the WTF guide to the USA: electoral college, pledge of alliance, health care, ℉, tipping, Snapple 🇺🇸 

I was today years old when I realized how weird it was/is for the US school system to make us say the pledge of allegiance every morning in school. I literally forgot we did that.

I guess it's not a party in the usa anymore.

wait....THE EMPLOYER DOES THEIR TAXESSSSSS!!!!!!!!! 🥴 wowowowowowoww

🎶And I'm proud to be an American *expat* where at least I know I'm free 🎶

‘Sinister’ is a pretty good way to describe the American healthcare system 🙃 We’ve got a lot of work to do here, that’s for sure.

I’m glad that as Americans we are all collectively realizing how weird and cult-like it can be!! I literally forgot about the pledge of allegiance until one of my friends who isn’t from the US asked me about it a few months ago and then I realized why the fuuuck did we have to do that??? lolll

“Would nobody check?!” “Chloe there was a mouse in that supermarket...”

chloe: i'm not following me, an american: girl me either

For us Europeans it’s literally impossible to understand America’s health care . I felt that 26:16

I lived in the US for one year (yes, I'm that ✨gap year girl✨ lol) and there were so many times were I just shook my head at how the system there works. But the funniest thing was always when I complained that I had to drive 4 hours to the next city and Americans were like "oh that's not too bad!", like, dude, I would be on the other side of Germany in that time what do you mean?? lol

Did anyone else, as an act of rebellion, go through a phase of refusing to say the pledge in high school just bc you realized how weird it was? Eventually none of us, including the teachers, gave a sh** anymore

The pledge has always been vaguely dystopian to me. Even as a 1st grader I would just stand there silently because it scared me that everyone said it all together. I was ahead of my time lol

About Americans never walking and always just using their cars: there is actually a Dutch journalist (who lived in the US) who wrote a really intersting book about the American society in general, and it's called: Amerikanen lopen niet --> Translated: Americans don't walk.

When I lived in GA after 9/11, they made us sing that "proud to be an American" song EVERY DAY after the pledge of allegiance 💀 thank you for dragging up that repressed memory

Italian living in the US here. Explaining what a deductible is to my friends in Europe is always fun, because none of them had an idea that paying into health care system still doesn't ensure you with health care. And the fact that your deductible depends all on the decision of your employer regarding on which plan to put you...insane.

snapple is widely available in london tho the pledge of allegiance gives off mad north korean vibes

Maybe you could watch and review an episode of Emily in Paris 😂

Ok wait hi, I’m in high school and we just had a lecture on the electoral collage and maybe I clear some things up or help out? 1. The electoral collage was invented bc the gov didn’t think we had enough “educated” people to vote for themselves so they hired smart (rich, white) men to vote for the uneducated. 2. Electors are nominated by a party and pledged to vote for their party's candidate. They legally don’t have to vote for the party the state wants but its kinda social suicide, and they would get fired 3. Each state started out with 3 electoral votes no matter the population, (this is how smaller states get representation) 4. Then electors get added as population increases. Ex; big population states like California have 55 (the most electoral votes in the country) 1. Issues raised w this bc when this came into play black ppl wern’t considered part of the population, but the south wanted more representation which is where the 3/5 compromise came in. Enslaved people were considered 3/5th of a person so that the south could have more representation, but the votes only came from white ppl. 5. Most states are majority rule, not all tho, ex; (in a state) democrat has 51% of popular vote and republican has 49% of popular vote. All the electoral votes would vote democrat, see the issue?, minority would be misrepresented 6. Arizona,Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin are swing states this presidential election which means they could go either “blue” or “red”. 1. the campaign for the possible presidents would spend lots of money and time on these states because they’ll need it to win and forget the states that are historically constantly consistent with their party therefor sates like mine (Oregon) don’t get visiting bc we consistently vote blue. 7. oh fun fact a president only needs all the electoral votes of 11 states for them to win 8. If we did go with a popular vote 2 issues would arise. Campaigning would only go to big cites and leave the majority of the states without any representation. Also our government would be almost all “democrat”, not that I would be complaining but still doesn’t seem fair 9. The US doesn’t have really any good options but its really hard to change it. ok sry this is so long. plz tell me if I got anything incorrect :)

I love this convo so much. Ps I’ve been on 24 hour time since I studied in France. Never changed it (for nostalgia 💘) but now I prefer it

Ok but seriously: What comes to your mind when you hear "The United States?" Has this changed in the past few years since Trump?

