What do you think about...........

Why don't ordinary people recycle in America? Perhaps only hippies and hipsters do???

- Why do you take the car to the convenience store when it's just a block or two away?
- Why do you have oversized shopping carts? Large families to feed?
- Why don't you have more walkable and bikable cities?
- Why do you have so many food deserts?

Actually, "ordinary" people do recycle in America.  Almost every state and municipality in the US has recyle laws which compel the separation of refuse into garbage, green waste, and recyclables.

People sometimes take the car to the convenience store when it's just a block or two away because they want to; or because the weather is bad; or because they will be unable to carry home on foot all the things they will buy; or because they are lazy.  I personally am glad that the first reason stated hasn't been made illegal yet.

I never noticed that American shopping carts are oversized, or are any larger than shopping carts I have seen in a dozen other countries.  However, in many countries people must buy their food in small installments and on an almost daily basis, due to the lack of adequate means of refrigeration and other means of food preservation.  In the US, it is possible to buy a week or two's foodstuffs and preserve them fresh.  A large shopping cart comes in handy for that.

Every American city that I am familiar with is "walkable," in the sense that there are vast systems of sidewalks where people can walk.  Many cities are not "bikable," and I believe the reason for that is the lack of space for bike paths that would provide sufficient safety to the bikers.

We do have many food desserts.  I suppose the reason for that is because people enjoy a variety of tastes and textures.  

Why americans don't want to know about the other countries, cultures and religions? Why they don't like to travel? We know most of americans die without going even the other city or state. And why they scare a lot from each other and other nations? Whey they have a prejudice that others are enemy.

Makdis, who told you that Americans don't want to know about the other countries, cultures, and religions? In fact, some do; some don’t, which is the way it is all over the world. And who told you Americans don’t like to travel? We are one of the most mobile people on Earth. About 25% of Americans (over 77 million Americans) have foreign passports, and about 65 million travel abroad each year. Many more travel to countries such as Mexico and Canada which do not require Americans to have a passport.

Your statement that “we know” most Americans die without even going to other cities or states is as inaccurate as saying the Earth is flat. Every year over 90 million Americans travel to different cities and states on vacation and business. About 8 million Americans move to a different state, and about 20 million more move to other cities.

And why are Americans afraid of other nations? And why are they prejudiced that others are the enemy? I don’t think Americans are afraid of other nations in general. But there are some other nations that have done Americans harm, or who would like to do them harm, and it is wise to be wary of them. And what you call a “prejudice”, other people may call a reasoned “judgment” based on fact and history.

Makdis, I respectfully suggest that you should be more careful in the future about making statements on subjects that you have obviously not studied or researched. And I would invite you to reflect on whether you, yourself, have been guilty of the very things you consider Americans to be guilty of: ignorance about other cultures, and prejudice.

Best wishes,

Neil

I wholeheartdly disagree with Neil and sympathasize with your critques. I feel the same about America being wasteful and slow to adjust with new ideas and ways to cut down. I will respond when I return from work.

Hi Clarissa, thanks to you.

I like a lot of people from U.S. I think many prejucious have been raised by some people, I think we should not generalize. I have some questions, I hope not to bother anyone.

My questions are:

How American society reacts to the tyranny of the government of the United States?
Civil society knows the U.S. government acts outside its borders?
People know the ambition for conquest and sovereignty on the poorest countries and smaller?
People can do something for the massacres carried out by the U.S. government secretly in countries with rich soil?

please I'm talking about the government, not about the people, the people are wonderful, I had the opportunity to deal with some of them, and they have been great with me.
no one country is perfect.

makdis57, I don't know any American that has never been to another state or country (though I'm sure they exist) and I deeply disagree with all of your statements.

First of all, take into consideration that because of America's geographical location, airline tickets tend to be more expensive unless we go to Canada or Mexico, so that could be a reason people don't travel as much. I know that that's a reason a lot of my younger friends cannot travel as much as they'd like. However there are, of course, people that are very comfortable with America's standard of living and prefer not to leave it. That is entirely their choice, but they are certainly not the majority.

Secondly, I have no idea where you got the impression that we're afraid of other cultures because that's just erroneous. We are not a homogenous nation - we have people from all different countries around the world in our country. Because of that, a lot of cities here in America are already very cultured by the people that have immigrated. For example, there are several "Chinatown" areas in cities all over America where everything is written in Chinese, there are local restaurants, grocery stores, services, etc. and you can go the whole day without even hearing a word of English. If you go there, it practically feels like China (I can say that because I've been to China as well). It is possible for us to experience another culture without ever leaving our country, and I assure you we are not afraid of other cultures in the slightest. I doubt that you have ever been to America (if you had, you'd realize how ridiculous your statement is) but I assure you that the American image you have in your mind is not an accurate portrayal of us.

why do people refer to the US as 'America'...America is a continent, not a country.

Alexandra - "America" is not a continent. "North America" and "South America" are continents.

People sometimes refer to the US as America because it's short for the "United States of America", and because the people who are from America are known as Americans.