<p>-We don't live in igloos. We're not all lumberjacks. We have police who aren't mounties.
-It's not cold all year round. I was in Paris a few summers ago, and I bought a coat from LaFayette (a department store) - the woman asked me if it was winter in Canada. IN AUGUST.
-We aren't American, despite living in North America. </p>
<p>...and some provincial ones </p>
<p>British Columbia (Vancouver, specifically)
-We don't all go around in yoga pants 24/7.
-We don't all drink endless amounts of Starbucks (despite there being at least four Starbucks - plus 2 Tim Hortons and countless independant coffee shops - on UBC campus alone).
-We don't all walk around in yoga pants clutching our Venti Starbucks.
-We don't all smoke weed.</p>
<p>Alberta (Calgary)
-We're not all cowboys, oilmen, or farmers.
-We're not all filthy rich due to said oil.
-A chinook is a weather pattern.</p>
<p>I must counter your points with a few tongue-in-cheek jabs.</p>
<ul>
<li> It's a known fact that the lumberjack population of Canada is robust.</li>
<li> You're American... you just don't know it yet ;)</li>
<li> Tim Hortons is used in IVs</li>
<li> Yes, you do all smoke weed. TV never lies.</li>
<li> What the heck is a chinook?</li>
</ul>
<p>So I'm a Yank, but here are a few things I'd like to make sure that everyone understands:</p>
<ul>
<li> Not all Americans like, want, or own SUVs. Many of us hate them. </li>
<li> Not all Americans are fat and lazy</li>
<li> Not all Americans like George W. Bush</li>
<li> Many Americans have been abroad, or even lived abroad (myself included)</li>
<li> There are bilingual Americans</li>
<li> Most Americans aren't as stupid as TV shows portray them</li>
</ul>
<p>Oh, and I guess since I've lived in Japan, I'll add one for there...</p>
<p>-Isn't like 55% of America overweight?
-Bush's popularity has been in a rut for a while now, then why was he elected, not once, but twice?!
-A recent and considerably accurate poll showed that approx. 80% of Americans don't even have passports. correct me if I'm wrong..
- can't argue with the last two...</p>
<p>Now there are few interesting points made in the above posts...
[quote]
Bush's popularity has been in a rut for a while now, then why was he elected, not once, but twice?!
[/quote]
I wonder that as well...
[quote]
Many Americans have been abroad, or even lived abroad (myself included)
[/quote]
As far as my knowledge goes, this point is quite relevant...
But, as for,
[quote]
A recent and considerably accurate poll showed that approx. 80% of Americans don't even have passports. correct me if I'm wrong.
[/quote]
Let me tell you, there are thousands of ''accurate polls'' these days, and believe me, some may scare you..(I guess you got what I mean to say)...</p>
<p>
[quote]
Let me tell you, there are thousands of ''accurate polls'' these days, and believe me, some may scare you..(I guess you got what I mean to say)...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>which is why I said "correct me if I'm wrong"...</p>
<p>but I really want to know about the whole Bush thing...</p>
<p>Nepal is not totally covered by Himalayas. We have the magnificent Mt. Everest and other (actually 8 of the 10 highest peaks in the world) mountains in the North but Nepal is a very diverse country. We all don't climb mountains and we all are not Sherpa.</p>
<p>UCLAri
You have to think about the questions by NotAmbidextrous. He is totally correct.(As far as I know)
The poll may be correct. There is no guarantee that it is false.</p>
<p>Bush was elected twice, that is true. However, you guys need to keep in mind that the President needn't be voted in by EVERY person in the country, but by a certain number of electors from the Electoral College. Bush won the first election by a fluke of the US presidential election system. He won the second time without every single vote in the country. At least half the country didn't vote for him the first time. What does that tell you?</p>
<p>
[quote]
-Isn't like 55% of America overweight?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That doesn't mean that everyone is, right? That leaves 45% that isn't. A majority of Egypt is Sunni Muslim, but at least 18% isn't. </p>
<p>
[quote]
-A recent and considerably accurate poll showed that approx. 80% of Americans don't even have passports. correct me if I'm wrong..
