stranger in a bar would invite me to his house for a
barbeque 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
35th — tied with Costa Rica and right behind Slovenia, and slightly
ahead of Chile, Denmark, and Cuba. 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, along with 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 and instead indulge in 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. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some funny
cat pictures to look at.
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