# Americans Who Think Differently Than I Do **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 10, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346 "2010-01-10T01:57:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/121 "2010-01-11T16:23:19Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > \ > And it is a statement of fact that the world is a better place because of the U. S. We lead in innovations in industry, medicine, you name it.\ You also lead in innovations in creative mortgage rules, bailing out large companies and banks, taking down the entire world economy, healthcare insurance for profit, debt… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/122 "2010-01-11T18:17:38Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > I’ll be blunt: who gives a flying fuck what you think about America? So far, three pages worth of people. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/123 "2010-01-11T18:21:28Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > So far, three pages worth of people. Oh no, it isn’t that we actually care what some jackass Canadian\* thinks, it just that we think he’s an idiot. - not all Canadians are jackasses ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/124 "2010-01-11T18:24:57Z")
**Clothahump’s** pride seems somewhat injured because he isn’t receiving credit for all the cool things he and his colleagues did at any rate. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/125 "2010-01-11T18:27:35Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > You also lead in innovations in creative mortgage rules, bailing out large companies and banks, taking down the entire world economy, healthcare insurance for profit, debt… We’re not perfect, but the U.S. is a pretty great place to live. I don’t doubt that Canadians feel the same way about Canada. The mistake OP makes is thinking that all U.S. citizens all think the same way and have this sort of misguided rose-colored point of view when it comes to the country. The reality is that most of us realize that the U.S. is far from perfect and that we’ve made plenty of mistakes alongside all of the good things we’ve done. The OP goes further by sounding like a complete tool. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/126 "2010-01-11T20:04:00Z")
Well, he was ranting. “I suspect that there are some people in America who might, sometimes, feel differently than I do; this irritates me at times” doesn’t have much punch. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/127 "2010-01-11T20:09:12Z")
Two of the largest problems that plague my country is Greed and Fundamental Religion. That’s an ugly combo right there, but they are at the core of almost all our most egregious actions. One is pure selfishness, and the other justifies any action it wants to, respectively. Most of the obscene patriotism comes from right-wing fundamentalists, and they exist in large number, and have had profound political sway for a long time. It seems to be slightly diminishing with every generation, especially now that education and information is becoming more ubiquitous and accessible. Kids are smarter and more cynical these days, and I hope the next generation (or the next, next) steers this country into a more progressive state. We have so much potential to do good and bad, and we’ve managed both of those in our history. Yes, we need to be more responsible (to counter the greed), and more reasonable and tolerant (to counter the fundamentalism). But it starts from the bottom up, not the top down. The top is too cemented in its game of politics and partisan bullshit. We’ve been a country divided for so long, it seems every action we take is to spite the other side, and the rest of the world sometimes becomes collateral damage because of it. It’s gonna take time. A lot of time. I hope America will remain the superpower it’s worked hard to be, but only if future generations wake up and take control of this juggernaut and finally get her on the right track. As of now, we’re under damage control. Patience… ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/128 "2010-01-11T21:10:40Z")
> [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](#): > > I’m sorry, I thought my location tag was still up but I see that it isn’t. If I’d realized that I would have said it in my OP. > > I’m Canadian. Oh, so you’re irrelevant, then. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/129 "2010-01-11T21:17:20Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > _“You know during the Persian Gulf war those intelligence reports would come out: **“Iraq: incredible weapons - incredible weapons!”** How do you know that? “Uh, well…we looked at the receipts.””_ > > Bill Hicks Bill Hicks sucks and is dead. Stop quoting him like an actual scholarly source. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/130 "2010-01-11T21:29:59Z")
> [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](#): > > Good rejoinder. It’s a wonder Yanks haven’t fallen back on that one before. > > Oh yeah, I’m grateful, don’t get me wrong. Your bravely joining the war against facism once a totally different country attacked you was truly gallant. You were then so very very noble. Just like we didn’t [try to] toss out the Taliban until after we were attacked on 9/11/01. Until then, our country, along with yours, and every other developed industrial country on the planet, sat on its hands and watched while women were enslaved and Afghanistan was turned into one huge prison camp. I’m not proud of that, but you don’t have anything to be proud of either, on that score. ---
