Americans and Non-Americans, What is Your Opinion on the United States of America in General

[MichaelH]

An Irishman here.

I have travelled extensively, the world over, on business and for pleasure and have been to the U.S. 18 times. My trips there have included New York, Chicago, Miami, Las Vegas, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco and Boston.

I wonder whether there is, in fact, a homogeneous country called the United States of America? It seems to me that the country is a mass of diversity and contradictions. The people you will find in the mid west are nothing like the people you will find in, for instance, Los Angeles who in turn are nothing like the people in, for instance, Chicago.

Now it is true that every country has diversity due to internal geographic location, including my own small island. What makes the US diversity so different is the sheer size of the country allied with the fact that it comprises a mostly immigrant population arriving in the last few hundred years.

As to its internal politics, it is quite baffling that one pretty far right party excoriates another slightly right of centre, by international standards, party for being Left Wing. Also, using Liberal as a pejorative term is, frankly, ridiculous.

The other issue is that, due to the enormous land mass there is no real need for the average US citizen to travel outside his/her country. Consequently, the vast majority of Americans don't even hold a passport. This results in an understandable insularity which in turn leads to a lack of real insight into what the rest of the world is like.

Some of the geo-political commentary about the rest of the world one sees, whether relating to Europe, the Middle East, Africa or elsewhere is extraordinarily ill-informed.

Having said all of that, the US is an extraordinary country in many ways. Because of its immigrant origins there remains a 'can do' mentality and a desire to achieve that is commendable. When not involved in bone headed political debate most US citizens are the salt of the earth.

Overall, I very much like the US and its people. It's not the greatest country in the world. It's not even close to being that, but it is a very good country.