Hi 🌏!!! Thank you for watcing our video! Show us your ❤ with Subscribe, Like👍 & Comment and Share! 🇬🇧Lauren / laurenkatemassey 🇺🇸Cameron / cameron.word / @cameronword
Omg I really like Christina but Cameron is extremely funny, his laugh is… HAHAHA and he always gives reasons and explain it all so so well. Now I love Cameron ❤️ (Christina too)
These two have good chemistry. Lauren seems very sweet and Cameron has some pretty good insight overall. Glad to see a respectful and thought-provoking discussion here.
One other thing: I live over 800 miles from the town where I grew up, or just two states away. A similar distance would be London to Milan. Our world history knowledge definitely needs work, but “American history” is often viewed as only having existed since colonization, which is a pretty ethnocentric viewpoint. I’m part of a Native American tribe whose history can be traced back 1800 years, while tribes like the Hopi go back even further. All that to say, almost everyone lives in their own bubble. Most Americans probably don’t know about inter-European conflict because it doesn’t affect us. Most Europeans probably couldn’t tell you much about the Trail of Tears because why would they? Neither of us know much about Asian history or government and vice versa. One of the reasons I believe in travel for those who can and meeting people different than you no matter who you are. You don’t know what you don’t know until you encounter it, and at that point most people are happy to learn.
And, history curriculum tends to vary by 1-- región , 2--by how you are homeschooled(in this case meaning what kind of learning from grandparents,parents, extended relatives) and 3--proximity to tourist industry. I am always shocked talking to East coast and midwest people, as they typically start, as you said, with pilgrims, revolución, manifest destiny. Typical curriculum available to Homeschool is laid out the same. That leaves a lot out.
Good thing Im a homeschooled British kid. I taught myself a lot about native american history because I am very interested in ancient civilization and I love the history of the olmecs, mayans, incans and aztecs and I learned about the trail of tears. honestly to me, the treatment of the natives was comparable to the holocaust. it was a horrible thing and colonisation was a horrible thing. I wish i had such a rich culture and history as your people. I also love the way of life natives used to lead. living off the land, and spirituality. I love that. I also think native Americans don't get enough recognition and historical teachings unlike other ethnic groups like black history, and Chinese culture maybe. I think Americans should learn more about who they took the country and how they got it in the first place. I feel like so many Americans don't know anything about the native that were there before them and they just assume it was always theirs.
As someone who has lived in both Japan,the uk and the USA I can say that all the schools I have been to in Europe and Asia (trust me it’s a lot) have taught about different things like the prohibition in America and ww1 and 2 in different continents whereas in America they only taught about American things it all seemed kind of selfish
I find this as a Western issue. In India, we learn about Europe, US, South America, Asia and also Africa. I think when we were 12, in my school, we had to point out countries on an atlas when the teacher would call it out randomly. You knew almost all the countries, their capitals, the main rivers, mountains and the languages they spoke. While the history of the native Americans was not discussed deeply, we were taught about the Aztecs, the Gold Rush and also had to read a story book called "The Last of the Mohicans".
@@AlyxAesthetics It depends on where you are! I come from a state that focused more on it because there are so many tribes there. And I know my tribe has focused a lot on reviving the culture and language over the last decade or two and that’s been amazing to see.
Concerning national flags, if you go to Switzerland you will see the Swiss flag everywhere. No alpine restaurant is complete without its Swiss flag on a flagpole outside. They even put it on their pocket knives.
I will say about the whole "Americans only know about their country" thing, I think that's really only true up into highschool. Im in 9th grade and one of our required classes is a world geography class. So I think even if this was a big problem before its definitely changing
Exactly. I’m in 9th grade currently and I’m learning about each country’s history in Southeast-Asia (they are breaking each country down as each country there has its own rich history, right now I’m learning about Laos.) I live in a less populated state and town, i was surprised to hear from other Americans in different states that they aren’t really learning a lot about geography
@@RyderOwens0963 I did learn about Geography in and out of the US in school, but when I was in college it was a requirement for us to take a Americans History, World Ancient History (basically pre-dating the 13th century), and Western Civilization (pre 13th century to modern day). All dealing with American, world, and western history. Western Civilization classes mostly deal with Europe and European crisis.