**Author:** ![Dolukhanova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c68b51/32.png) [@Dolukhanova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dolukhanova)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/131 "2010-01-12T16:31:38Z")
I pit any American here who actually engages with this idiot, as if he had said anything worth responding to. (Do I have to start a separate thread for that? I don’t spend a lot of time in the Pit . . .) ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/132 "2010-01-12T17:34:59Z")
Pretty funny pit thread…thanks for the entertainment. I do have a question though. Why do so many non-Americans care that the US doesn’t have UHC? I mean, they don’t live here…so, why do they comment about it. Personally, if their health care is so great and ours so crappy, they should simply be kicking back smugly, safe in their iron clad knowledge of their obvious superiority over bad old America. Just as a contrast, most Americans don’t give much of a thought to the health care in other countries (SD members and pining liberal types crying in their beer because we can’t have what they do aside). Just curious, as I’ve seen this fairly often on this board and in my travels. I remember walking into a pub in Wales (of all places) and over hearing a conversation about US health care…talk about freaky. I’ve heard similar things when I lived in Canada as well, and always wondered what it is about internal US foibles that seemingly fascinate non-Americans. Anyway, back to the OP…give it to those evil Americans man. I think you are starting to win! Don’t let up on these damn 'dopers…keep up the skeer! -XT ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/133 "2010-01-12T17:42:47Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > I do have a question though. Why do so many non-Americans care that the US doesn’t have UHC? I mean, they don’t live here…so, why do they comment about it. Personally, if their health care is so great and ours so crappy, they should simply be kicking back smugly, safe in their iron clad knowledge of their obvious superiority over bad old America. For the same reason you presumably care when a flood in Bangladesh kills some people- empathy. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/134 "2010-01-12T17:54:04Z")
> [@Michael\_Ellis](#): > > Bill Hicks sucks and is dead. Stop quoting him like an actual scholarly source. The majority of people who think Bill Hicks sucked, are the ones he was ridiculing mercilessly in his act, so why should I care what you think, again? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/135 "2010-01-12T18:00:19Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] For the same reason you presumably care when a flood in Bangladesh kills some people- empathy. [/QUOTE] Seems logical (aside from the whole equating US health care to a natural disaster), but it’s not the vibe I get when I hear non-Americans talk about our health care. The vibe I get is less empathy and more like the one I get when a really religious person is trying to convert me to his or her religion and is frustrated when I keep saying ‘that’s nice, but I’m an agnostic’. MMV of course…that’s just my own observation. -XT ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/136 "2010-01-12T18:03:48Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Pretty funny pit thread…thanks for the entertainment. > > I do have a question though. Why do so many non-Americans care that the US doesn’t have UHC? I mean, they don’t live here…so, why do they comment about it. I have more than a few friends in the states, one of whom is very ill and is undergoing ongoing treatments. I’d hate for them to have to suffer because of your insurance industry. > [@](#): > > Personally, if their health care is so great and ours so crappy, they should simply be kicking back smugly, safe in their iron clad knowledge of their obvious superiority over bad old America. Good point. I got mine, screw you. I really don’t care if you go bankrupt or your child dies because your insurer screws you too. Better? > [@](#): > > Just as a contrast, most Americans don’t give much of a thought to the health care in other countries (SD members and pining liberal types crying in their beer because we can’t have what they do aside). I hear conservatives offering their opinions of the health care systems of other countries quite often. It turns out I’m being repressed under a socialist system and have sacrificed my freedoms. We should heed Sarah Palin’s advice regarding our system and just go private. That’s what Sarah Palin, American, thinks. I’ve seen many studies comparing the US health insurance scam to the systems other countries use as well. The people writing them and using them as references seem interested. > [@](#): > > Just curious, as I’ve seen this fairly often on this board and in my travels. I remember walking into a pub in Wales (of all places) and over hearing a conversation about US health care…talk about freaky. I’ve heard similar things when I lived in Canada as well, and always wondered what it is about internal US foibles that seemingly fascinate non-Americans. Why do people slow down to look at car accidents? Morbid curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/137 "2010-01-12T18:11:36Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > I’ve…always wondered what it is about internal US foibles that seemingly fascinate non-Americans. Boredom, a need for attention, jealousy, jingoism…these all play a role. Plus there’s a virtual cult of self-flagellation among a small subset of Americans, and it apparently looks like fun to outsiders who want to play along. