What do Americans agree on?
March 11, 2019 9:44 PM Subscribe
I’m seriously having a hard time naming what Americans agree on, and, as an American, that makes me worried for my country. I’d be glad to hear whatever ideas you have, large or small, belief-related or pop-culture related or anything in between.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Sorry, this is way too general to get useful answers, so is just devolving into chatfilter / jokefilter -- taz
VirginiaPlain raises a good one. I think many Americans are willing to laugh at a joke at Canada’s expense — anything involving a good “PRO-gress.”
posted by crazy with stars at 10:13 PM on March 11, 2019
posted by crazy with stars at 10:13 PM on March 11, 2019
We believe in free, abundant ice for beverages.
posted by Countess Elena at 10:15 PM on March 11, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 10:15 PM on March 11, 2019 [7 favorites]
Another non-American here, but from my colleagues' conversations:
Pizza & bacon are the foods of the Gods.
Brits are uptight.
The (non-specific) past was better than the present.
US-grown (baseball, Am. football, basketball) sports are the best.
Free refills.
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 10:16 PM on March 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
Pizza & bacon are the foods of the Gods.
Brits are uptight.
The (non-specific) past was better than the present.
US-grown (baseball, Am. football, basketball) sports are the best.
Free refills.
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 10:16 PM on March 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
Beyonce. Peanut butter.
posted by brainmouse at 10:17 PM on March 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by brainmouse at 10:17 PM on March 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
Gravity, linear time, General Relativity, Pythagorean/Euclidean proofs.
...those latter proofs would almost certainly not be accepted by a significant percentage of Americans if stated as Pythagorean/Euclidean (what with those being foreign words).
If you're prepared to throw away, say, 20% of responses then I think you could also include thermodynamics as being shared beliefs.
...I am absolutely not lying or exaggerating in any of this.
posted by aramaic at 10:18 PM on March 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
...those latter proofs would almost certainly not be accepted by a significant percentage of Americans if stated as Pythagorean/Euclidean (what with those being foreign words).
If you're prepared to throw away, say, 20% of responses then I think you could also include thermodynamics as being shared beliefs.
...I am absolutely not lying or exaggerating in any of this.
posted by aramaic at 10:18 PM on March 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
More is better. Even when someone is choosing less, they frame it as more discipline, charity, awareness of global warming, or whatever.
posted by carmicha at 10:20 PM on March 11, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 10:20 PM on March 11, 2019 [5 favorites]
Performative [whatever] must be treated as real. See: security theater, Mother's Day, reverence for "our men and women in uniform" and first responders, etc.
posted by carmicha at 10:24 PM on March 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 10:24 PM on March 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
Work is a good thing.
posted by The Toad at 10:24 PM on March 11, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by The Toad at 10:24 PM on March 11, 2019 [4 favorites]
Individualism (preferably rugged individualism). Relying on others is weak. Gritting your teeth and getting through on your own is strong. Building everything you need by hand out of raw materials is super best.
posted by umber vowel at 10:31 PM on March 11, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by umber vowel at 10:31 PM on March 11, 2019 [4 favorites]
I once heard on Chef's Table that our 'national' cuisine (i.e. not cuisine from regional groups or directly pulled from immigrant communities) is based around relatively unseasoned, large quantities of good cuts of meat and starch. Think hamburgers, casseroles, the traditional chicken dinner. There was a much more informative and detailed explanation of this on the show.
posted by ananci at 10:32 PM on March 11, 2019
posted by ananci at 10:32 PM on March 11, 2019
Syrup on pancakes and individualism.
posted by deludingmyself at 10:34 PM on March 11, 2019
posted by deludingmyself at 10:34 PM on March 11, 2019
Most Americans believe fiercely in individual choice/freedom and "individuals over the collective".
If you have been exposed to a society that is actually authoritarian or collectivist, this will become much clearer. Even "progressives" in the US always frame their arguments in terms of improvements for individuals.
I think many day-to-day practices can be thought about in this framework. For example, most Americans believe that you should be able to pack up the food that you didn't eat in a restaurant for later consumption. ("I bought the food, so it's mine. Who are you to tell me when/where I can eat my food?") This is definitely not a shared belief in most of Europe.
posted by yonglin at 10:39 PM on March 11, 2019 [4 favorites]
If you have been exposed to a society that is actually authoritarian or collectivist, this will become much clearer. Even "progressives" in the US always frame their arguments in terms of improvements for individuals.
