America: explaining the negative

So living in the UK for the past few months have made me see my own country from a different light and point of view. Often I find myself agreeing with many of the grievances and problems people may have about America. Sometimes, people's "hatred" toward America is rooted from some of the things that I had hated. One of the biggest things that people equate with American culture is the idea that we sue just about everyone - we do not take responsibility for our actions and try to blame someone else. Frankly, while in America I did believe that lawyers had too much fun with suing a whole lot of people. But after living in the UK now for a little bit, maybe people abroad aren't suing enough.

Now hear me out. I'm not saying that people should go around suing each other for the smallest of foibles or anything like that. It's just that in America, we just have the guts (cajones, balls, etc.) to stand up for what we believe in. Here, people are just too damned "polite." Actually, I think of it as people being too passive in the UK. Well maybe passive-aggressive. If someone is angered by something, people will often just gripe about it and do absolutely nothing else. At least in America, we are willing to do somehting about it. Sometimes, unfortunately, it leads to many of us suing each other up the wazoo.

I guess what I'm saying is that much of Americans' actions are derived from the fact that we are passionate about the things we believe in and do. This passion I really haven't seen in the British people. Don't get me wrong, the British maybe passionate about things, but the extent and ways of showing that passion is kinda lacking in terms of American standards.

Another grievance people have had with America is America's focus on race. A friend (from the Netherlands) earlier this year talked about how much better it is in the Netherlands because they have transcended the need to talk about race and that people have no problems with interracial relationships and there is no mention of race when it comes to milestones, etc. The thing is, I'm glad that America brings up issues with race. Frankly, for talking about it, we are better off. First of all, it is a matter of pride. Race, despite, what some "enlightened" people want to belive (who often tend to be white - just an observation not a racist statement), is part of someone's identity. It can be a marker of individualism. Don't go around telling me, "I don't see skin color, I only see humans." That's just complete bulls#$%! I am Korean, it's what helps makes me me. Don't take that away from me! And frankly, our talking about race only makes us less racist, in my opinion. After watching a few shows in the UK, I found myself listening to a lot of things that were blatantly racist. Sure most of it was not very serious but really? Do you really need to portray a people in a negative fashion just to get a few laughs? Frankly, they were unapologetic about their racism. If there is no discussion of racism, how can we get past these differences that we are so aptly ready to point out and poke fun at?

Another thing, people from around the world seem to equate Americans with the stereotypical image of the obese person. So I ordered pizza the other day and like many people I know back home, I blotted the pizza with a napkin to soak up the excess oil. While doing so, a friend asks me, "How unAmerican can you be? Just eat the damned thing and drink up that grease." Also watching tv I'm intrigued at how fat jokes are aimed at America in general. Even in the "Nerve," Bourenmouth University's magazine type thing says how our president is so weird by the fact that he's a thin American -besides Taft was there ever a truly obese president? Being in the UK, I think I've lost quite a bit of weight from the sheer fact that I'm not eating as much because food here is so damned expensive. Back home food is cheap (I mean the quality is very good but the prices are very low). Frankly, I think the quality of food in the UK is subpar compared to American standards but a hell of a lot more expensive. So I retaliate to the idea that all Americans are fact by asking the people of the UK, how can any of you be so fat from the fact that your food is so damned expensive. Frankly, I see just as many obese individuals here as back home in the States. Yeah, think about it.

So to end this entry, I give you Bart expressing his way of showing his patriotism...