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What really stuck with me was when I mentioned the "American Dream" to a friend in Germany. She laughed and said in disbelief "You do not think that this is a universal dream"? I was gobsmacked by this revelation.
Yet, Canadians, Australians or New Zealanders, who are in a similar boat, seem to know much more about the outside world than Americans. So the isolation or the sheer size of the US doesn't seem to be the only reason behind it.
Vacation time may be a point, but many middle-class Americans also get 4+ weeks of vacay time a year and even if not, you can still be informed about the world without actually visiting it.
I barely know anyone who gets 4+ weeks of vacation per year other than teachers, who (unfortunately) tend get paid like chumps. Most places offer you something like a week of vacation per year, plus you have a certain number of paid time off (PTO) days, which you can use on top of your vacation days... however, these are also your "sick" days for when you geet the flu or have to take your kid to the doctor, wake up and your car won't start, etc. So, that two-and-half week vacation could end up making it so that you have to unpaid time off and lose money if you get sick later in the year.
What really stuck with me was when I mentioned the "American Dream" to a friend in Germany. She laughed and said in disbelief "You do not think that this is a universal dream"? I was gobsmacked by this revelation.
There's a certain universalism to the general idea of the "American Dream."
I'm sure that if you asked a Palestinian or North Korean who thinks that America is an evil, imperialist monolith who is behind their suffering if they liked the thought of living in a two-story home with a yard, a fridge full of food, a garage with a minivan and a sedan, ordering pizza and drinking soda while watching sports on a big TV with their friends versus living in a repressive war zone dominated by warring factions or a restrictive totalitarian regime with an anti-thought gestapo, I'm sure that they'd tell you that it sounded nice... I have no doubt that most of them would prefer to see the stability, security, and freedom exist in their own country than having to emigrate to America to find it.
And yes: these dreamy suburbs can be found all over Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea, pretty much anywhere in the developed world. Safety and stability are one of the marks of living in a modern society. For some reason, though, it seems as though to some people, our suburbs get a write-off and are evidence of our regressive social failures.
... if they liked the thought of living in a two-story home with a yard, a fridge full of food, a garage with a minivan and a sedan, ordering pizza and drinking soda while watching sports on a big TV with their friends
...
Delete bolded, cut and paste, then try this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by 415_s2k
... if they liked the thought of living in a two-story home with a yard, a fridge full of food, a garage with a minivan and a sedan, ordering pizza and drinking soda while watching sports on a big TV.
Many immigrants who come to this country find that the price of all the former- is giving up the latter.
Many immigrants who come to this country find that the price of all the former- is giving up the latter.
Which is precisely why I said this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by me
I have no doubt that most of them would prefer to see the stability, security, and freedom exist in their own country than having to emigrate to America to find it.
What really stuck with me was when I mentioned the "American Dream" to a friend in Germany. She laughed and said in disbelief "You do not think that this is a universal dream"? I was gobsmacked by this revelation.
if the whole concept of " the american dream " was a puddle , you couldnt drown a mouse in it but despite its shallow superfical premise , for some reason , it appears to work , the idea wouldnt work in many countries however and any politican who tried to adopt such a banner would be laughed out of town
I think i've come to the conclusion that America as a control is very diverse, region to region is greatly different and some of these regions bring down the rest of the country.
For example the so called 'bible belt' in the southeastern United states have such conservative (if thats the right term) views on the world such has marriage, sexuality, gun control etc... Other regions in the states or in this case cities like Las vegas (gambling) and los angeles has a 'fake' look to it in a way that America always does it big and better. Other regions like the PNW are seen generally as natural wildernesses. With many people focusing on one aspect of America it may be Hollywood and gambling or NYC's hip hop & rap, the religious peoples of the south or America's freedom.
The fact that you have to pay for healthcare, buy guns, obesity are all negatives about America.
The recent shooting in Newton, New England is terrible in a SCHOOL not so long after that massacre in Aurora, yet America gets surprised when people have alot of negative things to say about America.
So what makes America different from Canada, Australia or any other country?? Well America as a whole as all of these bad things going on for them that sometimes people can't see through America's faults.
Of course Americans are not arrogant, stupid, backwards, shallow, materialistic or religious because as a WHOLE America seems to have this perosnality. (of course they are people that have these qualities)
Now they are great things about the USA like being able to have free speech, having a democracy, big houses, the american dream, huge open spaces, the great cities amoung others, but sometimes SOME people only see negative while others especially young adults and teenagers see America as a superior, cultural place.
Alot of people interpret America very differently.
My personal opinion of America is that it sees itself as the best country on Earth, great cities, wilderness and mass killings but you can't blame me for thinking this, but as you have seen in this post i know most aspects of America the positive and the negative.
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So the isolation or the sheer size of the US doesn't seem to be the only reason behind it. 
