To be so intrigued by America?

[hollyblueivy]

AIBU to be so intrigued by America and just how vastly different it is to the UK despite both being rich modern nations?

Trump features a lot in the UK news and it has made me look into why the US seem so uncaring. Their systems to help the vulnerable are so different to ours. They have no right to housing so many can easily risk facing homelessness. With no national health service, access to healthcare is much more difficult and expensive, pushing people into deprivation even if they are working.

They don’t seem to have the same socialist heart as the UK and it gives a very much dog eat dog and every man for themselves culture.

I don’t think I fully appreciated this before. Anyone else?

This sounds like the uk health system to me. My family member (we’re in the uk) is going through this exact thing with the nhs.

It always amuses me when people say that the food in America is “vile “ - do they think there is no fresh produce here? The supermarkets are amazing with a huge variety of groceries and produce, and plenty of high quality and organic food. Some people do not eat well for a variety of reasons, and there are sadly “ food deserts “ where it is impossible to buy fresh food. That is a terrible thing and many people are working to change that.
But there are also plenty of farmers’ markets and a range of grocery stores selling exactly the same type of food you find anywhere else. I do all my -affordable and healthy- grocery shopping down the road at Aldi , as I did in the UK !

As a Canadian, I can assure you there is an exactly zero chance of me ever considering where I am from as “America”.

What is so sad and even becoming dangerous is how people form opinions, which then turns into what they think is the truth from what they hear or read on social media. Worse, it takes one random stranger bloke to say something and that becomes scientific evidence of a fact.

Honesty people, get off your phone and get a sense check of real life!

She recorded every phone call. You can watch them on TikTok. She also had the noise of a baby crying in the background and the ones that ask her if she has tried xyz are told that she has tried everything she has phoned everywhere and she is desperate her baby hasn’t eaten since the night before. They still say no.

A lot of the churches also only help people that are from that church.

She also got people blaming the Biden Obama administration, it’s bizarre.

If they think it’s a scam then they would be out one can of baby formula if it’s true and they rejected her then they let a crying baby go hungry.

It was difficult to discern quite what Medicaid would cover but I take the point.

Sorry to hear that.

I’ve (unfortunately) had a lot of contact with American people over the last few days because of a holiday company going bust.

im shocked at how many of them seem to think things like travel insurance is just completely useless. Until now, where they’re now all angry because they cant get refunds! It seems like a very weird society to live in.

Would be most grateful for an explanation please.

big proportion of states have much better abortion laws than we do in the UK.

Could you explain that please?

It's very different. Religion has a much bigger hold over there though I'm not sure why. They also seem to demonize left-wing views and anything mildly socialist gets labelled as communism. I think it's because it's the rich who have the greatest power (like Trump and Musk) and they like to promote the 'American dream' idea that anyone can succeed if they work hard enough. It's a myth but it makes them feel they've earned their wealth and power and shouldn't have to share it.

Have you actually lived in the US?

An American I know says the US is really "fifty countries in a trenchcoat".

As someone who lives just north of the US/Canada border, we fully understand how America works. You can keep it. There is nothing we want.

Don't base your views on one video or one anecdote!

We’re not doing this.

Ah I would think this is probably a nail on the head post.

im shocked at how many of them seem to think things like travel insurance is just completely useless
So you experienced and dealt with one event, with people who chose not to take travel insurance complaining at what seems to have been poor treatment and you decided that this applies to Americans as a whole.

Do you know how many Brits travel without health insurance?

Honestly, talk about how to label a whole society based on nothing!

A few people have claimed American healthcare is the best in the world. I think that slightly sweeping statement needs a bit of unpacking. I would say that while truly excellent healthcare is certainly available to you in the US, as a system it leaves an awful lot to be desired. Did you know that per capita, US citizens pay more for Medicare/ Medicaid, which most of them have no access to, than we pay for the NHS? Not to mention the spiralling costs, insurance battles, it being normalised that terminal illnesses have the ability to force a person into destitution. Even Joe Biden, while Vice President, was considering selling his house when his son was dying, because his son’s treatment was not covered by insurance.

I think as part of the Anglosphere we look at the US system and the NHS and forget there are excellent systems within Europe. And speaking of Europe, the answer to why we’re culturally different to the US lies there. We are European. Our centre of historical and cultural gravity, for centuries, lay there. Hollywood and the sense that the US is on the doorstep is comparatively new.

It's no surprise, and nothing new.

But the extent of that coverage is under threat if the Democrats completely cave and the funding bill passes as is. I'm not American but it's a country I do know well. I have close friends who are very anxious about losing their health coverage next year. And I know quite a few who are directly helping acquaintances with food parcels so that their kids have something decent to eat. It's meant to be a wealthy nation but the economic vulnerability of the lower 30% is totally understated outside the US.

What did she do after the 3 months?

Asking because I've just started mat leave (in the UK) and my colleagues in our US office have been telling me repeatedly how lucky I am to get 12 months, how in the US women take 3-4 months and then the vast majority return to work full time because if they want to take longer, even on unpaid leave, their employer will fire them with no repercussions. Baby starts daycare whilst barely out of the newborn phase and mum has to crack on whatever state she might be in post partum.

I literally don't know how American women do it.

On the point of the right to house. The UK has statutory duties on local authorities to prevent and relieve homelessness (1977, 1996, 2017 Acts), while the USA has only policy goals (1949, 1987 Acts) — meaning no enforceable right to housing.

There is essentially law which means councils in the UK must help people that are homeless but in the USA housing is seen more as a goal rather than a right. This is part of the reason there is a higher proportion of unhorsed people in US.

Also I think another misunderstanding is how vastly complicated the US is in terms of systems. It's a federation, so there is the power of the federal state over certain things (and this is where the Trump power grab gets very un-American), but at the same time every state has different laws, tax regimes, education systems, healthcare etc. Moving states will absolutely affect how you live as an individual on pretty much all levels. In terms of the US being less socialist - again, depends on how you define that term. Depending where you are, communities can be very powerful for example. Take the idea of tithing among evangelicals (essentially a religious tax whereby a household will donate 10% of their income to their church). That allows for community projects to be funded (and for greedy pastors to get rich!) and also explains why some people push back against federal or state taxes because they're already donating a large amount to their community and they'd rather decide themselves where their money goes. The point isn't so much that it's more individualistic as a culture (although it largely is) but it's really about deciding what power the federal state has over states and communities around the country. If you look at it that way, the whole place makes a bit more sense. The irony of Trump and MAGA is that he ran on a deep-seated sense of distrust against the federal state. To caricature: it's the cliché that one man and his gun will look after his family better than any suit in DC ever will. That's going back decades if not centuries. Now though, DJT and his ilk are turning that federal power into a tool to subjugate the entire country. Can't see how that will end well to be honest.

We are British and live in the UK and have been to America loads and love it.
I am always surprised at how many people in the UK criticise Americans and America and we find out they have never even been there! I find it really annoying and rude. There are good and bad things in America and in Britain.
Please everyone have respect for others and their country. It comes across as very unpleasant.
My experience of Americans and America has been fantastic. The people have mostly been very helpful and friendly. So many people watch a program and believe everything they hear. Everyone is allowed to have opinions but it’s always better if you have actually been there rather than believing everything you see on tv or the internet.