Getting to Know Americans

I glanced at Buzzfeed on my phone and it had interviews with the foreigners visiting the world cup here in the US. What was remarkable about what they said was both funny and reinforcing. They commented on how friendly Americans are. This was said by most of them. Others spoke about our great customer service. Still others spoke about the size and variety of our grocery stores. So large and so many choices. There was more positive news about our take-out places. They marveled at our drive thru units as well as our convenient shopping hours. They thought our fast foods were great and enjoyed the chicken and waffles. They even pointed out a few dishes they wanted to see back in their own countries. The size of all the portions amazed them. These comments weren’t confined to one area, the world cup is being played across the US so it covered many regions.

These comments go on and on. Another from Yahoo Travel visitor . “Very diverse (at least in California) and no one treats you as a ‘foreigner’ if you are not white. You really don’t feel like an outsider as a person of color, which is really nice. As a foreigner, I truly don’t think I’ve ever felt so accepted anywhere else I’ve been so far. This has been such a wholesome experience.” Or,  “Everyone’s been friendly, but your distances are basically side quests. 😅” Yes, our distances are long compared to the rest of the world’s. We here in California can have a commute each way of 75 miles. We also think nothing of travelling a few hundred miles for a concert. In Europe, a few hundred miles takes in a few countries. Here it is just a few counties.

Why am I bringing this to our attention? We have such a polarized country we forgot how good we are as a group. We have a universal culture that is friendly, generous and adjusts. We take for granted the big shopping aisles, the efficiencies of this country, the services, the refunds, clean drinking water, sewer systems that work, the multiple charities, the ability to file bankruptcy. Unless we have traveled to other countries and their cultures, many of us have no idea how good we have it. Yes we have problems, we are a loud group. We pressure, we push but we share. We struggle with equality but we thrive and complain.

I just returned from a wonderful trip to Turkey. This is quite a fantastic country filled with a mix of cultures and remnants of all the civilizations that once occupied this land. Turkey is beautiful and a step in a world that continuously blends the Central Asian world with Europe. What a combination, I went to visit the ancient site of Ephesus once a 250.000 population from the Roman Empire. What a visit. Most of all of these ancient sites were destroyed by earth quakes, not wars. The Romans were brilliant builders and the clay pipes and aqueducts are still there. They even had a water system for the toilets. There is a village that is about 12,000 years old. Imagine all of that before we started religious wars.

Turkey was lush. Istanbul bustling and hypnotic, almost 20 million people. Foods and hotels were exquisite BUT, we were told to not drink the water, only 19% of the country own automobiles (93% in the United States). The cars are almost 3 times the price in the United States, the median salary in Turkey is only $15,000 to $18,000. 1/3 of the country exists with minimum wage of about $800 a month. We complain about our inflation rate of 4.3%. Turkey’s was 32% a few weeks ago and changes daily. Imagine living where the inflation rate changes daily. The exchange rate of 45 Turkish Lira to the US$ to 50 Lira within days means a Turkish worker can erode their pay check weekly. We complain about our monetary system but it is truly the best in the world and keeps creating jobs and opportunities for its citizens.

All of this is to remind ourselves what a great country we have and what great people we are. We have let the newsfeed dictate and focus on our differences. It is taking visitors to point out how great this place is and how generous and good is America. We are always moving forward and it is dangerous to think we are not united. If anyone were to pick on us physically, we would respond like Momma bears. It wouldn’t matter if we came from Alabama or Alaska. We look to many as a crazy country with big bodies and shorts. When you scratch the surface we are big, small and in-between bodies with tank tops and Yankee caps. We unite ourselves through our sports games, our music, our 24 hour pharmacies and big box stores. We give generously to the world and we share our research and teachings between state lines. We are a young country only 250 years old. A baby! We keep reinventing ourselves and grow as a result. Today’s crisis will end, people will leave office. What is urgent today will be less important over time. Today’s crisis is filled with the same players with different names. They all get this 50 seconds of fame in the spotlight and then move off stage. Don’t lose good friends and family members over political differences as they will change as well. “All things come to pass”. America was born to be a catalyst of change for the world. It is learning to live with this role. NEVER underestimate her. She is on her assignment.