What Does the Rest of the World Need to Hear About The U.S.? Here’s What People Said.
Americans, it’s your time to shine.
Because the fine folks on AskReddit asked readers from the United States what they think the rest of the world needs to hear.
Let’s dig in and see what they had to say.
1. Be careful.
“Animals in Yellowstone will k**l you.
Also, stay on the d**n paths.
I’m tired of hearing about tourists falling in the pools and dissolving.”
2. I think you’re right.
“I’m American who immigrated when I was a toddler, but consistently travelled back and forth to my native land.
I notice Americans (from what I’ve seen) take r**ism incredibly seriously, to the point I can say r**ism is worse outside of America.
Ra**sm in Asia and Europe is on a different level, one that is way worse than in the US. Probably due to America’s deep historical and existential struggle with the topic.”
3. A great state!
“You can ski and surf on the same day in California
Just to clarify, the weather in the mountains could go as low as 30°F (-1°C) but the weather at our SoCal beaches could be as high as 65°F (18°C) in the winter.”
4. Up to the states.
“Our state governments hold more power over our daily lives than the federal government.
The laws can vary pretty significantly across state lines aside from commonalities like no m**der, robbery, reckless driving, etc., and even those sometimes can be punished very differently from state to state.
It’s almost like 50 similar-minded neighboring nations (and a couple territories) under one union.”
5. It’s HUGE.
“This country is big.
People in this country get culture shock from moving within the same state and through different regions. This is, personally, why I find most generalizations of Americans funny.
Also stop asking people who say they’re from NYC how many times they go to California. And vice versa. It’s far and expensive. Every time I’m in Europe someone asks me this question.”
6. Basic needs.
“Water and public bathrooms should be free around the world.
The U.S. doesn’t do a lot of things right, but we generally have free water fountains and public bathrooms in most places.”
7. We’re just citizens.
“That a lot of us (most of us, in a lot of cases) do not support everything our government has ever done.
I did not get a vote on the Iraq War. Please stop acting as if every single one of us is to blame for it.”
8. Still pretty young.
“We only have a few hundred years of recorded history so yeah, we talk about our civil war , etc because we haven’t had ten civil wars and thousands of battles and centuries of political suppression.
Also, since we are so ‘new’ we do talk about our European/Asian/African heritage.”
9. We got it all.
“America has every type of environment. We have temperate climates, deep forests, mountains, beaches, volcanos, deserts, swamps, bluffs, grass plains, lake towns and even jungles and rainforests in Puerto Rico.
If you want to experience something most likely America has it. And that was just in the USA. If you’re referring to the American continent then obviously there’s more.”
10. USA!
“Stereotypes exist, but they are the vast minority.
The majority of Americans are really very kind, down to earth, intelligent people.”
11. Pretty true.
“We h**e our politicians as much as non-Americans do.
We do indeed have a few good ones trying to do the right thing but they are heavily outnumbered by both people/votes and money.”
12. FLORIDA.
“Florida is America’s official second chance state.
Imagine if your country had a region where all the f**k-ups from the rest of the country flocked to when they could no longer make a go of it in their hometown, that’s Florida.
A tropical climate, a relatively low cost of living, and a job market that’s remarkably resilient is all very attractive to a meth head from Ohio who just got s**t canned from Burger King. So they drive their ‘98 Explorer south until they see palm trees, get themselves a trailer outside Ocala, and BOOM Florida Man is born.
Add in retirees who think that 20 mph is an appropriate highway speed, Cubans who say they’re getting their sugarcane plantations back any day now, and clueless tourists in rental cars wearing head to toe Disney sh**t…Ladies and Gentlemen; may I present the state of Florida.”
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