I'm American and I learned quite a bit about the history of other countries while in school so that shocked me that most Americans only learn about America. Granted I mostly learned American history but I imagine that's what it's like in most countries - you primarily learn the history of your own country. However I do think most Americans are ignorant to the rest of the world which is really sad because there are some amazing cultures that exist.
Same. We Europeans 🇪🇺 are also quite ignorant about what's going outside Europe. I'm so fortunate to be born Europe. Cuz when it comes to education. It's free
The American school system is very diverse. Each state decides on required courses and each school system, e.g. city or county, further specifies requirements and then individual schools customize electives, so education varies a lot across the US. I learned about Egyptian, British, Chinese, and Japanese history from ancient to present (at the time of learning), but most other countries' histories were only studied from the vantage point of US interactions.
Same. It really depends on the school I guess. In my high school(went to a private catholic school), we learnt about the War of the Roses, Napoleonic Wars, European and Pacific theatre of WW2, Sengoku period in Japan, and a little bit of history on each continents. Then I went to college and came across peers that have little knowledge about WW1 or WW2, or the Boxer rebellion in China, etc. These were things that I learnt back in HS. I think it boils down to the value of education people have, which is most likely the case for any country I guess.
To be fair (regarding the lack of other countries Geography) those not from North America have almost no understanding of how large the US actually is. Many, many, many, tourists land in DC and think that a week is enough time to see the White House, then go to NYC, then see Chicago, and then go to California. When in reality a week will net you DC and NYC assuming you aren't tired from the flight and driving.
@@luizpacker1299 There are only 2 larger countries in the world and both have less total inhabited areas. This isn't an excuse. I can still be in the US and get a completely different world experience. You also, ignored the fact that foreigners think New York and DC are close to California. Everyone knows more about their own country than any other. Lol that's not an excuse. Plus whatbif someone just doesn't care to know about other nations?
@@luizpacker1299 I didn't miss anything actually. The point in me mentioning the US' size is to express how culture, food, music, etc is not uniform. Even within the same state. I can experience many different cultures from around the world by driving even 40 minutes as town with have dedicated areas to represent specific nations. It quite literally is like stepping into a completely different country. And, yes I would say it's a rule as a planned trip can still not be thought out (im saying this from my own and the own many experiences that we have had with tourists) even recently my uncle's gf came from the UK and landed in DC. Her plan was to visit New York and possibly swing by Chicago if it's not a hassle. He talked to be but until she got here, she didn't actually realize how vast the country is. But this is a story that can be told for many that visit planned or not. Also, yes there are many videos of dumb Americans saying dumb things. We're also the 3rd most populated nation with the most popular media, so yes there are going to be multiple popular videos. There are just as many dumb people outside the US. And to you it may not be an excuse but in regards to the matter at hand, there's no need to know about other countries (unless you're visiting). Also yes the newer generation is more aware of what other nations have going on... unfortunately they don't know how to open a can of soup ( I wish this was a joke)
But srs tho: I can drive 8 hours south of my hometown going 45 to 65 miles per hour and still be in the same state. You have individual states that are larger than most countries. Wyoming is the same size as all of Great Britain. You can fit six UKs inside of Alaska. The west coast is larger than Norway.
Um, no igmorance doesn't negate ignorance. Our public school curricula is terrible at teaching history in depth or at an early age. I only started learning history in fourth grade when I was nine.
That’s what everyone says about the US and it’s annoying. And he do values the culture! You’re not able to see what’s out there honey. By that logic every country is not cracked up to be. And then where would we be
@@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072 Absolutely. The US is a great place. Americans are both patriotic and self critical. By her logic the UK would be evil, which it isn’t.
@@qwertyqwerty-dr4ni Ever heard of Native Americans? They've been on this continent in some form for around 30,000 years or so and had cities larger than 1200s London near modern day Chicago before the Europeans arrived.
