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[Kikapu]

Gentlemen (Kikapu in particular), without a doubt, comfort breeds complacency, which, in my amateur sociological opinion, pervades many pockets of the U.S. and is endemic to the West Coast. However, you can't claim to know America or Americans until you've given equal time to the East Coast after which you may recognize the nuances of American culture.

Hello Filitsa,

I think you and I had some discussions in the past over relationships. I think it was you. You have been away for a while I guess.

Anyway, as far as Americans are concerned, I'm just making a Generalization of peoples knowledge in certain topics, and this shows, when 50% of those eligible to vote in any elections, do not bother to do so, because they just want to live in their "own world"and do not care too much what goes around them, hence the fact they don't know too much what goes around them.!!

You cannot say one part of the USA is more informed than other, even though it is accepted that the East and West Coasts are better informed people than those in the middle of the two. Most of my time spent in the USA has been West of the Mississippi River, which tends to divide the country, and have travelled very extensively the Western part. Americans are very polite and take pride in what they do. You take any waiter or waitress in a restaurant which is looked down upon in most European Countries, but in the States, these people put all their heart and a big smile into their work. I know what you are thinking, and that is, because they work for tips, but that is not the only reason. They actually take great pleasure in their work to serve people. This is Americas greatest strength, and that is, they love to talk and communicate, it's just that they stay away from serious stuff that does not seem to matter or effect them, in their daily lives.

[Filitsa]

i've been in the states for 5 years now and i gotta admit that they are not really the brightest people when it comes to general education... but thats nowhere near the worst thing about them

Are you in the States to pursuit higher education? Just wondering.

[Filitsa]

Greetings Kikapu,

I do recall having exchanged thoughts with you in the past.

Regarding politics as the topic of casual discussion among Americans, let's put it in perspective. Cyprus, being a small island at the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East, has been a political football since its inception, thus the average Cypriot's occupation with the subject. While Cypriots have been sitting in their tavernes and kafenia passionately discussing the politics of the day, Americans have been tending to the business of becoming the world's superpower.

On another note, perhaps in your 25 years in the States, you had not learned the etiquette that one does not discuss politics or religion in social situations?

[Kikapu]

Greetings Kikapu,

I do recall having exchanged thoughts with you in the past.

Regarding politics as the topic of casual discussion among Americans, let's put it in perspective. Cyprus, being a small island at the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East, has been a political football since its inception, thus the average Cypriot's occupation with the subject. While Cypriots have been sitting in their tavernes and kafenia passionately discussing the politics of the day, Americans have been tending to the business of becoming the world's superpower.

On another note, perhaps in your 25 years in the States, you had not learned the etiquette that one does not discuss politics or religion in social situations?

We are not just talking about politics Filitsa, but everything in general. I do agree with you as far as not talking religion and politics in Social gatherings, but if you listen to very much "Talk Radio" in the States, as I've done, Politics dominate the airways from the Left, Right and Center of the Political spectrum, so don't tell us, that Americans are denied politics in their living room. The problem is, there are a lot of Americans who do not read information for themselves, specially in politics from several sources, but instead they put their faith in what ever is preached to them, over the airways, without even listening to opposing views, because they put their trust in the person on the radio. I think a lot of Conservatives fall into this trap, because Rush Limbaugh and John Hannity and Michael Savage and many many more Right wingers dominate the airways. As a Democrat, I listen to all, the Right and the Left and anything in the middle. Anyway, politics is not the only thing your average Americans lack interest in. They lack interest in most things, that the rest of the world consider it to be important.

Yes, the USA is a Super Power, and I have already credited the Americans as being very hard working people, but also don't forget, that a lot of talent has also come from abroad, that these people chose America to be their home. In short, America being a Super Power and a rich country, is the reason why others expect more from them, and when they can't deliver, then they become the "butt of the joke". I love the States, but there are also a lot if injustices that go along there. Just look at the homeless situation at most American cities. It is an absolute disgrace. Just one week's military money spent in a pointless war in Iraq (2 Billion US Dollars), could feed and house these desperate people from having to sleep in doorways, under bridges, in cold dark alleys in a cardboard box, and not have to pushed their worldly belongings all day long, in a shopping cart.

[Filitsa]

This is Americas greatest strength, and that is, they love to talk and communicate, it's just that they stay away from serious stuff that does not seem to matter or effect them, in their daily lives.

I'm sorry. I should have been more specific, Kikapu. my previous post concerned your quote above. I inadvertently assumed "serious stuff" meant politics.

