to think we really are 2 completely different cultures - the USA and the UK - just looking at the 'rebellion' taking place

[chomalungma]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8228769/Bleak-figures-China-US-economic-hit-virus.html

I know it's only some Americans. I know that it's a massive country with many many more people than the UK

But these scenes are astounding. People flocking to beaches. Protesting about lockdown.
Protesting with guns about lockdown

You just can't imagine these scenes in the UK at the moment.
Especially not the Ohio Zombie picture

It just amazes me - sometimes you think we are very similar to the USA, and then many times, you realise we are completely different.

“It is very difficult to understand but many are poorly educated and have no interest in anything outside the US of A“

Leckford that’s really rude. Have you got evidence for your education accusation? And as for interest outside of USA the country is vast, hugely varied and stunningly beautiful. There are all sorts of amazing things to see and do in the USA that would take decades to experience and cost $$$ to travel to. If I lived there I’d probably not be rushing off on long haul trips outside of the country.Many British citizens don’t do long haul trips and stick to 1 or 2 countries very close to the UK.Hardly cosmopolitan or more superior.

I don't think Trump is delusional. He's a bad person. An obvious ignorant thug and bully etc etc. Those type are a dime a dozen in the world I suppose.

What has been a very disturbing education is that about 170 million Americans don't care. His approval ratings on the handling of this particular crisis were holding steady at about 47% disapproval, 53% approval. Still hold something like 89% approval amongst republicans.

even though we speak the same language
We really don't

Alcohol sales are governed by the State laws. It’s different in every State.

True. It can also vary by location within a state (dry counties vs. wet counties). But the minimum age to purchase alcohol is 21 in every state.

In the USA, the vast majority of the population believe that the role of that state is to provide individuals freedom to go about their business, and that the role of the state should be as small as possible and interfere with an individual’s freedom as little as possible. In Europe, most people believe the state should support the vulnerable in society, even if that means some curtailment of individual freedoms

It's interesting how that viewpoint developed - considering the European background of many settlers.

The U.K. is tiny, slightly dull and over crowded with shit weather. Brits travelling shorter distances than many Americans do in their own state to escape the above in the summer is hardly grounds for feeling superior.

I realised how different the US was when I went to a music festival there and you could barely get booze!

My State is the wettest place I have ever lived. What I would call the waitrose equivalent supermarkets which we have several different versions of all have at least one bar, if not two.
It is standard practice to buy a glass of wine and shop with it in your hand. The trolley has a space that fits a beer glass in one shop.
Brunch is routinely served with the option of unlimited drinks.
It is true there is a higher drinking age. Again other States I have traveled to are much drier.

This is our future.

For our economy to survive, we will need to sign an extensive trade deal with the US. This is not a choice.

As a price for our trade deal, the UK will agree to remove regulations in many areas and will have to agree to privatise healthcare in order to give large US health providers access to our heathcare market.

Our Mayor issued an edict that all illegal residents were to be given equal access to Covid healthcare without repercussions.
I have read that there are concerns in the UK that illegal residents are also reluctant to access the NHS.
I'm certainly not saying everything is amazing in the USA but it is a much more complex, varied and nuanced picture that some posters seem to realize.

It's interesting how that viewpoint developed - considering the European background of many settlers.

Well, I don't think that the welfare state was a feature of many European societies in the 18th century. The US and European countries developed differently from the points of settlement, and different notions of the social contract emerged in Europe.

many are poorly educated

Us ranked 27th in the world for healthcare and education according to business insider circa 2018. I think it's pretty well established that there are vast inequalities and inconsistencies in the quality of education across America.

The US and European countries developed differently from the points of settlement, and different notions of the social contract emerged in Europe

It is interesting to compare the development of the much bigger US compared to the European countries where many of the settlers came from - with the European wars, the industrial revolution, expansion of the Western USA, the American Civil war and the World Wars.

How much of that has influenced the differences in the cultures since settlement..

I am sure there are many books written on the subject

@Hunnybears

I wonder if it’s partly to do with the fact that their healthcare system is based on insurance payments. My understanding is that if you have no insurance your pretty much left to die.

The way health care is paid for in the US is fragmented and complex, so it's not surprising that it's poorly understood elsewhere. Government provided health are for the low income, elderly, children and military veterans is over 60% of the total spending.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_the_United_States

Another 12 million or so get subsidized insurance on the ACA (Affordable Care Act/Obamacare) exchanges. And you can't be refused treatment at A&E due to your insurance or lack thereof. So it's not ideal, but not quite the people dying in the streets picture often painted abroad.

Disney put their Europark near Paris because of its road links. They thought 500 million Europeans would drive 8-12 hours to get to it.

They also thought the French would be happy to have lunch without alcohol.

Re roots done, I was referring to a particular video that shows a woman complaining about this. Obviously being a bit flippant as that's not everyone's reason.

When you see US news you see why so little is known about the rest of the world. I remember backpacking around Europe and we met some US girls backpacking in a hostel. They honestly thought Brits had largely died out from Mad Cow's disease and thought how slack our country's government was for allowing us to eat unpasteurised cheese!

@midwesteaster

I'm certainly not saying everything is amazing in the USA but it is a much more complex, varied and nuanced picture that some posters seem to realize.

Thank you for that perspective, which hits the nail on the head.

@Leaannb if you have money or insurance in the UK, you can have those operations done quickly (not at the moment though, as the small private health sector is sharing some of its resources with the NHS and therefore all non-urgent surgery is on hold).

@noblegiraffe we have active shooter practice (called something more euphemistic, but that's what it is) in our central London school. As does my DD's primary in outer London. Sadly school managements don't think such an incident is impossible here.

Understood, JoysOfString. I'm thinking about doing my own, but there has been a run on hair dye at my local CVS.

@Biscuitsdisappear......America is a country that was born out of Rebellion from a tyrannical goverment helll bent on colonization and empiricism

It is very difficult to understand but many are poorly educated and have no interest in anything outside the US of A

This ranks the US education system as the best in the world, followed by the UK and Canada.

www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/best-education

My understanding is that if you have no insurance your pretty much left to die.

Your understanding of the situation is wrong. People aren't left to die. At all. It is illegal to deny life saving treatment to someone because of a lack of insurance. Uninsured people receive treatment like everyone else. Then they are billed for it. Many will qualify for medicaid and have a good portion of their treatment covered. Yes, the bills can force someone into bankruptcy if they don't qualify for medicaid, which is terrible. But they aren't left to die. How do people believe this shit?

I’m pleased to hear they aren’t left to die, however seems barbaric to make someone bankrupt and left in thousands of pounds worth of debt though... not an ideal situation at all for such a wealthy nation.

When was Medicaid introduced? Was that part of the Obama care it was that available before then?

Wildfire season has already started in British Columbia. Despite having a foot of snow in the ground, swathes of two provinces have a fire ban and some small evacuations have already taken place due to out of control wildfire.
I am holding my breath to discover how municipalities are going to provide evacuation accommodations whilst maintaining physical distancing protocols. It’s horrifying. I don’t want to think about it.

@FromEden

The UK was born out of Elizabeth I's inability to produce an heir, meaning her crown passed to the king of Scotland.