Any UK people here? Does the UK think the USA is insane?

[KansasVoter]

Based on our MSM compared to the BBC.
Based on our politicians compares to yours?
Based on our religious beliefs compared to yours?

Does your country wonder what in the hell is wrong with us?

[ananda]

1. I know I do.

nt

[KansasVoter]

5. Pretty common?

[jwirr]

2. For that matter what about those from other countries? How we doing

in the fight to gain our good reputation back?

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. We think the USA is...

dumb as a bag of hair, and violent.


IMHO.

[KansasVoter]

4. Is it pretty wide spread?

[Cronus Protagonist]

8. QED

:evilgrin:

[vaberella]

15. As a matter off fact it is widespread and not limited to the UK.

It includes all of Europe.

[Cronus Protagonist]

19. Sorry, that is not true

British people do not apply such a broad brush to all of Europe. We are aware of many differences between European countries of which the people here have no knowledge.

[old mark]

7. The right wingers used to agonize about the Chinese taking over the US

but I thought - this place is so fucking crazy, what would the Chinese do with it?

If they ever did take it, they'd probably give it back.


mark

[DURHAM D]

6. They thought we were totally wack when Reagan was elected.

Then we proved we could not be trusted with the vote when Bush was elected and then re-elected.

They no longer give much thought to our political schizophrenia.

About our crazy religious problems - they purged their extreme believers about 350 years ago and sent them to the new world. Pretty damn smart.

[SeattleGirl]

9. Take them back, please.

They're absolutely ruining things here!

[DURHAM D]

13. Wish we could send them back.

On the other hand I am a 11th generation American descended from both British and French Huguenot zealots.

Where would I be?

[Denzil_DC]

10. Can't speak for the entire UK, but here's one view

"Does the UK think the USA is insane?"

"Based on our MSM compared to the BBC."

The BBC is just one part of our own MSM, and we have less prestigious media too, plus exposure to some American ones. The BBC's not universally loved here - those on the hard left see it as establishment, those on the right see it as communist. Personally, I value it and think it does set a standard for the rest to aspire to. I'm more likely to listen to and rely to some extent on BBC radio for news, but more often watch one of our Channel 4 news shows (with digital television in the past few years, we have a lot more choice now than we did), which are pretty good most of the time.

The most striking difference to me is in terms of television news magazine shows. We just don't have the same opinion-led formats that you do - the Maddows, Olbermanns, Becks etc. There's always a veneer at least of journalistic evenhandedness. In some ways that's an illusion, but most of our serious outlets at least like to think they're reporting news, not just making entertainment.

"Based on our politicians compares to yours?"

Big subject. Some of the differences are cultural and stem from our different political systems (our melodrama is very stylized and restrained in comparison), but I think it's fair to say that our crazy politicians aren't as crazy as yours. Decent ones exist in both countries, and have to figure out how to make the best of what the system will allow and how to stretch those boundaries.

"Based on our religious beliefs compared to yours?"

This is probably the largest and most obvious difference, and yes, your religious extremists are as scary as any others, and I guess could be described as insane.

"Does your country wonder what in the hell is wrong with us?"

I can't speak for the whole country. For myself, after the nightmare of the last eight years I can understand impatience and fear, but not the unbelievable amount of vitriol Obama attracts from both right and left. I'd trade him for any of our leaders in a minute. So in that respect, yes. But you voted the last regime out (after two dubious elections), so that was a definite plus.

All in all? You've been insaner. And besides, we're pretty wacky ourselves, by any measure.

[KansasVoter]

12. Thank you for the informative post!!!!

[DFW]

11. I have some good firends in the UK, and they do not think the USA is insane

They think the exact opposite, however, about many of the people who live here.

[cowcommander]

14. Watch this video, it's perfect for what you're asking

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aEk864YrKw

[Denzil_DC]

16. +1 Charlie Brooker is a god

And you should see him go after our own media!

[JCMach1]

17. Well they some explainin' to do for both Thatcher AND the Poodle

Wrong people to ask!

[Imajika]

18. Wait, is this the UK...

...that now has a Tory led government that is instituting massive "austerity"?

And they think we are crazy?

[Spider Jerusalem]

20. As an American in Britain...

I have to say that American news media compare unfavourably not just with the BBC (although NOT with Murdoch-owned Sky News), but also with the Guardian--as far as newspapers go, at least, the New York Times and Washington Post are really the top contenders for 'serious' and in breadth and depth of general coverage as well as culture and arts and so on they're not quite in the same league as the Guardian and tend to be more generally conservative. The Guardian probably wouldn't give Ross Douthat or Charles Krauthammer a job.

American politicians are generally more insane, especially the right-wingers, but American politicians of both parties bang on at great length about a lot of things that very few mainstream British politicians would (particularly the importance of their personal religious faith and their borderline-nationalistic 'patriotism'). This isn't to say that British politicians are neither religious or patriotic, but fervour on those issues in public is seen as unseemly and suspect.

The religiosity of Americans generally seems quite, well, backward. The opposition of fundamentalist evangelical Christians to evolution, abortion, homosexuality, and a whole host of other things that are social issues in the States BECAUSE of evangelical Christians MAKING them an issue seems pretty generally insane. But then around six percent of the UK population regularly attend religious services, and for the most part even those who are religious (the Christians, anyway) tend to be a good deal more private about it and less inclined to make a great public thing out of their belief.

[Sheepshank]

21. My family lives in Australia

They think that the US is violent. Guns too easily available and in the hands of drugged out punks. They don't understand how come the country is in such economic woes. They especially don't understand why people are so vocal about not wanting nationalized health. And then even more especially don't understand giving huge tax breaks to the rich since it's aleady proven to be a useless waste of effort in turning around the economy. Last of all they mostly don't understand the prevalanet media attention given rw, born again, fundies and their attempts to take over US poltics. Of all the things, THAT is the one they think is the strangest issue of all. But that's just my family and I don't know if they speak for the Aussies as a whole.