When I went to Japan, I thought I could lose weight and save money because their portion sizes were so much smaller than here in the US and the average meal seemed to be much cheaper than the US. However, it just ended up with me eating way more meals than I normally would and then I gained 15 lbs. It was a very delicious experience, however!
Same thing when I moved to France, I ate so much more because the food was better quality and so good! Especially the bakeries. But also got much more exercise with walking more so I only gained a few pounds but couldn't lose it easily because I kept eating more.
One of the criticisms in this video comes from the same mindset that had led into another criticism in the video. The idea that instead of wasting food and throwing out good clothes we should give them to poor countries that live with less, has led to a lot of the exporting of American culture in a way that crushes the competition. Some examples are: American (and European) foreign aid eliminating agriculture in Haiti by donating endless amounts of free rice for years after the earthquake crisis; Toms brand shoes donating so many shoes to certain African countries that it left local skilled cobblers out of a job; Clothing donations have also crushed some previously robust textile industries, replacing high quality unique clothing with free mass produce and mass donated western style clothing. It's a lot like how we often grumble that cheep Chinese goods are making life difficult or impossible for those trying to produce higher quality local products, except the stuff we are exporting to these already weak economies aren't cheep; they're free.
US is number one in food donations around the world and typically rated number one in terms of most charitable nations. Still US just like every other country can always improve.
Exactly, they could be directly investing in communities and helping to provide tools for the people to use the way they see fit. Just giving away loads of stuff might be well-intentioned but has unpredictable and often dire side-effects on communities with fragile financial ecosystems. It is a delicate operation so facilitating people to manage it the way they know how should help exactly where it's needed, guided by the folks who know what they're doing and know what's important in their community.
At the end of the day they don't take poor countries food they just create the wealth and benefit from it if other countries are unable to do that that's not the Americans fault.As a Greek I never understood why people are blaming America for everything some systems are simply better than others ,my country's system failed because is s*** that doesn't mean that America owes us anything they just chose a better system and is benefiting them well good for them we are responsible for our own fate we can't expect for handouts🤷🏻♀️
This is a really good take and something that we've discussed in my Geography class back in college. It was the US's agricultural export to Latin American countries because we over produced several crops, but most importantly corn, and it pretty much destroyed their local agricultural economies and became highly reliant on US trade and exports. It's a really complicated issue :/
@@alistairt7544 well it didn't destroy the agriculture because we buy a lot of produce from Latin America although I think it is predominantly from Mexico. However what you are describing is a result of subsidizing agriculture goods except healthy foods.
I'm going to be 50 this year. In my 20's I was in my last semester of college. My roommate was from England. What she noticed about America is you need a car to get around. We don't have the transportation system like Europe. Also we have more trash cans around our cities and towns. For me, I'm a avid recycler. Now we have recycling cans next to trash cans. But, most people just throw trash in it. It drives me crazy, for me, it seems too many people don't care about the environment. I'm going off topic. My roommate invited me to visit her in England and I did later that year. I had been watching British TV shows since my teens. I still do. I was watching more when she told me about other shows. I would say our humor can be different too. As well as a short walk for Americans and across the pond is different. Ours is much shorter. We are definitely not all rich. I just paid off my studentloan from college. I was in college before and paid off another students Ioan before. I would love to visit England, Scotland and mainland Europe. I'm now trying to save my money. Sadly Americans don't have the health care or benefits of Europe. At my job and many others, sick and vacation time is put together. Right now I have two weeks vacation/Sick days. I need to be at my job 4 years before any more time is added. I'm not alone with that. As for benefits, they are good. There are a lot of jobs with no health care. America is far from perfect, but it's my home. Still I would love to travel more. Even around America.
@@dcmastermindfirst9418 Moonshine: Am I a joke to you? Plus I dont even drink Not for joke religious stuff, just don't like it. It tastes like pop mixed with medicine. Yuck
Just remember that stereotypes are over generalizations. America is a vast and very diverse country. In my experience, none of these stereotypes apply across the broad except one. It is definitely a societal norm to work more and have less time off of work that Europeans. Hard work is the engine that drives our economy, but I think there are mental health downsides to not having enough time off.
