Ten things the average American doesn't know about America

I found most of the points either to be well known or somewhat false:

1. Obvious toward an individual. Though most of the world familiar is interested in America.

2. Obvious

3. Obvious and applies to all countries. How many people in X country would know where Sudan is?

4. "Poor" is highly opinionated; that we are on the "cold" side of affection is also comparing America to a limited set of cultures. I could find plenty of cultures (Middle East, East Asia come to mind) where telling a random women " a) I wanted to meet her, and b) she’s beautiful" would creep the hell out of her.

5. By world standards, the qualify of life for the average American is awesome. I'll admit it looks less great compared to other developed nations.

6. No one in the US thinks other developed nations are crap. But it's being intellectually dishonest to claim that the quality of life for the average person in a developing nation (e.g. Cambodia) is on par with America.

7. Maybe. Another case of selecting certain examples. Counties like say China are on par with or less friendly than America. A stranger in China inviting you to a BBQ? 50% chance trying to scam you.

8. As someone who's spent time in East Asia, the idea that America has some insane consumer culture is laughable.

9. Sure, by developed country standards, the US looks bad. By world standards? pretty good.

10. Hardly unique to America

I thought I was having extreme deja vu because I've read this before, but the the article was dated May 8th.

Turns out I'm not a time traveler, the story was republished from the post masculine, which was posted July 10th, 2012.

http://postmasculine.com/america

"The American public is becoming docile and complacent. We’re obese and entitled. When we travel, we look for giant hotels that will insulate us and pamper us rather than for legitimate cultural experiences that may challenge our perspectives or help us grow as individuals."

I am lame like this. I go on a vacation and then look for chain restaurants and hotels I have across the street back home. I have no idea how to bust out of this. It pegged me. It got me right. Sigh.

This article blurs the line between fact and opinion rather heavily: its list of "ten things" is, arguably, evenly split between the two.

Some are good points, but others seem entirely depending on the view of the culture passing judgement. For example, the remark about Anglo culture being seen as "cold and passionless" by Latin cultures is meaningless. The Latin cultures are seen by Anlgo cultures as "uncomfortably and inappropriately intimate". Just ask any American or British woman who has visited Italy and has had random men talk to them.

I find the empirically verifiable statements, like those on health, or economics much more interesting.

Should be retitled, "Ten things I think about America"

Thank you oh wise one for enlightening me.

Most of these are painfully obvious, but number 7 really rings true. I don't think any media in any other country is as hysterical and quick to judge as the media is in the United States, which results in a mass wave of delusion and fear.

It's the reason we have the TSA. It's the reason people think that .22 caliber AR-15s are designed for use in war theaters (if they were, Iraq would have obliterated the United States). It's the reason people think that 3D printers are going to be legislated to death (they're not, chill out people.)

The same goes for 8, 9, and 10, but I would argue that 10 applies to many other countries besides the United States, even if the U.S. is the biggest offender.

Look at Japan. The home of zen, origami, bonsai, meditation, and a host of martial arts, now being abstracted from that culture due to complacency.

The same is happening in Europe, although on a smaller scale.