As an irish girl who has tried and failed to understand America, I really needed this😂😂

The healthcare system in America really upset me, especially when you have things such as the insulin crisis and the extortionate amount of money people need to survive!

I’ve actually learned from a Legal Eagle video on electoral college that the state representatives are not obligated to follow the popular vote, and even if the majority in a certain state votes for Candidate A, the representatives can cast their votes for Candidate B

American here: i got a new job close to my 26th birthday. A month after I turned 26, i fell down the subway steps and hit my head pretty hard. The ambulance took me ten blocks and all they gave me in the hospital (after waiting like 6 hours) was some paid meds. My bills were about $2,000 and my work was like “sorry! You haven’t hit three months here so the healthcare hasn’t kicked in yet!”

Please do a RED WINE TALKS with someone from POLAND! I'd love them to educate us more on what's happening there at the moment... it is awful :((((((

As someone from New England, fluff is common staple for school children here. The fluffer-nutter (peanut butter and fluff) is a true American delicacy.

it's the way i'm using his videos to romanticize my life until i can finally get out of america🥴😔

When I went to highschool in MN we only said the pledge of allegiance once a week in homeroom, but when I moved to Texas (lol) we said it EVERY DAY. AND said the Texas pledge... ????????? absolutely wild

im in high school and just recently realized how odd the pledge of allegiance is. i decided i didn’t want to say it anymore for multiple reasons, and when i stayed seated in class, i was stared at as if i had pulled my pants down or something

The hospital part got me rolling on my bed laughing hard (sadly) haha you explained it so well Damon and I can tell she is surprised. Who wouldn't be? As a social worker, I always remind people not to sit in any hospital bed if they end up in ER, this alone can cost you 5 K or more. I have said it and will always say it, the US act like they know better and have their priorities straight but they do not. From someone who grew up in a poor country and still decides to get my medical needs done there, I can attest that here in the US you can die for a tiny infection if you are uninsured. Sad but true!

You have no idea how much comfort your videos are bringing me... Going through what I would consider rock bottom and there are three things that are getting me through it. A very very dear friend, my son, and your content. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your contagious smile and outlook on life.

I like to say I grew up in a healthcare bubble here in the States. My mom works for the school system with a strong union in a rich state. I have never had deductibles and my copay is 10 dollars. The day I learned everyone didn’t have this blew my mind....

omg I died when he said "I'm proud to be an American (expat)"

Definitely agree that living in different countries makes you even more knowledgeable about your own country of origin! You see differences that sometimes other people are so used to and don't care about. As for the health care part, some hospitals (usually smaller and charitable ones) will actually accept you even if you cannot pay for health care under uncompensated care like emergency Medicaid or because they're funded by the government.

the fact that i'm American and learned so much about the U.S government from this video is great but also very sad and kind of terrifying. The U.S school system really doesn't teach us shit about our own country lmao.

Seeing a foreigners outrage at the US healthcare system is like therapy for me. This place is MESSED TF UP

damon writing "will bring up his ex" is his other way of bringing up his ex

as a brit, chloe just voices all the thoughts i am thinking in my head lol

Chloeeeee❤️❤️

This just shows how so many things are so illogical here in the states... perfect timing before the election!

Its funny how a lot of people I know (I am dutch) wanted to move to the USA, but when we learned how screwed up the government is a lot of us changed our minds. I would still want visted, the country can be very pretty 😍.

Also: what is America's obsession with the military? I heard there are even ads for it....

Damon explaining the concept of Snapple is something I didn’t know I needed 😂

Love how you always find a reason to shoot at grocery stores and turn it into a Sociology class featuring the employees/locals

22:26 “It just means, obviously, that people with more money are going to have more health, and they’re going to take the best jobs.“ Yup.