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/138 "2010-01-12T18:15:28Z")
[QUOTE=The Tooth] I have more than a few friends in the states, one of whom is very ill and is undergoing ongoing treatments. I’d hate for them to have to suffer because of your insurance industry. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I know what you mean. I feel the same for my friends in Europe, languishing under the burden of crushing taxes because of their governments. I feel for them, I really do, but, sadly, they LIKE it…or at least they tolerate it. Guess what? Sadly (for you), most Americans LIKE their insurance and are satisfied with it…or at least they tolerate it. Myself, I’m perfectly happy with the level of care I receive, and I have my doubts that it would be better for me personally in Europe than what I get here. Or Canada. Or anywhere else. MMV…but then, at a guess, MV in any given country, and there are always people who have had bad experiences with their system. I have friends in Canada, for instance, who are none too thrilled with their system, mostly because of bad experiences they had. Then again, lots of Canadians are perfectly happy with the system (probably because they had good or neutral experiences), while my guess is the majority are simply content. Same here. > [@](#): > > Good point. I got mine, screw you. I really don’t care if you go bankrupt or your child dies because your insurer screws you too. Better? Much better. We’ll make an American out of you yet! 😛 > [@](#): > > I hear conservatives offering their opinions of the health care systems of other countries quite often. It turns out I’m being repressed under a socialist system and have sacrificed my freedoms. We should heed Sarah Palin’s advice regarding our system and just go private. That’s what Sarah Palin, American, thinks. I’ve seen many studies comparing the US health insurance scam to the systems other countries use as well. The people writing them and using them as references seem interested. Well, you are sort of making my point. Conservatives who talk about how bad European health care is and how great our is are trying to spin things politically to score political points. Most Americans don’t really know (or care) what health care they have in Luxembourg, say…it is of militant unconcern to them. And this is the same vibe I get from non-Americans who talk about our system (and of course lament that we aren’t just like they are, woe to us). Like I said, it’s just my observation. > [@](#): > > Why do people slow down to look at car accidents? Morbid curiosity. OOOoooo! I really HATE folks who do that! :mad: -XT ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/139 "2010-01-12T18:15:48Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > The majority of people who think Bill Hicks sucked, are the ones he was ridiculing mercilessly in his act, so why should I care what you think, again? Bill Hicks was a brilliant comic and an astute observer of human behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346/140 "2010-01-12T18:16:22Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Seems logical (aside from the whole equating US health care to a natural disaster), but it’s not the vibe I get when I hear non-Americans talk about our health care. The vibe I get is less empathy and more like the one I get when a really religious person is trying to convert me to his or her religion and is frustrated when I keep saying ‘that’s nice, but I’m an agnostic’. > > MMV of course…that’s just my own observation. > > -XT I’m sure there’s a degree of “I know best” at play, also. Still, I’m an immigrant who grew up in a country where universal healthcare is guaranteed, and I like most things about America better than I like their counterparts in the UK. That just makes the differences more pronounced when America is on the losing end of the stick. For what it’s worth, there are only three things which immediately come to mind when I think about stuff that shocked me on moving here: the Pledge of Allegiance (fuck me… are we going to salute Chairman Mao next?), rightards who insist that creationism be given equal weight in schools and so on, and for-profit healthcare. Equating US health care to a natural disaster is only illogical in the sense that it’s not natural… and the fact that no natural disaster could result in as many deaths as our nonsensical healthcare system does. Pretend I said a war instead, if you prefer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-who-think-differently-than-i-do/524346.md?page=8)