Anyway, I've given a lot of thought to the homeless issue, and although I agree it is extremely sad, I don't know that I'd call it an injustice. Your statement above is oversimplified. There's more to the homeless issue than meets the eye. You see, the majority of "homeless" suffer from severe mental illness, or alcohol or drug addiction. There are programs available to address these issues, but the individual must be willing to participate in these programs. Have you heard the adage, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink"? If the illness/addiction is not addressed, then it impairs the individuals ability to maintain gainful employment. Without gainful employment, the individual is incapable of supporting himself. In a twisted way that neither you nor I can completely understand because we don't suffer from these sicknesses, it is easier for these individuals to live on the streets than it is to invest effort into maintaining the therapy/treatment needed to address their issues. On a more personal note, I know of a local family - affluent and prominent in the community - whose daughter was "homeless." They did not chose this way of life for her. In fact, it tore the family apart. She was an alcoholic. Despite numerous interventions, she did not have what it takes to accept the help offered to her. She died "homeless" in her thirties.

[citizenoftheworld]

I am responding to your comments because it needs to be said that thoughtful people of good will from every country have an interest in the wider world, including Americans who are not quite the selfish, isolated beings that you have a need to believe them to be.

It is unfortunate that those of you who have spent time in the States spent your time there watching reality television and listening to conservative talk radio instead of watching programming presented on PBS and C-SPAN. Based on the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press 2006 News Consumption and Believability Study. 52 million Americans watch C-SPAN. C-SPAN viewers closely follow government and politics. C-SPAN viewers are very interested in international news. Among regular C-SPAN viewers, 71% say they watch international news "most of the time" as compared to a national average of 39%. C-SPAN audience has diverse political ideologies. When asked their ideological beliefs, C-SPAN's audience ranged across all ideological groups; 33% said they were conservative, 38% moderate and 24% liberal. 56% of C-SPAN’s viewing audience is under the age of 50. C-SPAN viewers have wide ranging interests. When measured against audiences of the four cable news networks (CNN, CNBC, Fox News Channel and MSNBC), regular viewers of C-SPAN had the highest percentage of interest in a majority of topic areas such as religion, consumer news, local community news, science and technology, and culture and the arts. If you take a look at the C-SPAN web site, you may get a broader view of Americans’ interests. You can also listen to programming on Air America and National Public Radio for another perspective.


Americans are not only interested in what is going on in the world, they participate in a variety of international volunteer organizations including the more than 187,000 Peace Corps Volunteers who have been invited by 139 host countries to collaborate with local community members to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation. Coming from all walks of life, Volunteers range in age from college students to retirees.

And Americans put their money where their mouth is. Americans' private donations to international relief organizations in 2005 totaled a record $260 billion according to the Giving USA Foundation. The amount was up 6 percent from 2004, when Americans gave $245 billion, said Richard Jolly, chairman of Giving USA. In 2000, Americans gave $203 billion. The 2006 Freelanthropy Charitable Giving Index, conducted in conjunction with market research firm, Synovate of Chicago, found that Americans continue overwhelmingly to donate to a variety of charitable causes -- more than 91 percent of Americans participate at some level of charitable giving.

[devil]

I believe a small correction is required in your last paragraph, COTW. The donations you quote include but are not exclusively private ones. They include all the donations from the big foundations (Gates, Buffet, Ford, Guggenheim etc.). In fact, it would not be reasonable, because $260 billion divided by 300 million = $867 per man, woman and child, including all the impoverished, workless, handicapped, homeless, "guest workers" etc. Furthermore, the same organisation quotes that only 56% of families with incomes <$100,000 make donations. If you take all these factors into account, the $867/person figure would rise to well into the 4 figures of those who do donate, which would seem unlikely.

I don't say this to denigrate US generosity, which can be outstanding.

However, let's not forget that a rich country with enormous resources and a large population can give large sums. Smaller countries can be proportionally equally generous or more so. As an example, let's look at the Asian Tsunami Disaster.

The US donated from government and private sources a total of $2,825M, which looks enormous. In comparison, Switzerland, with a roughly equal standard of life, gave only $200.9M (mostly private). However, the US donation was only 0.26% of the GDP, whereas the Swiss one was 0.64%. So let's divide the sum by the population. USA: $9.58, Swiss $25.43. Which were more generous? Unfortunately, I don't have figures for Cyprus but, knowing how readily the Cypriots dig out their wallets for just causes, it would not surprise me if the beat Switzerland on a per capita basis. However, the crown goes to Australia, which donated $1,322M or 2.44% of GDP or $73/capita.

So, please don't boast that the USA is the most generous country in the world. Yes, it IS generous, but so are others.

[Shipwreck]

I have some very good friends in the States that are kind and generous to a fault, however they admit that education revolves around the USA and they are very ignorant of the rest of the world and events. You only have to watch the news in the US to see how little world news is broadcast. I even heard a passing comment that some citizens thought the US should 'Just nuke the Middle East!!' Good grief! a lot of them don't even know where it is!!