Can we talk about the plethora of GMO, glyphosate and chemicals too? I'm in the uk and a bag of chips just has seasoning, no yellow no 5, genetically modified ingredients and extra additives. It's nonsense

I'm so glad Damon has a midwestern perspective because as an Ohioan, we/ the "fly over states" get shit on ALL THE TIME by costal people but I really love my state! It's cheaper, its STUNNING (ohio has a lot of forests and mountain-y areas) and we have more culture than just cornfields!! MIDWEST GANG RISE UP

“We like what we don’t have” LMAO EVERYONE EVER

Chloe trying to open that Snapple STRESSED me out omg.

1) mothers against drunk driving had a huge!! impact on drinking age bc they were basically gonna give the US money if they increased it, and law enforcement is so strict here it makes sense for multiple reasons that drinking age would be enforced so heavily (especially bc we drive everywhere) 2) also i learned before they don’t add the tax in order to get you to buy more bc america is capitalistic through and through 3) there’s music playing everywhere also bc it’s a psychological thing to get you to stay longer so businesses make more money lmao oh america

I feel like he is one of the people who has a real talent and good taste.

Also, for what it’s worth: 1) The 55 “people” are the number of members of Congress. Each state has two senators plus all their House members. DC gets 3 electoral votes despite not being a state. So California has 53 House representatives and 2 senators, giving them 55 electoral votes. (Though the electors themselves tend to be older politicians who are no longer working in government directly, that's where the number comes from.) 2) Faithless electors still exist! Their little rebellions are negated by a series of rules but they do still happen.

Americans always find freedom very important, but I think what they see as freedom is not real freedom. I think there are two ways to interpret freedom: 1. being able to do anything without any restrictions, which results in only rich people being able to go to college and having healthcare because the system allows college and healthcare to be expensive; 2. giving everyone the chance to do whatever they want, which results in less rich people being able to go to college and have healthcare too. (The second way of freedom seems a lot more free if you ask me.) (And yes, I realize no 1 is capitalism and no 2 socialism, and yes, I realize that a combination of the two is necessary because pure socialism is communism and there is a whole lot of bad things to say about that too, but I'll keep this comment section essay short)

OH GURL! That low voltage electric slide gave me life, it actually made my day.

Omg bruhhh Damon your channel is my go to channel to show to people I live with in Germany (I'm from the US) and EACH TIME I tell people about the pledge of alliance it's THE biggest WTF moment everrr

Damon: "Canada is more or less the same culture as the states." Canadians: Sorry, but you're wrong.

wait what?!, 13$ for a glass of wine?🙃🙃 in Spain for a glass of wine is like 2€, and we have some fine ass wine 😅

“Girl, that’s Texas!” Haha, so true. I just moved to France from America and it’s true, I’ve never traveled because of how expensive it is and how far things are. I can’t wait to travel Europe but now we’re in Confinement🤦🏽‍♀️

Thank you so much for this content. It's a total ray of light these days. Editing is on point too.....just waiting for you to have a show already.

Damon, your videos on literally any topic are just pure gold, you deserve more attention, people need to see this.

I love marshmallow fluff and am shocked you’ve never tried it... Any-who, hi from California!

If there isn’t one, I’d love to see a video on your favorite culture based on the ones you’re familiar with. Maybe you could compare how Americans generally are to how other people are (in terms of friendliness, etc)

love this. elevating the quality of youtube itself with every upload

Great job Damon. You actually opened up my perspective on a few issues, very entertainingly.

The reason why they can’t show you the sales tax is because some states have different sales tax. In California it’s more than in Florida, some states don’t have sales tax at all. Brands can’t raise the price for certain states and not for others. Only states can tax its citizens through sales, not the federal government. THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE “Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution, empowers each state legislature to determine the manner by which the state's electors are chosen. The number of electors in each state is equal to the sum of the state's membership in the Senate and House of Representatives.” It isn’t a random number, and it’s supposed to make sure small states don’t get steamrolled by larger states- like see; A candidate needs 270 votes to win the election. Candidate 1 wins these states: California (55), New York (29), Virginia (15), Washington (12) Michigan (16)...Candidate 1 has 127 electoral votes. Candidate 2 has these states: Texas (38), Florida (29), Pennsylvania (20), Illinois (20) and the rest of the states are undecided...2 has 107 electoral votes. Even though candidate 1 has more small states, they have a better chance of winning despite it. Big states do help, but they’re not end all be all. I don’t like the system, but it wasn’t made willy nilly.

