1. Any moron can, for about $50, make a phone call and incorporate him/herself. In no other country that I know of can someone do business (and so much damage) so easily! Anyone can easily buy and sell a share in a public corporation. Also real easy to get out there and sue people and corporations. I have this friend in Miami who just goes around suing anything that might move (and wins). Overall, you can do business here without getting permission, licenses or favors and sometimes without ever filling out a form or going to an office.
2. Tap water is drinkable just about anywhere you go. We also have lots of water fountains around and you can drink from them.
3. Washington DC metro has gotten even better. Now there are signs that tell you when the next train is arriving (now if New York would just get this!). There are public bathrooms and water fountains on the Mall and by the memorials, and the Smithsonian museums are all still free. A great place to walk around on a Saturday. But more to the point: All federal museums and monuments in the country are free – few countries today are like this.
4. Huge country and you can make phone calls anywhere for under 5 cents a minute 24/7 and our phone calls go through all the time and sound clear. Fedex or the post office will reliably get original documents to someone’s desk across the country by the next morning for under $20.
5. Numerous vacation opportunities without ever leaving the country. In fact, half of our citizens don’t even hold passports. You can go 3,000 miles and you still see the same chain stores, banks and television networks. Ride the same interstate highway. Huge and perhaps boring, but very predictable and this is no small comfort to many people.
6. Lots of choices for eating. When you travel abroad, you appreciate this. American food may not always be of the best quality but it is generally clean and affordable and vegeterians who are not into spicy foods have it good here.
7. Can buy electronics and acquire technology cheaply and quickly. Some countries may have superior technology but it is more expensive to get it and not always widely available.
8. Can make credit card purchases by phone and on-line. Many countries still don’t permit this. This is a great country for no-hassle purchasing – you can buy lots of stuff real fast here. Also, here you can get lots of credit cards for free and get credit easy. Free credit is rare abroad. Not so easy abroad to just walk into a dealership and walk out in a new car of your choice or to get a car, computer or furniture set just the way you like it.
9. American history and institutions are based on popular will rather than top-down rule that is either still held or given over to the public. This is still a rather unique state of affairs in the world. Nobody says we have achieved all that we stand for, but no one doubts that the principles of America are aspired to both in America and around the world and are still relevant since they were first expressed 225 years ago today. You can be cynical as to whether or not American government represents the will of the people or whether or not American corporations are responsive to the marketplace, but ultimately it is known that public opinion does matter here sooner or later and that votes and consumer attitudes do count. Just this month, Bush has done several things that show his rule is constrained by popular consent (ie: no more naval testing at Vieques, reduced offshore drilling plans, price controls on energy in the West).
10. Taxes are considered to be relatively low and other things people buy such as mortgages, cars, petrol, clothing, insurance, air tickets and real estate are among the cheapest in the world. If you do the math and calculate the cost of health insurance in the US against the higher taxes others pay (and the lousy systems many of these countries have for those who actually need medical services and depend on public delivery), the Americans are getting the better deal. Overall, American purchasing power is tremendous relative to others around the world. You simply cannot get high quality toilet paper and paper towels anywhere as cheaply as here!
11. Lots of good entertainment available on free TV and American industry produces entertainment, media and recreation that people really want. The American television networks produce lots of shows people want to see. I don’t watch much TV, movies or listen to pop, but I can’t ignore that all our stuff is being shown and played everywhere else. I heard Britany Spear’s voice everywhere I traveled this May. (Is she American?) Disney is still the vacationer’s #1 choice and American hotel chains have become the world standard. For some strange reason, our news programs are rebroadcast all over the world within hours and it’s not just Americans reading the Wall Street Journal in Europe and Asia (although I personally prefer the Financial Times of London, the Economist and the BBC for my news).
12. Our federal constitution and legal system says that anything not specifically prohibited is permitted. Most other countries prohibit everything except that which is specifically permitted. Big difference.
13. Americans innovate. An individual thinks he can become a millionaire and will dare to be great; people will bend the rules to solve a problem or get rid of an inconvenience; and people look at problems as challenges worth solving. In many other countries, people are more busy being jealous and trying to stop other people from becoming a millionaire (even if all wind up poor), they will not be interested or take the initiative to go off the middle line (and instead walk around in a big circle when one could cut a diagonal), and feel no interest in dealing with a problem because they feel that doing so can only bring them more problems or have been taught all their lives to just not care or recite facts without ever wondering how or why things are the way they are and if they should change. It’s true that we have many human robots providing mediocre service at $5 an hour and it’s often poor compared to other parts of the world where service is more of an art. But remember, the cocktail waitress at the Conrad Hotel in Hong Kong is university educated and overqualified in a high-unemployment environment. Which brings me to my next point:
14. You have a very good chance of getting a job and salary which matches your qualifications in the US. This is at least true for Americans.
15. If you’re sick, you can get all sorts of medicines and procedures quickly. They may be costly but at least you can get them. We also have excellent availability for such odd things as spare parts for all kinds of machines. Considering the kinds of things I am always sending to friends abroad, this paragraph is very relevant.
16. We can be totally ignorant if we want to be. We don’t need to know any other languages and nothing that goes on abroad hardly ever affects us (beyond perhaps the stock market and the occasional Pearl Harbor which turns into a love story and sanitized Hollywood blockbuster 50 years later). We don’t worry about wars, famines, guerillas and coups. (Although we did worry about presidential succession when Dan Quayle was around.)
17. We produce stuff that people want. Particularly food, which is amazing since there are other countries with lots more arable land that can’t figure out how to feed themselves and turn to us.
18. We are a force for change abroad, some of it good. Some countries are very thankful we exist and it is not so long ago I heard God Bless America at the top of each hour on some other country’s radio after we came to its aid during a war. No doubt that Milosevic was arrested and finally turned up at the Hague because the US worked hard pulling diplomatic strings. It also mattered that the US sent the troops to Serbia because the Europeans could never get their act together and deal with the problem effectively. I personally don’t see any redeeming qualities to Milosevic and feel the US did a valuable service in ensuring that this guy faces justice for what he did. I’m not really sure what we get in return besides the obligation to now give billions in aid to that region.
19. The Internet – built in the USA.
20. The Dollar – everyone’s favorite currency! Under mattresses all over the world.
21. The English Language – right now it’s the language everyone on the planet knows they have to learn in order to get ahead, and it enables everyone to communicate with each other, especially over the Internet!
Whatever the American Dream means to you — in many shapes and forms, it is Alive!