The image of Americans being rich and having big houses is definitely contributed to by its entertainment media. Think of all the sitcoms with everyone in massive apartments. By comparison, UK comedy thrives on looking on the funny side of problems that we can relate to. The Simpsons famously looked back on this in the 'Homer's Enemy' episode, with Frank Grimes. Frank is shocked by how Homer somehow lives the perfect lifestyle despite his outlandish behaviour, and no one questions it, while Frank is forced to "live above a bowling alley, underneath another bowling alley". The Simpsons are the USA, and us Brits are Frank Grimes (or Grimey as he liked to be called).
"National narrative." I'm a boomer, Cameron, and I think it's more accurate to say it's the propaganda we are raised with." Same thing with "American Exceptionalism."
@@antoniocasias5545 if you didn’t grow up in the US I don’t think you have the context. It is over the top what kind of values are instilled in young people and the way that American policy is defended. The US can interfere in other countries because “the US knows better”, it’s just one of the ways American exceptionalism as a philosophy gets used to defend some very questionable domestic and foreign policy. As another example, the idea that if you work hard you will be successful completely ignores the fact that people come from all socioeconomic backgrounds and some poorer people simply do not have the same opportunities due to bad school districts, bad health due to the cost of medical care, not being able to go to university for economic reasons, etc.
@@paradoxmo No it doesn’t! It simply means don’t give up. A reward *_is_* waiting for you in the end. Also I did grow up in the US I just don’t have citizenship. My primary education is American. But my birth and where I live now is still Mexico. I also fail to see how this argues my point or what you talking about with foreign policy. For this, I don’t watch the news.
@@antoniocasias5545 I’m not saying people should use their background as an excuse to give up, but pretending that everyone has the same opportunities and chances, “if they just work hard”, is just ignoring the truth.
first American I see that has a very mature and enlightened view of his own culture and country. Most wouldn't admit or discuss these in a positive light.
Cameron is awesome, very smart and analytical. It's great to see such examples of Americans when so much of what is visible to the outside world is anything but :D
This is such a good video and love how Cameron and Lauren were straddling between seriousness and light-hearted conversation for such a complicated topic.
I remember having a similar discussion when I was living in Mexico with a family. We asked each other stereotypes. I told them how a lot of Americans think they still ride on burros and wear big sombreros and perhaps are in cartels. They told me a lot of Mexicans think we all live like 90210, go to Disney all the time and that all black people are giants like NBA players. I do think we are GENERALLY more wealthy than a lot of countries. I grew up middle class. While I know poor Americans, I had never seen such extreme poverty until I started going to 3rd world countries. I also noticed most of these places had very rich and very poor and not much in the middle. My immigrant friends tell me whereas if you are poor in the US, the government might help you with food stamps and a place to stay but back in their country, if you’re homeless and don’t have food unless someone takes pity on you, you probably starve. 😢
6:20 It definitely depends on the state, I’m from a very less populated state and town, my high school required us to take 4 years of geography classes. I was surprised to hear from other Americans in different states saying that they didn’t really have much geography classes. I do think it should improve really
I would like to retort that my geography and history learning at school was quite comprehensive, from our imperial history to world geography, for instance we learned alot about India, Japan Africa
Part of the food thing, was that we relatively speaking just got out of the depression. Where food was scarce, so when food was available we began to feast and enjoy that luxury we hadn’t had during those times. Then we follow that up by getting our children to feast. Coupled with the mentality you don’t want to waste food because food was expensive and there are places in the world where people literally starve each day. Then you begin to increase portion sizes, make food addictive, reduce the prices, and change the largely athletic based society to a automated society, then you have a recipe for obesity. Not to mention we used to be heavy drinkers but we sobered up and taxes that. We used to be heavy smokers but we mostly stamped that out and taxed that. So there aren’t a whole lot of morally pleasant addictions left for America.