I completely relate to the comment about feeling the need to "talk bad" about the US, especially when abroad or with foreigners, and I also relate to the comment about "sticking up" for the US in a lot of ways. It can be really exhausting as an expat being constantly around people talking bad about the place that you're from. When I first moved I would joke along with it, but eventually after hearing the same negative things over and over and never anything positive it really became grating. It got to the point where I would just be thinking "alright alright, I GET IT!" And eventually it made me defensive. Like, hey, my mama lives there! And so does almost all of the people who I love and care about! These are genuine, kind, good-hearted people who are intelligent, generous, and empathetic, and they aren't any of these things that you keep saying that they are! And you know what, neither am I! It also really got to me that along with valid criticisms (which there are valid criticisms to be had. Trust me, I'm the first to complain about things like the healthcare and educational systems or how we still have tipping or imperial measurements. You know who also complains about those things though? Almost every US American that I know 😂) there is always a healthy amount of generalizing, stereotyping, and flat out cultural misunderstanding. Just as the misconception that the French are rude comes from cultural misunderstandings, so does the idea that US Americans are, for example, fake. Many people, I've found especially Europeans, have a hard time understanding why we smile so much, why we have the customary "how are you?" greeting, why we strike up conversations with strangers, the overly politeness of our servers, etc, and attribute that all to us being 'fake'. I could go into depth about all of these, but basically it all boils down to it being our etiquette and culture. I don't personally understand all of the French etiquette or culture either, like why would I need to say hello and goodbye to complete strangers on an elevator? I don't know them, and if anyone were to say hello to me in an elevator like that in the US I'd be completely thrown off guard 😂. But, simply put, that's their etiquette, which is part of their culture, and I understand and respect that. It's also part of our etiquette to ask "how are you?" as part of our greeting and it's customary to respond with something simple like "I'm good, I'm doing alright, I've been better, I'm fine" and so forth. Especially if it's someone you don't know, like a grocery store clerk. So please don't read into it that we are fake people because of it. I also desperately miss US small talk, funny as it sounds. When I came back to the states after living in Japan I felt so deprived of human interaction that I talked to just about everyone I came across for a solid 2 months. Since it's not customary to strike up conversations with strangers in Japan, I could go several days at a time being surrounded by an immense amount of people but never communicating with any of them. As someone from the US, this was hard for me. At times I felt like a ghost floating through the city. Back home I've had conversations with people on trains, in lines at the grocery store, while sitting on a park bench, in a traffic jam even, you name it. Sure, most of these where small, shallow interactions, but I still enjoyed connecting with another human being even if briefly. And not all of the conversations have been shallow. I've had some very thought provoking and soul stirring conversations with strangers on all sorts of topics. I've even been given some sage advice, many of which I still remember and some of which I still live by. So I completely understand if you do not understand, or like, or feel comfortable with our 'small talk' culture, but I for one am thankful for it each time that I come back to the states. The best way that I can put my thoughts on the US is to say that I think of it much the same way that I think of my family. I don't always agree with them, or even fully understand them, and they can disappoint me greatly. I can even be embarrassed by them sometimes. They aren't perfect, or the greatest family out there. But I'm thankful for them, and I appreciate everything that they've done for me and everything that I have because of them. I love them, flaws and all, because they are mine. And they have some pretty great aspects too. I'm the person I am because of them, and I like who I am. I love living in France (even if this comment seemed ranty and salty) It's a beautiful country that I'm thankful to be in. But the US will always be my home.

You are my absolute favorite. Every single video you put out is just so good

I just want to say that I love watching all these videos because it gives me such hope in young Americans that maybe weren’t not all so ego centric, and care to have these conversations with friends. I feel like you always have guests on your channel that are down to earth and understand the fabric of what it means to be human.

i’m dating a brazilian and i’m so bad at explaining america to him.. i can’t wait to send him to this and everything make sense

Damon: Canada is basically the same culture as the US Canadians: 👀

LOVE YOU AND LOVE YOUR VIDEOS AND YOUR PERSONALITY JUST BRIGHTENS MY DAY AND MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I HAVE HOPE TO LIVE THE KINDA LIFE THAT I WANT ONE DAY

