Though it's often used as the butt of jokes, there's still a lot to appreciate in the United States, whether you live there or are visiting.
But there are also a lot of things that leave onlookers infinitely perplexed about what it's actually like to live in the United States and why they do things like that.
Redditor DadIsMadAtMe asked:
"What’s the hardest thing for you to comprehend about the American culture?"
School Pride!
"School mascots. Where I live, we just have teams and just play matches against people."
"In America, it’s all like, 'GO, EASTTOWN EAGLES!!! OOGACHACKA!' and there would be some person in a cheapo eagle suit spinning a basketball on his fingers or something. You would have a full dramatic cheerleader dance-off before your match, we just shake hands and stare hard at each other."
- benderbrodriguez2
No Child Left Behind
"Canadian here on spring break in Florida."
"I can't get over the baseline... I don't know how to say it, the baseline education level? There are smart people, but there are also completely uneducated people. Like, the divide is massive."
- Spiffydude98
Little-To-No Paid Time Off
"Having two weeks vacation or no PTO (Personal Time Off) for most."
"In my current country, you have to take two weeks of mandatory leave in a row. Including public holidays, I get about seven weeks of vacation per year."
- poor_decision
Financial Debt Culture
"How casual debt is, how easy it is to take loans and credit cards out in other people's names without their knowledge, and how casual it is to rack up huge amounts of debt."
- StrangeDarkling
...Enough Said.
"College fraternities."
- Gorazde
Where's the Poutine?
"Americans love french fries, cheese, and gravy, but poutine never took off south of the border. Always found that odd."
- righhanddan
Zero-Tolerance Policies
"The zero-tolerance rule... Who came up with that s**t? The victim is the one who is f**ked. Either he gets bullied or he gets a penalty for defending himself."
- vomahaf244
Political Followers
"A lot of people follow and worship politicians like they’re gods with flags and all that s**t. In the UK, it’s universally acknowledged that we hate all politicians pretty much equally."
- Monkeytennis01
Tipping Culture
"Having to tip almost everywhere. It definitely makes sense at some places, but feel like we have to tip at the most random of places these days."
- Educational_Word_647
Cultural Appropriation
"I speak as a Latin American, just setting that down on the table."
"I don’t get why people think that using something from my culture or showing interest in Latin culture is 'cultural appropriation.' I’ve even spoken to a lot of people in my culture about this thing and we all think it’s alright."
- OG_sweaterguy
Healthcare
"Your healthcare system, it's so complicated and expensive. And people going bankrupt because they get sick, what bulls**ttery is this?"
- MrTempleDene
The Stereotypical American Eagle
"American here, fun fact! That stereotypical screech you commonly hear associated with the bald eagle is actually a red-tailed hawk. Bald eagles do not make that sound. They make more of a weird (way less cool) chirping sound."
"I was too old when I learned this for the first time."
- ay-aye-ron
Plus Tax... What?
"Why don't they include tax in the total price of something? Just include it and make life easier. I don't want to have to do maths every time I go there and buy something."
- Old_Understanding325
Not In That Exact Order
"You are allowed to drive a car at 16, own guns, and sign up for the military at 18. But alcohol, behold the devil's liquid!, is only for 21+. The math ain't mathin'."
- lover_of_wisdom_
Money Money Money Money
"Lobbying."
"Legal bribery, what the h**l."
"Also, why do you have to do your taxes? If the Government, in the end, knows if what you paid was what you actually owed, why not just tell you."
- Lolleos
People looking in on the United States definitely had some questions about the people who live there and the systems they have to observe. But the big secret is that many Americans are asking the same exact questions.
Oh America, you have some funny, funny ways about you. Even as an American myself I sit back and watch us and think... "WTF?!?!"
So we can only imagine what the rest of the world thinks when they're watching us. Or how culture shocked they are when they visit us.
Of course, it's easier to evaluate from afar. So let's read up on some opinions about the good ole U.S of A.