That's actually a really good point about the Great Depression. When one of my older relatives passed away and we were cleaning out her house to put it up for sale, we kept finding food in the weirdest places. Canned beans behind the dishes. Packets of noodles stored in the coat closet. My grandma had similar attitudes and would threaten to rub food in people's hair if they didn't eat it all. Those survival skills from generational trauma got passed down to generations who don't necessarily need them.
to be honest many of these things are also applicable to other countries too. and britain has an obesity problem as well and they don't have huge portion sizes, so that would point to type of food rather than the amount being the main culprit
Even thought Im not American. Im like Americans in everything. I mean like, even here in Egypt we only learn about our Country in History, every single war that happened in Egypt, every King who was in Egypt. About The Flags we see the Egyptian Flag Everywhere, In Schools,In Streets, Its exactlyEverywhere. Have to do our line and listen for the Song of the Country, even though its Boarding.
They had a fundraiser in Africa for the homeless in America. Whilst this is a joke, it is based on the fact that America has a HUGE homeless problem because the society is all about individuality. A me, me, me society. And people that were middle class like a decade ago were supporting this not realising a decade later they could be working fulltime and live in a tent.
They should stick to Africa. Most of the homeless here are mentally ill. America is the only country in history where the poorest people are also the fattest.
I am from Maine and I had 3 classes in school for history. American history, history and world history, history focused on most of the wars as well as technological advancements. American history focused on just that the history of America. World history was more of a shotgun type of history of all countries squashed together.
The part when he was talking about teachers having another job hits different. My mom is a school teacher and if she doesn't get picked to work summer school we barely have money to survive the summer. She can't get food stamps because she is a teacher, so one summer we barely had food to eat. We had to eat ramen noodles and/or ask my grandma and my sister if they can buy some food for us to eat. She is currently looking for a second job.
I think that's ridiculous. I really wish the American government would look after the people instead of always putting money and power before happiness and health. In Ireland, the government makes it pretty easy to live here. Everyone is entitled to some sort of payment. I get €220 a week. They also give allowances for things such as rent, and fuel, if people can't afford everything themselves. You're even allowed to work a certain amount of hours per week without losing those benefits, if you want/need extra pay. Most people here can at least afford to keep a house, a car, and things like a phone and wifi, without having to work.
Yes, it's true, everybody living in America is rich, lives comfortably, drives Bentleys everywhere they go. Trouble is, most those types are living paycheck to paycheck with no real hope of seeing themselves paying off their college loan debts, or having much more than Cup Of Noodles to retire on.
Nothing wrong with living pay check to pay check so long as you can afford the cost of living in your area. It’s if you cant afford the cost of living in your area it then becomes a problem.
@@blackhole9961 ...until a freak accident puts you in a hospital and you can't cover your bills. Knew a guy in college who was coming back as an adult because when he was around 20 years old, he got hit by a car that ran a red light on his bike. This was before the ACA, so he didn't have health insurance and filed for bankruptcy. He was just getting his education back at 30. Millions of Americans are in this situation where they're one missed car payment, rental payment, or loan payment away from homelessness.
@@sangwoohan1177 Because comedians, and comedy in general, offers a way to poke fun of ones culture and society, making humour out of certain topics that people don't usually wanna talk about, but deliver it in a humourous way. But in a way, it's also a type of social commentary and a critique on society and culture. It introduces those type of discussions in a more palatable way where most people wouldn't find it as offensive, but hopefully creates a discussion on issues, depending on how they'll accept and perceive the humour.
I really loved this video. So many honest and informative opinions from someone who really understood what their country did or didn't do well. I really want to see more of this pair!
obsessed about being able to eat and keep a roof over my head so yeah I gotta be obsessed about working to make the money to pay for food and that pesky roof over my head
I'm Spanish and I had to learn world geography when I was like 10 years old. When I studied history we had to learn from South America too and other countries...so I think it varies a lot depending of which country you are studying
I will say the “Americans don’t know about the rest of the world” is somewhat true. But also most people aren’t going to know every country everywhere. That said there are a lot of Americans that love to travel (including me) that know a decent amount about the world and I would assume it would be similar in places like the UK and the rest of Europe.
