What I LOVE about the USA - from non-Americans

[apophenia]

My life has been deeply enriched by American culture.

Sometimes I notice that I make comments which may seem disparaging - but I want to make something perfectly clear ...

American culture has been a great blessing for humanity over the last 100 years.

I am not talking about the para-national psychopaths of the 0.01% who control everything economically now. They are a curse to one and all.

I want to celebrate the irrepressible force of dignified individualism, the poetry, the music, the comedy, the sci-fi, the technology, the extraordinary literature, the rock and roll ... as a non-American who is regularly humbled with gratitude.

So - if you are a non-American, (even if you have legitimate complaints .... ) who admires something about American culture - put it here !

There are some amazing and excellent Americans here on RF, and over the years they have stoically endured a lot of flack.

Tell them what you love about the best of them !

To kick off, here is a youtube I stumbled across tonight. A song which is the sine qua non of rock and roll. I'm going with it, because it somehow captures something of the American spirit which has saved my soul - many times !

 

[apophenia]

Yeah, OK, if you are an American citizen and you want to contribute what you love about America...I wouldn't want to exclude you

Please, put it here !

 

[Sunstone]

Most of the people I know. Nature in general and the Colorado Wilderness in particular. The ideal of socially and environmentally responsible individualism that is part of the culture even if it might not be a predominant part these days. The open-minded and progressive liberalism that likewise is a part of the culture albeit perhaps not a predominant part. The old-fashioned conservatism that cherishes certain traditional values of liberty and responsibility and which seems to be dying out. The down to earth, unpretentious people I seem to run into so often. The civic mindedness of most small town millionaires I personally know. There's lots of things I love about America. Too many to mention, really. The ones I've mentioned are just off the cuff.

 

[sandandfoam]

When I meet an American I expect to like them. I love that it is such a melting pot of everything.

 

[Ultimatum]

There are some amazing and excellent Americans here on RF, and over the years they have stoically endured a lot of flack.

I think it's ridiculous to criticise Americans and, actually, I stand by the fact that it's nonsense to do so to people of other cultures and countries to which they were born it. No one chooses what they are born into; it's a cultural gamble.
I do, however, think that governments, globally, should take criticism and flack. The American government is not immune to this.

and over the years they have stoically endured a lot of flack.
Such as?

 

[Sunstone]

I think it's ridiculous to criticise Americans...

Constructive criticism can be invaluable.

 

[apophenia]

The ideal of socially and environmentally responsible individualism that is part of the culture even if it might not be a predominant part these days.

The civic mindedness of most small town millionaires I personally know.

Yes to both.

"socially and environmentally responsible individualism"
The 60s cultural revolution was about so much more than the media portrays.

"The civic mindedness of most small town millionaires"
I hope this feature of American culture endures, even maybe has a renaissance. It is the ideal form of the humanistic tendency labelled as socialism when it is institutionalised. It also reminds me of the best of Islamic culture, where the local sheikh accepts money from the community and distributes it in a humanitarian way.

 

[Riverwolf]

Yeah, OK, if you are an American citizen and you want to contribute what you love about America...I wouldn't want to exclude you

Please, put it here !

Well, as someone who's not got much love for the US as a whole and its pan-culture, I can at least share one of the things I appreciate most from the perspective of an artist.

We have, from what I've seen, the laxest censorship laws in the world. We can make and publish pretty much whatever we want without fear of being arrested for it, with very few exceptions.

 

[Ultimatum]

Constructive criticism can be invaluable.

Such as?

 

[Riverwolf]

Such as?

"I feel like this work of art is well-intentioned in what it's trying to say, but certain elements, perhaps unintended, are regressive and offensive to modern sensibilities. Perhaps some alternatives the artist may have considered would be..."

 

[Ultimatum]

We have, from what I've seen, the laxest censorship laws in the world. We can make and publish pretty much whatever we want without fear of being arrested for it, with very few exceptions.

I agree with this. The bigger problem, however, within the American government is that the law-makers are above the law.

 

[Riverwolf]

I agree with this. The bigger problem, however, within the American government is that the law-makers are above the law.