I think many day-to-day practices can be thought about in this framework. For example, most Americans believe that you should be able to pack up the food that you didn't eat in a restaurant for later consumption. ("I bought the food, so it's mine. Who are you to tell me when/where I can eat my food?") This is definitely not a shared belief in most of Europe.
posted by yonglin at 10:39 PM on March 11, 2019 [4 favorites]
Marriage is for love and not for securing family status
posted by Jon_Evil at 10:43 PM on March 11, 2019
posted by Jon_Evil at 10:43 PM on March 11, 2019
An intern who worked me last year did a survey of gun owners in our area (who are definitely not politically homogenous), and people who always stored their guns locked up and people who never stored their guns locked up both chose safety and responsibility as their primary motivators. I think this goes with the overall individualism of American culture.
posted by centrifugal at 10:49 PM on March 11, 2019
posted by centrifugal at 10:49 PM on March 11, 2019
Americans believe death is optional.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 11:12 PM on March 11, 2019
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 11:12 PM on March 11, 2019
In my experience (non US) Americans all agree on exaggeration in a positive direction. Things are great, that meal was delicious, this is a WONDERFUL opportunity, your house is SO BEAUTIFUL and so on.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:13 PM on March 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:13 PM on March 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
You just have to want it enough.
posted by Segundus at 11:18 PM on March 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Segundus at 11:18 PM on March 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
I disagree with a lot of these already! I imagine the question to be about things that transcend politics and identity.
Here's what I think Americans really, truly agree on:
--Florida looks like a penis. Even if someone thinks that's crass and immature, and it's just a state, dammit, I can't imagine any American who would be like "what? How could you imagine that this particular state resembles human anatomy?"
--Texas is really big. The odds of saying this increase dramatically if someone has recently driven through Texas (I just did, and wow, Texas is huge).
--The rent is too damn high in cities (unless you're a landlord). People in cities feel squeezed, and people outside cities are like "man, wouldn't want to pay that much for housing!" Even if you think it's kind of affordable, you still probably don't think it's cheap.
--There are too many ads on TV nowadays (I cannot imagine anyone being like "oh huh, I think there's just enough").
--Bald eagles sound way lamer than you'd think (OK, this isn't something I think everyone knows, but I've never heard someone say they sounded cool)
--I've literally never heard an American say that the movie Titanic sucked
And there's other stuff, like how, what, 70% of the country? supports government-sponsored healthcare (as long as you phrase the question in politically neutral language). Last I heard, a majority of the country supports higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy, too. Basically, if you take out the partisanship, a majority of the country agrees on a number of important issues. It's the partisanship that's divisive, not the ideas themselves. It's really easy to get a negative picture of Americans, but there's still a lot to be hopeful about. Politics today wouldn't be like they are if one party hadn't been able to place wildly disproportionate power in the hands of its voters and politicians.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 11:20 PM on March 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
Here's what I think Americans really, truly agree on:
--Florida looks like a penis. Even if someone thinks that's crass and immature, and it's just a state, dammit, I can't imagine any American who would be like "what? How could you imagine that this particular state resembles human anatomy?"
--Texas is really big. The odds of saying this increase dramatically if someone has recently driven through Texas (I just did, and wow, Texas is huge).
--The rent is too damn high in cities (unless you're a landlord). People in cities feel squeezed, and people outside cities are like "man, wouldn't want to pay that much for housing!" Even if you think it's kind of affordable, you still probably don't think it's cheap.
--There are too many ads on TV nowadays (I cannot imagine anyone being like "oh huh, I think there's just enough").
--Bald eagles sound way lamer than you'd think (OK, this isn't something I think everyone knows, but I've never heard someone say they sounded cool)
--I've literally never heard an American say that the movie Titanic sucked
And there's other stuff, like how, what, 70% of the country? supports government-sponsored healthcare (as long as you phrase the question in politically neutral language). Last I heard, a majority of the country supports higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy, too. Basically, if you take out the partisanship, a majority of the country agrees on a number of important issues. It's the partisanship that's divisive, not the ideas themselves. It's really easy to get a negative picture of Americans, but there's still a lot to be hopeful about. Politics today wouldn't be like they are if one party hadn't been able to place wildly disproportionate power in the hands of its voters and politicians.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 11:20 PM on March 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
The French anthropologist Raymonde Carroll wrote up a ton of nice observations of assumptions and behavioral patterns many Americans implicitly share in her book Cultural Misunderstandings, which you can check out there for free online. It's 30 years old, deeply anecdotal, and glosses over differences among Americans, but if you recognize some things in it as commonalities, maybe that's reassuring.
posted by Wobbuffet at 11:24 PM on March 11, 2019
posted by Wobbuffet at 11:24 PM on March 11, 2019
Robocalls are out of control.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 11:35 PM on March 11, 2019
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 11:35 PM on March 11, 2019
A lot of these sound like stereotypes of "the heartland" to me, and I really think peanut butter is the one thing we agree on. Some prefer creamy and others crunchy though, so you can't take it too far.
posted by batter_my_heart at 11:37 PM on March 11, 2019
posted by batter_my_heart at 11:37 PM on March 11, 2019
Constitutional monarchy is the greatest political evil.
posted by Segundus at 11:40 PM on March 11, 2019
posted by Segundus at 11:40 PM on March 11, 2019
America is the biggest country in the world, so sorry, but you peripheral places just have to do it our way.
posted by Segundus at 11:50 PM on March 11, 2019
posted by Segundus at 11:50 PM on March 11, 2019
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posted by VirginiaPlain at 9:50 PM on March 11, 2019 [11 favorites]