I liked that he talked about some factual things going on with the perpetuation of the American dream instead of agreeing with what the other guest is saying (just saying other videos) , gives people insight to some truths
Giving your all to work is less a choice than a necessity. If you don’t do that, you’ll stay where you at. Not having the protections also allows us to push for greater productivity. Having a lot of labor regulations would be like giving up & just trying to maintain where you’re at. It’s a paradigm struggle between growth and stagnation
Many of us in the United States do have world geography classes. I'm a 58 year old man and my schooling was a long time ago, but I remember learning about what was at the time the Soviet Union. I also remember one of our studies was on Indonesia, including drawing a map of the country. There are Americans who want to learn more about the world, and there are Americans who don't.
I wonder if the World Wars effected Europe in that they learned that no matter if you're rich or poor you can lose everything when bombs are being dropped on your country. I think going through all that tragedy together would teach you to care more about your fellow country persons and that's why there is more safety nets in place there. I'm speaking as a American who has read novels set in the world wars and have a lot of respect for the British people who lived though such awful times their in history.
I have read that both socialism and fascism can only take root in countries with feudal backgrounds. They are used to the government providing - and also to the government telling them what they can and cannot do.
"We're a big country with a big personality." Fellow american here, smiling and flipping my hair as he says this.. 😂🙌 I LOVE being an American! 💕🇺🇸 Land of the free because of the brave.
it’s so very diverse in the us, there are different school systems in each state. For example in CA When I was in elementary school we learned about Egypt, and Greece, and when we go to high school we learn the history of India, Asia, Africa, France, South America, and England, and also all the wars.
In Germany I think we learn quit a bit of th world history: we had the Soviet Union, Egypt, Roman Empire….. Geography we had every year a different continent like in grade 5 we had Europe in 6 we had Africa then Asia then North America and South America then Australia. In English class we spoke about the UK/ commonwealth, USA and India. In politics we also spoke about how the government works in the US.
Even though I didn't watch this video until recently, maybe the American and the British girl would like to compare the size of the two countries...maybe she'd like to come over here and drive from Washington, DC to Los Angeles and then fly to our 50th State of Hawaii...I had a friend from Scotland and his wife come over for a visit many years ago and she made it as far as New York and then came back astounded at the size of this place! The guy had been here a year earlier, so he knew the distances but his wife thought "no way, it's not that big" and I set them up to drive coast to coast, to Los Angeles and return to Washington DC. I was the coordinator for their travels. He was definitely impressed! I've been to the UK and to me (no offense) it was like being in "Tiny Town"...the distances weren't that great but I loved the people and how nice they were to me. So, maybe I got to see a side of of the UK not as a "tourist" and for that I'm thankful.
I know a lot of these stereotypes are true but sometimes it’s so hard for me as an American to relate to. I think it’s just where I am from is different then most of the country. I also think it’s comical that they are talking about people overeating and they talk about fast food portions. If you are eating fast food that much, you aren’t eating good in general. Lol.
I agree! I couldn’t relate to any of them really. Especially when they mentioned patriotism, only learning American history, and the American dream, I couldn’t relate to them at all because my parents have immigrated from another country, and I was raised by a completely different culture at home in contrast to school. Therefore, it was hard for me to feel any sort of patriotism or feel any sort of pride when we sang the national anthem or learned American history. I just couldn’t relate to it. I also don’t really agree with the American Dream either because of the intense workaholic culture.
I mean, to put it bluntly: this is a video of two white people talking about wealth inequality in the United States, both of whom have money to travel and live outside of their home country. Cameron definitely seems aware of how the US has been good to him and those things may not necessarily be true for everyone. However, he's still going to have some blind spots. White people experience poverty in America in large numbers. But they have the benefit of not having to deal with all the racist shit that comes with being an immigrant, black, or brown. People like Cameron can learn about these things and act accordingly, It's just not going to be possible for him to know everything because he hasn't lived through those things. It would be both unrealistic and unfair of us to expect that from him.