Oh, I agree. And that's just a small piece of the problem.

But we must choose the battles we're personally best equipped to fight. You've probably already noticed that when it comes to federal politics, I'm pretty out of my league.

 

[Ultimatum]

"I feel like this work of art is well-intentioned in what it's trying to say, but certain elements, perhaps unintended, are regressive and offensive to modern sensibilities. Perhaps some alternatives the artist may have considered would be..."

over the years they have stoically endured a lot of flack.
Can I have a relatable example of this flack that people have endured?

 

[apophenia]

Well, as someone who's not got much love for the US as a whole and its pan-culture, I can at least share one of the things I appreciate most from the perspective of an artist.

We have, from what I've seen, the laxest censorship laws in the world. We can make and publish pretty much whatever we want without fear of being arrested for it, with very few exceptions.

This is a huge cultural leap, and hugely undervalued - file under 'familiarity breeds contempt'.

I was deeply saddened when I heard that 'Walden Pond' had been removed from the reading list for American high school students. Some considered it 'subversive'.

 

[Riverwolf]

over the years they have stoically endured a lot of flack.
Can I have a relatable example of this flack that people have endured?

I was actually about to provide some of the more satirical ones that I genuinely laugh at even as I recognize their relative lack of accuracy.

We're fat, stupid, armchair generals who just love trampling all over other peoples' countries and cultures.

Here's one that I've always loved: a map of the world according to Americans (as of 2012):

Spoiler: Potentially Offensive Language

 

[Sunstone]

Such as?

I think it's constructive to criticize Americans for their general or overall political apathy, especially when such criticism is coupled with insights into how to overcome it. It seems to me that a lot of the political problems in the US stem from political apathy, and one possible way to change that might be more and better organizations aimed at involving people in all levels of politics. Alexis de Tocqueville noted in the 1830s the importance of such organizations to American democracy. But in recent years, they have been largely weakened or marginalized by various factors.

 

[Riverwolf]

This is a huge cultural leap, and hugely undervalued - file under 'familiarity breeds contempt'.

I was deeply saddened when I heard that 'Walden Pond' had been removed from the reading list for American high school students. Some considered it 'subversive'.

I've never even heard of that book, but I can already share that sadness.

On the other hand, US High Schools are absolutely terrible already. The literature we're forced to read don't speak to us on any level; I remember that virtually every high schooler I've talked to (when I was in it) thought To Kill A Mockingbird was "the worst book ever written."

Which is why I absolutely love what my Freshman English Teacher did: one of the books we read was Ender's Game. FINALLY a book that speaks our language!

 

[Sunstone]

I agree with this. The bigger problem, however, within the American government is that the law-makers are above the law.

Very true.

 

[apophenia]

over the years they have stoically endured a lot of flack.
Can I have a relatable example of this flack that people have endured?

That was an off the cuff remark based on various dialogs I have engaged in and/or read in threads in RF over the years.

I myself have, on these forums, criticised American people for being so susceptible to the jingoism of stage-managed clowns like George W, for example. Recently I made suggestions regarding covert US strategic manipulation of international militant organisations of various kinds. For example.

I have observed many American members of RF bowing their heads in sorrow or shame over issues like these. And I feel empathy for them. My government in Australia does not represent me well in many respects.

But this thread is not about that !

 

[Ultimatum]

I was actually about to provide some of the more satirical ones that I genuinely laugh at even as I recognize their relative lack of accuracy.

We're fat, stupid, armchair generals who just love trampling all over other peoples' countries and cultures.

Here's one that I've always loved: a map of the world according to Americans (as of 2012):

Spoiler: Potentially Offensive Language

We're fat,

Americans know this to not be true.

stupid,

Americans know this to not be true.

armchair generals who just love trampling all over other peoples' countries and cultures.

Americans know this to not be true.
------------

So the point stands: what have Americans had to endure, in terms of flack, over the years? We all know that these remarks are not true and we just laugh at them heartily.

Also, that map is really hilarious. Especially "Terrorists" and "Suez Canal"