The pledge of allegiance...it hit me in high school it seemed cultish & I didn’t agree with the verbiage ‘one nation under god’ (separation of church & state & all?!) I decided to sit quietly whilst it occurred. I got detention. When my teacher questioned me if I’d continue to do so, I responded I would. She put me in detention again, yet this time insisted on parental presence. My father showed. The teacher told him why she requested his presence & why I got detention. He was pissed. Told her he took off work for this. It being ridiculous, she can’t force me to recite the pledge nor punish me for sitting quietly, not disruptive. She was stunned. Not the response she expected. Now come to present times (by 20 yrs.) Same father says it’s disgraceful when people do not stand & recite the pledge AT A SPORTING EVENT & should be ‘fired’ for not. I reminded him of the one time in high school. My, how the brainwashing has effected this country.....

Peanut butter fluff sandwiches are 💣 also y’all be drinking some expensive wine 😂

No Chloe. Out here we buy those yellow school buses, and we turn them into fabulous homes. So make that fantasy your reality girlfriend ☺️

This conversation is so relevant. I often think about the ways America is different from the rest of the world. In terms of American culture and life, you stated the facts and attitudes perfectly- especially regarding healthcare.

Watching your videos feels like I‘m hanging out with friends and I love it!

i’ve never been this early omg i’m so happy i’m here

Me, in Texan: it took me 24 hours to get to California.

the filming, the editing, the thought that went into this video... everything is perfect - honeypot films

Not just the Electric Slide but also the Cha-Cha Slide!!! The vibes are on point when it comes on

I’m so early Damon hasn’t even changed the error in his thumbnail lol

The part about the healthcare just scares me. So thankful I don't live there

this was such a good video damon,,, deadass one of my favorites

They are key primordial points that you have elevated during this video... which never made me attracted to the US. The cultural clash is big. Also I worked in an American company, my manager was Texan from Dallas. Their work culture was horrible too ... she took 2 weeks off after her pregnancy and expected everybody to be like her and to never be ill or in vacation , so when I had my open heart surgery she made my life hell because I needed time off to recover ( 6 months) ... also because my office was located in France and my work contract was French she was always complaining that I had too many days off ( mandatory public holidays ) and that I should still work anyway ... it was horrible, I worked for them 5 years, it was my first job after graduating... I regret so much that i didn’t have enough experience to resign before !!

Damon is telling the truth on the states y’all!!! I don’t understand how this country is still functioning

It was cheaper for me as a New Yorker without dental insurance to travel to England and pay cash for my wisdom teeth extraction. WHAT?!

I loved this so much! The editing is so good! And I could totally relate and agree with everything being from the US.

your videos are always such high quality im literally never disapointed when i watch keep up the good work !!

The thumbnail says ever instead of never , just thought I’d let ya know 🤝💚

Damon: "Canada is basically the same culture as America." Canadians: 😬

I started the video laughing with that new version of I'm proud to be an American and ended the video completely mindblown with that Sitcom explanation. What a rollercoaster

Absolutely loved this breakdown! It was entertaining and informative 🌟

"Talking loud" as the immediate answer to "what makes you spot the American"? 100% yes. Source: a German

~culty~ lol im from india and every morning we have "morning assembly" at school (some schools had it on alternate days or once a week or whatever) and we say a couple prayers (i go to a private school so we say hindu prayers but you cant do religious stuff in govt schoold) and then a bunch of kids read out some news or like the weather forecast or they do some sort of ~creative~ presentation like a sing a song or whatever ANYWAY at the end we sing the national anthem or sometimes the school song so yeah. this didn't need to be so long sorry

Damon how are so chill with speaking to strangers like wow I could never

Obrigada por explicar, nunca havia compreendido as eleições de vcs . Muitos passos para algo que deviria ser mais simples .

Can we make sure Damon gets BACK TO EUROPE SAFELY AND ASAP please???!!!

As an American expat who hasn't been back to the States since Sept 2019, I both feel so triggered and very seen😂😂😂

Plz do more of these with more international friends! And the other way around too! i love this

I love this whole conversation!😝 I hope to one day be able to move, and have these conversations with others🤙🏽💕