@@EpikNotEpic Yeah, same. While I'd occasionally get this notion and undertones in certain patriotic speeches from incumbents that we're suppsed to collectively feel proud of the countries accmplisments it always felt superficial, void, and very impersonal. I felt like an onlooker when some people would apparently understand this ambiguous pride. Plus some if this patriotism appears to be associated with te military and since the military is involved in our politics and has n family wo served I ave no reason t feel anything personal in that respect either The American Dream is mostly seen as a myth tied in with cheesy platitudes. Granted I live in California in a Repblican city that isn't very polar politically polar. I don't know if I'm mistaken but I tend to associate hyper-patriotism with the South and rural people wo a simplified ideal of what America is or is supposed to be.
As a teacher at a private school, we get paid even less than public school teachers and we don't have a teacher union, so we can be fired for literally anything. They might just not need as many teachers at the school due to lower enrollment and then you just lose your job.
America is huge. There's 50 states and we have to cram it all into a short school year. Remember, each US state is like it's own country. Now you have to learn about almost all 50 states history. It's why we don't learn much of European history.
$300,000 (or pounds if you prefer) might buy a nice house in some parts of the country, but in other places you couldn't buy a shack for that amount. California, for instance, that might just be the down payment on a house.
Yep. I looked up condo prices in NJ and most cost about $500,000. There were a few going for less than $300,000, but there were also plenty going for close to or over $1,000,000.
Americans are taught the American dream because were a free country, we can achieve our dreams and through capitalism we own our own land and earn a living, to live the way we want. We value our family and liberty. Too many Americans focus on success and wealth, but it’s all about working hard to provide for our family and God. Traditional conservative Americans. We value family and God first, then the world. You’ll be cynical and bitter if you’re constantly thinking about the bad things in the world, before your family. It’s all about balance
It is interesting and many of these stereotypes I would say are true. I’m American and I went to Japan for a time and within the first few weeks I started losing weight.
Don't let Cameron fool you. The American dream is live and well. Someone sold Cameron a bill of goods and he bought it. Just last week I met a Cuban immigrant who arrived 4 years ago. He came with no money, and didn't speak English. His wife is now an RN, he's attending medical school, and they bought a fixer upper house which they fixed up. I met a Nigerian immigrant 2 weeks ago whose been here 5 years. He got here with enough money for one month's rent and food, a wife, and 3 kids. He now owns 2 vehicles, is driving Uber while his wife is finishing up her Masters in engineering, and they've saved enough for a down payment on a house. Their oldest has a full ride to Johns Hopkins, pre-med. Anyone who tells you you can't get ahead is trying to keep you down and/or doesn't want to work hard. The jobs are there. You just have to want it and be willing to go get it. Cameron is saying it's because things were cheaper... well, yes, but not really all that cheap, and certainly not enough to make a difference. The difference is the millennials and zoomers were brought up entitled, with an "everybody gets a trophy" mentality, with many of them not understanding what hard work is. Frankly, as a guy who has employed both millennials and zoomers, I find them remarkably lazy, expecting to get paid for showing up, not understanding that we ALL struggled in our 20s and even early 30s. Learn to work hard--60+ hour weeks, 2 jobs if need be, or hell, drive an uber and be a great host... doesn't matter. The jobs are there. The money is there. Get experience, then move to a better job, but don't expect the real world to coddle you the way your parents did.
Where did he go to school? I’m an American and we had World History in school. We may have focused more on us, but we actually had World History class. Regarding work, “Most” of us are just laser focused and have had a certain work ethic instilled in us from a young age (ok, speaking for myself…I certainly did and most of my friends are likeminded ) Ok, let’s address the elephant in the room. Americans are overweight because of not only overeating or portion size. We are oversight because of all the additives and chemicals the government allows these companies to put into our food. This goes into our bodies and it doesn’t know what to do with it. So it sticks what it can’t understand or digest properly as far away from major organs as possible. That means the belly, buttocks, back, thighs arms and face. Remember all those DETOX diets that made people go to the bathroom and flushed them out? THIS is what was flushed out. It’s called Detox for a reason. These are Toxins Legal toxins unfortunately. Sorry for the dissertation guys. This is a pet peeve of mine.
Regarding the not knowing much about other countries, large countries(population-wise) tend to be rather insular in general. In my travels, the common person in large countries typically have little idea about what goes on outside their country.