Redditor neolee203 wanted to hear the opinions some of you have about the "American" way of life, they asked:
Non-Americans, what is strange about America ?
I do often wonder why we don't take more time to ourselves. Did you know that some countries take siestas? Mandatory naps, paid. I would kill to indulge in mandatory naps.
"may cause death"
Angry New Amsterdam GIF by Global TVGiphy"All the adverts on TV for medicine end with the same statement "may cause death" 🤣." ~ IanUK66
"They have to say that, even if it's like .000000001% because of a very, very rare interaction with certain other medicines or health conditions. Advertised medicine is a load of horse crap, though." ~ Darkwoth81Dyoni
No Rules
"As a Canadian, it's interesting just how polarizing USA politics are to us. Trump vs Hillary/Biden was a way bigger topic than any of our own federal elections." ~ Regnes
"What blows my mind as a Canadian is every state can have different rules and laws for a federal election they don't have an elections Canada style impartial body that is in charge of making sure the rules are the same and followed across the board. It seems so wild." ~ cardew-vascular
Flushed
"Your toilets are full of water. I didn't understand American jokes about water splashing you until I saw one of them for the first time. I'm in Australia. Yes, our toilets have water in them, but the water level is much lower."
"Our toilets are wash down types rather than US style siphonic. The flushing action is more forceful than American toilets and our poo doesn't do a victory lap before disappearing. Here's an Australian toilet flushing." ~ JobSpecialist5436
Pay Up
"You're supposed to file and pay American taxes if you're a citizen. Even if you don't live there. People complain about Canadian taxes but at least if you leave you don't have to keep paying them - but you can stay a citizen." ~ showmeyourrecipes
"I'm from America, and I've always thought the dumbest thing about our taxes is I spend 4 hours trying to figure out the exact amount to pay, only to have them send me a letter correcting me when I'm wrong. Like if you knew what I had to pay why did I just do a calculus test for no reason." ~ PointyGecko1122
Don't Look
Season 6 Nbc GIF by The OfficeGiphy"Public toilet door gaps. What the heck, you guys?" ~ impatient-donut
I hate those toilets. I fill the gaps with toilet paper, or I try hold it all in until I'm home. Our bathrooms are a mess here.
Staffing
season 6 friends GIFGiphy"Tipping. It makes no sense to underpay workers in food and expect the customer to make up for it, it should be the business' responsibility to have a fair pay for workers." ~ sarcastic_anarchy8
Rehabilitation of criminals is a societal good...
"Commercialisation of prisons seems very problematic. Prisons become sources of nearly slave labour. Prisons should be looking to reduce their population, reduce recidivism, rehabilitation, appropriate diversion programs etc, but as commercial for profit enterprises where is the incentive to reduce and rehabilitate their inmates? Rehabilitation of criminals is a societal good."
"They may become contributing members of society, but also it makes the rest of society safer and happier. For profit entities are meant to be for the enrichment of their owners, nothing inherently wrong with that, but not suited for an enterprise designed perform a good for society generally." ~ Ok-Challenge7712
Stop Walking
"How American towns and cities are generally designed so that you have to drive everywhere." ~ Johndoe448
"American cities and towns were built around cars, which makes sense given our historical circumstances but is rather impractical in most other situations. In some cities and towns, you can't help but think that at some point in time some urban planner was like "I got a phenomenal idea: let's take the most high-priority necessities and institutions that people need and place them as far apart as possible." ~ ikindalold
Sizes
"The portion sizes." ~ fakebasil
"It works out really well for some things. For example, one thing I like to do is get an order of hibachi steak (stir-fried rice, veggies, mushrooms, and steak) from a local Japanese place at lunch. The lunch portion is as big as the dinner portion, but cheaper. And the portion size is enough for 3-4 meals and it reheats excellently. So, bam!, 3 meals for the price of 1!!" ~ arcinva
America isn't even doing tipping properly, so why do we bother? Pay more, or stay home if you can't tip. We are a bit strange, aren't we?
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