Reddit has inspired me to make a list of things that non-Americans (and tons of Americans as well) find crazy about us. I will begin in no particular order.
1. TV commercials are roughly every 5 minutes. Yes, it gets annoying. I'm so used to it that I'll be watching TV here in the UK and think I'll go to the bathroom when the commercials come on! Only to be crossing my legs and thinking they're taking forever.
2. Speaking of the TV, you will often find commercials on daytime TV about prescription drugs.
3. Additionally, following the previous point, you will also see commercials regarding recalls on prescriptions and how to take legal action on the pharmaceutical companies.
4. Debt rules our culture and ruins many lives. Health bills (even with insurance?) cost a lot of money. Education costs even more and in some countries higher education is free!
5. Our depiction of politics in the media. It may be 2 days after an election and the news could be reporting already on the upcoming election in 2 years. Politics in America seem like a never-ending ebb and flow.
6. Here in the good ole U.S. of A you can be trusted to drive a giant hunk of metal around the country (a car) but heaven forbid if you want to have a beer with your dinner. Not for you, mister! Not until you're 21.
7. In relation to the previous post, you can fight for your country at war at age 18, but you can't drink.
8. Here's one I thought of just now: swearing on TV, no matter what time of day it is-completely prohibited. However, violence People being tortured and killed? No problem. Here in the UK swearing is fine on TV after a certain time. As an American I find this so novel. Everything is censored in the US on TV.
9. We make a huge deal out of the Super Bowl, and the non-Americans don't see what all the fuss is about! As a woman who isn't a fan of American football (or any football at all) it's more of an occasion for men and women all over America to get drunk while watching TV and eating extremely fattening yet delicious treats. Also, the commercials are amazing. However the cost of a commercial during the Super Bowl is really expensive. Mainly because everyone and their cousin will be watching TV so the companies advertising are getting a ton of exposure. Because of that, the commercials are always carefully crafted and typically genius.
10. Black Friday. Why would we all sacrifice our lives for a bargain? Especially on the day after a national holiday spent with family. To tell you the truth, this one still boggles me, even *I* find this American tradition outrageous. I'll stick to the cyber Monday sales, thank you. This year Black Friday was in the UK-the Brits were not impressed for this fad to come here.
Hope you enjoyed!
Leah
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