25 Things the World Wished It Understood About America

How does the rest of the world actually feel about America? We decided to find out!Over on Reddit, global users came up with their biggest...

By PocketEpiphany

Published 3 years ago in Facepalm

How does the rest of the world actually feel about America? We decided to find out!

Over on Reddit, global users came up with their biggest questions about the United States. Maybe you can help them discover the answers?

1
Who was the original Florida man meme?

2
Honestly, what's the obsession with guns? I'm 28 and have never seen a gun in my life. None of my family or friends would even consider owning a gun. So why are guns so loved in America?

3
The Healthcare system. From TV shows and the news, it makes it out that unless your work gives you full insurance, you are basically screwed. Is this true? I can’t imagine living in a country where one surgery could bankrupt me. Is this what it’s really like?
4
I’ve heard that New York is the “city that never sleeps.” Why is that? And are there any other cities that similarly have an active nightlife?

5
Do you really enjoy having McDonald’s meals being extra large? Like in every country aside from America each size’s portions are smaller
6
How does pumpkin pie taste like? Does it actually have a pumpkin flavor or is it pure sugar?

I had pumpkin soup the other day and was curious if I should bake one.
7
I'd like to understand why Americans are doing gender reveals? Here in France, we don't do that and I think it's quite stupid because I wonder why you'd be happier to have a boy or a girl because it definitely won't be anything else.

8
Why do people want ranch sauce on their pizza?
9
How do you manage your time between all your amazing National parks, museums, and theme parks?
10
How is it possible to refill a 1-liter drink at fast food restaurants? Are you not full? Idk, I'm scared

11
How the f*ck do they think the current system is OK? Wouldn't looking at other countries give you a nudge to be like "bro, not ok"
12
The dating culture. Like if you go out once, are you then "dating" from that time point? And if you go out two times and then nothing more, Do you say later that you used to date? and does that count as an ex-girlfriend/boyfriend?

Meaning when people talk about their exes are they counting every single person they went out with, or had sex with, or just relationships longer than a month or two?
13
Why are so many Americans proud of a shared culture but constantly attack each other for having diametrically opposed values? Somehow the conservative or liberal ideals that work in European countries aren't comparable with US conservative and liberal values, but some rural farmer in Idaho is going to have compatible values with a trans man from San Francisco.

There's this weird belief that communism across the world is working from the same playbook but implementing democracy can't possibly be copy/pasted across borders.

14
Whether or not they all secretly admire the notorious Florida Man.
15
Why do they think that universal health care will cost them more??
16
They all seem to be so proud of being self-reliant that they let the market screw them

-No healthcare -practically no holidays -no paternity leave -no workers rights -cell phone and broadband cost several times more -wealth disparity and no taxes for billionaires

and despite all of the above people say how proud they are of it all - why can’t they take 5 seconds to admit their system is broken instead of saying "its your fault for not being successful enough"

From 1960- 2000, America was definitely the greatest country in the world, but in the last 20 years, we’ve seen how unchecked capitalism hurts them. Even their politicians have been bought out by big companies paying for their campaigns.

How do they not see the cracks and why are they proud of the system's failings?

17
Do you ever get tired of hearing variants of “America is the best”? I don’t think that the country is bad. I also don’t think that it’s bad to be proud of where you come from. I do think that it’s silly to insist that the part of the world you stay in is, without doubt, better than everywhere else (I know that most people in the US are not like this, but I can’t help noticing how much more pervasive the attitude is there than in my country). I’m just curious.
18
Why are cops killing with guns, mainly people of color?
19
Why do they apply their idea of freedom only on an individual level? The principle has a lot of value for positive societal change, but suddenly, that's socialism and bad.

Isn't it freedom if your parent's income doesn't affect whether you can go to college? Isn't it freedom if gay people are able to get married? Isn't it freedom if you can get cancer and not go bankrupt for the treatment?

20
Why does America use miles and pounds for measuring?
21
What do they eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Like their day-to-day meal.
22
I wish Americans would just chill out and relax. And I don't understand why they don't, lol.

23
I really don't understand gun culture. Going to gun expos or even grocery stores whilst wearing a gun on your hip sounds like something from a fallout game to me.
24
Why do half of you trust people who yell into microphones more than scientists?
25
I wish I understood why everything in their culture is so binary and extreme. It's always good or bad, cheap or expensive, boring or entertaining, ugly or beautiful, safe or dangerous, criminal or innocent, etc...

There's never nuance in between, everything and everyone as to be one or the other extreme and can never be a bit of both (or if it does, it sparks huge debates around which category it belongs to). Even in politics, every opinion is extremely polarized.