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The US Dept. of State number shows that around 27% hold passports. Not incredibly high, but not incredibly low. But here's the better question: How many people hold passports in the other top 10 economies? </p>
<p>Besides, I know many many Americans who have lived and worked abroad. You guys all missed my point-- not all Americans are alike.</p>
<p>I just want to chime in here. America is a large country and most Americans are very content touring it. It's much cheaper and easier. We have relatives all over the US so most of our vacation time is used up traveling to see them. But don't get me wrong, I love to travel overseas but it's just not that easy. The other thing to know is that until this year, Americans did not need passports to travel to Mexico, Canada or parts of the Caribbean and those are favorite US tourist destinations.</p>
<p>That's an excellent point. When one lives in France, going to a foreign country is as easy as hopping on a train for a few hours. When one lives in the US, it can mean many many hours on an airplane. It cost me $1400 to fly to Korea this summer. How many Europeans would be travel bugs if they had to spend that kind of money to get everywhere?</p>
<ol>
<li>Not located in Africa. Not an island. Not Asian. We're just two countries below the U.S. (United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras)</li>
<li>I do not eat bananas all day long. We do not export bananas or coffee as much as decades ago. Honduras is not "un pais bananero", a banana country as people think, the influence of the banana companies dwindled about 20-30 years ago.</li>
<li>Most Hondurans don't like beans... Lie... hehe, as far as I know, if you think Hondurans eat beans and tortillas a lot ... you're right.</li>
<li>We too have cars, streets, electric light, internet, television, etc. </li>
<li>It's not insanely unsafe to live in Honduras. You just have to avoid going to the wrong places in the day or night. </li>
<li>You also have to avoid being white; we Hondurans will smell "gringo" from miles and miles away and you'll get shot, violated, robbed, etc. NO, NOT TRUE. You should be careful though, as I said before, to look rich and take out your wallet full of dollars and your brand new cellphone in a dangerous street. It's just common sense while visiting a country in which most people are poor. Don't do stupid things and I'll guarantee you'll be alright.</li>
</ol>
<p>I´m tired so I'll stop. I think I hear a monkey in my backyard eating all my precious bananas, I'd better stop him before I die of hunger. </p>
<p>Remember, once again, that the president is (in theory) elected by a majority.</p>
<p>If 49.9% of people vote against him, and 50.1% of people vote for him, then he wins.</p>
<p>That's in theory.</p>
<p>In reality, the US system is characterized by the "electoral college," which was originally meant to be a filter that would keep the boorish masses from choosing ruffians like Andrew Jackson. It means that even if 50.1% of people vote against a candidate, on rare occasions he can win.</p>
<p>But either way, let's work in theory world for a second.</p>
<p>If someone wins with only 50.1% of the vote, what does that say about the 49.9% of the population who voted against him? Are they somehow at fault? What about all the British who never wanted Blair or Thatcher, but got him because of the parliamentary system?</p>
<p>Is it an underdeveloped country thing to study geography? </p>
<p>Take Djibouti for example, I've never met a "Djiboutian" (?), I've never visited the country, I've never heard of any particular thing going on in Djibouti, yet I know it is a country in Africa. Where in Africa? I don't know, but I'm sure I studied its geographic location in high school.</p>
<p>How come an "American" does not know his/her continent? The U.S is NOT America, though of course it is the most important and powerful country in the continent. I wonder if "Americans" know an American country other than Canada and Mexico.
The thing is, Canada, United States, Mexico ... nada ? ... </p>
<p>This thread was meant to disprove general misconceptions of our native countries.
How about this generalization: "Americans" ignore basic geographic knowledge. ?</p>
<p>I said no such thing. I said that the Electoral College was antiquated and designed for a bygone era.</p>
<p>That doesn't mean that the rest of the systems don't function properly. The same things happen in EVERY system. Do you think that the average person in Europe or Asia is getting perfect representation even if he's living in a democracy?</p>
<p>its always relative mate .............no one is talking about 100%..................America (as compared to its area and popn) still has less representation</p>