As far as learning about other countries, i think it depends on where you're from. Each state has their own education system among other things so the curriculum varies from place to place. Where I'm from, we spend most of 1st-8th grade learning world history/geography and just a small part of that is about American history (mostly just the Revolutionary War and slavery). You also learn all 50 states and capitals during that time and that's it. Then, in high school (grades 9-12), there were 3 years of American history.
I'm sorry but it's true XD I weighed 10kg heavier when I was in the US. Now that I'm in Japan, I'm really thin because food portions are smaller and healthier. I'm glad I made this move!!
I see just as many people say they gain weight when they go to Japan, ultimately it matters what you eat not where you eat. The big difference is its a lot easier to eat out healthy in Japan than the US this includes convenience store food.
lol i am an American from Eastern Kentucky and i can't wait to be as rich as the Americans i see on tv or when i visit other people out of Appalachia , their is no such thing as overly patriotic
The fact that in a 2 mile radius from me, there's 3 gas stations, over 2 dozen restaurants, 3 big grocery stores, makes it feel privilege. Back where my parents came from, South East Asia, there's none of that.
The idea that Americans are rich stems from the movie industry. After WWII, most countries in Europe were broke, and even food was a luxury. American films showed people owning houses and cars, sending kids to college with just one salary. And then there were the other movies full of glamour, people going to nightclubs wearing tuxedos and dresses, drinking Champagne. Some of that was actually true, but nowadays you can't buy a house if you don't have a very good job and many people can't afford college without getting into serious debt. Some people work two or three jobs and are considered working poor. Compared to the 50s and 60s, the gap between poor and rich people is massive.
I say in Britain patriotism depends on location. We don't fly the flag quite as much as Americans but here in Yorkshire especially you see the Union Flag, St Georges Cross and White Rose of Yorkshire flying with regularly. Other regions aren't quite as patriotic as Yorkshire. And in Britain we don't have a pledge of allegiance but must simply swear an oath to the Crown if you choose to or get a job that requires it like an MP or soldier. We to tend to sing God save the Queen at sports games and blast Rule Britannia at the Proms.
fun fact about the high obesity rates in the US: so, unfortunately, the cheaper foods are generally crammed full with artificial flavors and preservatives, things that are higher calorie and cheaper to buy. well people who are poorer can’t afford fresh and whole foods as much , so they’re forced to eat more things like tons of starch, carbs, and protein; things that make you gain weight like crazy. it’s a sad but true fact.
Every time people from other countries describe what's annoying or off-putting about Americans, they're really just describing conservative Republicans.
As someone who has lived in America for 36 years and London for six weeks, here's my input: -The American Dream doesn't exist. I call it the American Lottery. We all play it. Only a few lucky win. -Americans are too patriotic. The only other countries with as much patriotism as us are authoritarian countries. Too many Americans who celebrate the fourth of July use it as an excuse to drink but no nothing about our history. -A minority (but a lot) are ignorant about other countries. -Very few are workaholics. Most of us just work a lot because (as Cameron explained it) we have to. You're lucky if you get a week or two of paid vacation. Plus wages have stagnated for decades. -Americans eat WAY TOO MUCH! I work at Mall of America. Holy shit. At least half of the people shopping at the mall are fat. Many of them are obese. It is disgusting, it is annoying. I believe we glorify bad food in America.
Whether employers can just fire you depends on the State. Workers unions used to be much stronger! As the Cold War ended, major corporations found new ways to undermine and sideline them. There are actually companies whose whole job is to help corporations get rid of unions or keep them out
Speaking about the over eating in the US, I remember hearing something about how it's tied to the great depression and the boom in sudden food supply but I could be wrong
I think it's also tied to the fact that many of us are descended from very poor immigrants who didn't have enough to eat in their home countries. When they came here and became successful, it was a sign of luxury to have lots of food and big meals. My Polish grandma was always shoveling food at us.
To summarize America into 3 parts: "We believe in the American dream, we know where the dream ends and get realistic, in being realistic we have guns to back up our dreams." - An American, also hey UK hope you guys are well👍
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