The Most Disturbing Aspect of (Modern) American Culture...

[FunkyDucky]

First off, I'm really glad I found this forum. I'm a first-generation American of (mostly) Spanish and Italian heritage. I've always felt much, MUCH more Spanish and Italian than American. I don't think people realize how utterly different the psychology of those countries (which are extremely similar to each other) is from that of mainstream-Anglo-American psychology. I feel -- and always have felt -- absolutely like a fish out of water here in the USA. When I've visited Spain and Italy, I've felt suddenly right at home, and genuinely happy. What's more, here in the States, I feel so, SO isolated -- in spite of being an extrovert -- because Americans are so insular and the way that I'm so instantly outgoing with people I've just met scares them away instantly -- I can actually see the look of fear in their eyes because of the volume of my voice; it's part of how they're always judging everyone else and looking for weaknesses so as to tear the other person down in any way possible; then when someone becomes a "friend" it's only a matter of (brief) time before they stab them in the back, and then when I complain about that I'M the weird one.

Anyways, I could write an essay about this and more on the subject, but I'll get to the main point of the post. I've come to the realization that, for the above aspects and a multitude of other reasons, the modern-day US is essentially a VERY creepy third-world country masquerading as a first-world beacon of hope and opportunity. It's the exact opposite of everything it's supposed to be. It's uber-hostile, uber-negative, uber-classist and uber-materialistic. Instead of being the land of opportunities, it's the land of "How can I shaft anyone who tries to make opportunity for themselves?" If it's such a first-world country, then why is there so much horrific poverty and homelessness within it? Furthermore, why is the rate of mental depression and anxiety so high?

Which brings me to my final point -- the creepiest thing about it to me is the fact that -- in addition to everything else scary from the fake smiles, the backstabbers, the slave-labor-level work -- in spite of the essential Constitutional right to freedom of speech, a person isn't allowed to criticize ANYTHING about American culture. If I so much as mention to a person that I can't help but miss Spain or Italy, that I left a piece of my heart over there, they look at me as if I'm an evil troll and step out of my way and out of my life. That's IF they don't tell me "You're not American! Get out of my country!" EXTREMELY creepy ultra-nationalism. Truth be told, if the system here made it easier to move out of this prison cell, or if the system there made it easier to move into, or if other personal life circumstances were different with me, I'd have moved a LONG time ago.

Truth be told, the American system drove me into a DEEP depression, and in a matter of months, because I was tired of that, I was able to climb my way out of that as best possible, to the point where I'm mentally very healthy, but I find that my attempts at happiness are deep-down just that -- attempts, that I'm, in a sense, becoming like everyone else in terms of having a FACADE of happiness, when really my mental state is tested everyday and I'm teeter-tottering between optimism and being on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

[jamesbond]

First off, I'm really glad I found this forum. I'm a first-generation American of (mostly) Spanish and Italian heritage. I've always felt much, MUCH more Spanish and Italian than American. I don't think people realize how utterly different the psychology of those countries (which are extremely similar to each other) is from that of mainstream-Anglo-American psychology. I feel -- and always have felt -- absolutely like a fish out of water here in the USA.

When I've visited Spain and Italy, I've felt suddenly right at home, and genuinely happy. What's more, here in the States, I feel so, SO isolated -- in spite of being an extrovert -- because Americans are so insular and the way that I'm so instantly outgoing with people I've just met scares them away instantly -- I can actually see the look of fear in their eyes because of the volume of my voice; it's part of how they're always judging everyone else and looking for weaknesses so as to tear the other person down in any way possible; then when someone becomes a "friend" it's only a matter of (brief) time before they stab them in the back, and then when I complain about that I'M the weird one.

Welcome to the forum FunkyDucky, you have made some excellent observations. Most Americans think the USA is the greatest thing since sliced bread, even though most Americans have never traveled to foreign countries.

Talking to strangers is taboo and many women consider men talking to them as "creepy." America is a workaholic country where people live to serve their employers. It's no wonder that the USA has the highest rate of mental illness of any country in the industrialized world.

[Mercury]

Talking to strangers is taboo and many women consider men talking to them as "creepy." America is a workaholic country where people live to serve their employers. It's no wonder that the USA has the highest rate of mental illness of any country in the industrialized world.

You couldn't have said it more correctly. America is nothing but workaholic. So workaholic that the day of the week, what month it is, etc have all become absolutely irrelevant. Americans no longer even live by the week, month, year, etc anymore; they live strictly by the day! To Americans, whether it is Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, it means nothing to them in their workaholic culture. Even the phases of the Moon are completely ignored and put out of sight and out of mind, as are the seasons; in fact, to Americans, it is even always winter. They operate the same schedule day to day, and they only live by the sun rising in the east, setting in the west, no leaving the indoors or the desk while the sun is up, and then after dark, head home, cook dinner, do dishes, and go to bed only to wake up 4 or 5 hours later and repeat the same entire schedule again. And as said in the main website, conversations in America are always strictly business-related; it is considered inappropriate, yes, even illegal, to have conversation about your trip to Disney World, Yellowstone National Park, New York City, or even to see the Giant Sequoias in California; in fact, Americans today call people lowlife losers that take vacation time from work. In America, you are expected to completely refrain from any kind of travel unless you are moving.

It is no wonder Americans make no time for friends or even family. They are so caught up in their workaholic lives that it can take as long as 25 years to plan a barbecue with family, even if they live in the same county!

[Contrarian Expatriate]

The aspects that disturb me the most are the lies put out there by media and are accepted as truth, such as:

-America is the greatest country in the world, when it clearly now is among the most miserable populations of all countries.

-Diversity is our strength, which is a semantic trick. Diversity of expertise, outlook, and capabilities are positives, but Americans think this extends to demographic diversity which it does not.

-The American Dream myth is designed to keep Americans enslaved in decades of debt such as 30 year mortgages, spendthrift wives, and lifelong careers of consuming and paying taxes. The new American dream is minimalism and rejection of marriage.

-Feminism is only about equality is a myth that lures women into that femo-supremacy movement under the guise of seeking equality.

-America is not an ethnocentric country when in truth, the tribalism is more covert due to the social taboos and legal snags involved with being overtly that way. My own family implored us to keep our wealth from ending up in white hands via marriage, an inherently racist mindset.

-Buy and hold stocks which is to ensure that institutions are the first in and first out in bear market downturns, a telltale sign of a Ponzi scheme.

These characteristics, among with a plethora of others, makes America a difficult place to live

[Mercury]

It also disturbs me how Americans are brainwashed to believe that;

-Every single country outside of America is a Nazi dictatorship that immediately publicly executes people for voicing their opinions.

-Women worldwide are all the same. Toxic, spoiled, unapproachable, like no man shall get a woman unless he is bolder than a lion and ready to die immediately by public execution.

-Women worldwide need complete, total non-stop luxury from a man, and if a man wants a woman anywhere, like it is International/United Nations law, even Biblical law, that a man shall give a woman a life of endless top luxury.

[WorldTraveler]

Yeah, I hear all the time from my friends that never travel, that all foreign women are Golddiggers! Yeah, stick with American women because they are smart and not users!