The world 'largely likes' the US, says global survey

[9erempiree]

A global survey of 40 countries by the Pew Research Center finds that large numbers of people have a favourable opinion of the United States, its economy and the US-led fight against the Islamic State.
http://www.flixist.com/ul/216005-america-murica.jpg

People try to say we are bad and that everyone hates us. They hate us because they ain't us, a popular American movie quote that holds very true today.

With the formalities out of the way....here are the good stuff:


Overall, the US is largely seen in a positive light, with a global median of 69% of people saying they viewed the US favourably. That's up from 65% in 2013 and 2014, says Pew.


A median of 62% of people around the world say that they support US military actions against the Islamic State group. That figure is compared to the 24% of people who oppose US-led efforts against the group in Iraq and Syria.


While the Iraq war that raged a decade ago was largely unpopular, majorities in America's key European allies are supportive of the campaign.

A near-majority of people in important Middle Eastern allies are supportive as well.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33249752

The cost of a U.S. marriage certificate has just risen to $100,000:pimp:

[Akrazotile]

Are we supposed to care whether they like us or hate us?

[warriorfan]

They like us

They want us

They need us

They want to be like us

Deal with it

[GimmeThat]

Right, and the world is fat instead of just being round.

[LEFT4DEAD]

You care if somebody likes you, therefore you are taking the L budy. Again. :oldlol:

[ThePhantomCreep]

Considering people in all 40 countries around the world, Mr Obama has the backing of a median of 69% of people (much higher than his approval rating in the US).
In all the countries surveyed in the EU and sub-Saharan Africa, half or more support the American president. In 29 countries, majorities said they were confident that Mr Obama would do the right thing when it came to world affairs.

Considering that the US under Bush was about as popular as a swift kick to the nuts, I'm impressed by the results of this poll. :cheers:

[UK2K]

Considering that the US under Bush was about as popular as a swift kick to the nuts, I'm impressed by the results of this poll. :cheers:

Foreign countries liked us.

The people of Afghanistan liked us.

Just because our media made it seem like they didnt....

I was there. They loved us. It breaks my heart to see what a shit hole that place is now. Then again, if you wont help yourself, I can't help you. That is true over there, and over here in the States.

Considering Obama has done nothing but pander to Muslim countries, I would guess his approval rating is much higher there than for any recent president. Want to bet?

[CeltsGarlic]

lol at judging by the median

[Velocirap31]

How does a yes or no question have a median?

[nathanjizzle]

the world likes us. if they dont, its because they jelly.

[Derka]

How does a yes or no question have a median?
Because most of the people reading the juicy bits of a story like that don't know what a median is and don't care...and the people reporting it know that.

[Patrick Chewing]

You know who likes us a lot? The Germans.


I've been selling a lot of prime real estate to Germans lately.

[Mr. Jabbar]

This is a good read ishers, how ppl actually see the U.S., outside the U.S.

"1. FEW PEOPLE ARE IMPRESSED BY US

Unless you’re speaking with a real estate agent or a prostitute, chances are they’re not going to be excited that you’re American. It’s not some badge of honor we get to parade around. Yes, we had Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison, but unless you actually are Steve Jobs or Thomas Edison (which is unlikely) then most people around the world are simply not going to care. There are exceptions of course. And those exceptions are called English and Australian people. Whoopdie-****ing-doo.

As Americans, we’re brought up our entire lives being taught that we’re the best, we did everything first and that the rest of the world follows our lead. Not only is this not true, but people get irritated when you bring it to their country with you. So don’t.

2. FEW PEOPLE HATE US

Despite the occasional eye-rolling, and complete inability to understand why anyone would vote for George W. Bush, people from other countries don’t hate us either. In fact — and I know this is a really sobering realization for us — most people in the world don’t really think about us or care about us. I know, that sounds absurd, especially with CNN and Fox News showing the same 20 angry Arab men on repeat for ten years straight. But unless we’re invading someone’s country or threatening to invade someone’s country (which is likely), then there’s a 99.99% chance they don’t care about us. Just like we rarely think about the people in Bolivia or Mongolia, most people don’t think about us much. They have jobs, kids, house payments — you know, those things called lives — to worry about. Kind of like us.

Americans tend to assume that the rest of the world either loves us or hates us (this is actually a good litmus test to tell if someone is conservative or liberal). The fact is, most people feel neither. Most people don’t think much about us.

Remember that immature girl in high school, who every little thing that happened to her meant that someone either hated her or was obsessed with her; who thought every teacher who ever gave her a bad grade was being totally unfair and everything good that happened to her was because of how amazing she was? Yeah, we’re that immature high school girl.

3. WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE REST OF THE WORLD

For all of our talk about being global leaders and how everyone follows us, we don’t seem to know much about our supposed “followers.” They often have completely different takes on history than we do. Here were some brain-stumpers for me: the Vietnamese believe the Vietnam War was about China (not us), Hitler was primarily defeated by Russia (not us), Native Americans were wiped out largely disease and plague (not us), and the American Revolution was “won” because the British cared more about beating France (not us). Notice a running theme here?

(Hint: It’s not all about us.)

We did not invent democracy. We didn’t even invent modern democracy. There were parliamentary systems in England and other parts of Europe over a hundred years before we created government. In a recent survey of young Americans, 63% could not find Iraq on a map (despite being at war with them), and 54% did not know Sudan was a country in Africa. Yet, somehow we’re positive that everyone else looks up to us.



4. WE ARE POOR AT EXPRESSING GRATITUDE AND AFFECTION

There’s a saying about English-speakers. We say “Go **** yourself,” when we really mean “I like you,” and we say “I like you,” when we really mean “Go **** yourself.”

Outside of getting shit-housed drunk and screaming “I LOVE YOU, MAN!”, open displays of affection in American culture are tepid and rare. Latin and some European cultures describe us as “cold” and “passionless” and for good reason. In our social lives we don’t say what we mean and we don’t mean what we say.

In our culture, appreciation and affection are implied rather than spoken outright. Two guy friends call each other names to reinforce their friendship; men and women tease and make fun of each other to imply interest. Feelings are almost never shared openly and freely. Consumer culture has cheapened our language of gratitude. Something like, “It’s so good to see you” is empty now because it’s expected and heard from everybody.

In dating, when I find a woman attractive, I almost always walk right up to her and tell her that a) I wanted to meet her, and b) she’s beautiful. In America, women usually get incredibly nervous and confused when I do this. They’ll make jokes to defuse the situation or sometimes ask me if I’m part of a TV show or something playing a prank. Even when they’re interested and go on dates with me, they get a bit disoriented when I’m so blunt with my interest. Whereas, in almost every other culture approaching women this way is met with a confident smile and a “Thank you.”

5. THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE AVERAGE AMERICAN IS NOT THAT GREAT

If you’re extremely talented or intelligent, the US is probably the best place in the world to live. The system is stacked heavily to allow people of talent and advantage to rise to the top quickly.

The problem with the US is that everyone thinks they are of talent and advantage. As John Steinbeck famously said, the problem with poor Americans is that “they don’t believe they’re poor, but rather temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” It’s this culture of self-delusion that allows America to continue to innovate and churn out new industry more than anyone else in the world. But this shared delusion also unfortunately keeps perpetuating large social inequalities and the quality of life for the average citizen lower than most other developed countries. It’s the price we pay to maintain our growth and economic dominance.

In my Guide to Wealth, I defined being wealthy as, “Having the freedom to maximize one’s life experiences.” In those terms, despite the average American having more material wealth than citizens of most other countries (more cars, bigger houses, nicer televisions), their overall quality of life suffers in my opinion. American people on average work more hours with less vacation, spend more time commuting every day, and are saddled with over $10,000 of debt. That’s a lot of time spent working and buying crap and little time or disposable income for relationships, activities or new experiences.

6. THE REST OF THE WORLD IS NOT A SLUM-RIDDEN SHITHOLE COMPARED TO US

In 2010, I got into a taxi in Bangkok to take me to a new six-story cineplex. It was accessible by metro, but I chose a taxi instead. On the seat in front of me was a sign with a wifi password. Wait, what? I asked the driver if he had wifi in his taxi. He flashed a huge smile. The squat Thai man, with his pidgin English, explained that he had installed it himself. He then turned on his new sound system and disco lights. His taxi instantly became a cheesy nightclub on wheels… with free wifi.

If there’s one constant in my travels over the past three years, it has been that almost every place I’ve visited (especially in Asia and South America) is much nicer and safer than I expected it to be. Singapore is pristine. Hong Kong makes Manhattan look like a suburb. My neighborhood in Colombia is nicer than the one I lived in in Boston (and cheaper).

As Americans, we have this na

[UK2K]

[QUOTE][B]For all of our talk about being global leaders and how everyone follows us, we don

[TripleA]

The majority of those who don't know those things are high schoolers graduating now who are too stupid to pass 9th grade, yet, get accepted into college.

Look how dumb the class of '15 is. Look at their global scores. Stupid kids who will ultimately have stupid children.

We are a hollow shell. That's all.

member of Class of 16 going to college right here. Crisis averted.