Comments on: Who wins in U.S. vs Europe contest?

By: boberg

boberg — Sun, 27 May 2012 10:20:03 +0000

I’ve just visited the US with my son and it was his first time. His first reaction was that America is like the djungle and have a somewhat dangerous feel to it..
That feeling is true for most europeans, ceartainly for us Scandinavians who live in probably the safest part of the world. The quality of life in Scandinavia is way better for the ordinary man than in the US, because we have more important values in life than just money.
Money is of course important to earn too, so we can travel the way we do and be influensed by other cultures. This is of course very important for a people..
Many americans are so ignorant and totally uninterested about anything outside America.
Strange it is to hear many americans say that Sweden or Norway is just socialistic reactionary countries.. Nothing could be more wrong, just take one look at all top 10 lists of welfare, innovation, economy and “good places to live in”.
I’ve have been to America many times because I love to come here, you meet a lot of stressed and angry guys but also a lot of friendly people once you give them a smile..
I don’t know if I would like to live in the djungle though..

By: vindobona

vindobona — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:54:04 +0000

EU has today also the largest military by Libon treaty and the most dangerous weapon on Earth set on french SSBN:The M51.

By: Gonewiththewind

Gonewiththewind — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 23:05:39 +0000

Why is this writer pretending like Europe is one big country? If that’s the case, throw Canada in with the U.S.

By: Tuvia

Tuvia — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:29:36 +0000

I read a lot of posts which are unrefined. This rivalry between Europe & USA is useless. Yes, we’re very different but we will need each other in this century. We share values: free trade and democracy.
Superpower (to be) China does not. Europa & USA as we know it will prevail together of die alone. America position isn’t untouchable anymore.
I am European myself (Belgian) and I acknowledge what the USA has done for us in the past (and present), just to let you know I am not a hater. Europe’s biggest problem is the diffused/shared leadership. We need a strong leader but our institutions prevent it.

By: Truth4all

Truth4all — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:49:30 +0000

This article is well done and objective. The comments of the readers are disturbing in that many of them reflect the same old rhetoric and seem to convey the sentiment: “Don’t confuse me with facts; America is best. Europe lags behind us. The end.” As an American living in Europe for many years, I find the American ignorance remarkable. With that said, I frequently find myself laughing at some of the European notions about USA.

Americans have no clue what it means to have free access to quality medical care, a months vacation every year (or more) and a safety net if you lose your job. We are so invested in believing that working ourselves to death is meaningful and the word “socialized” is a dirty word that would decrease our quality of life. It’s sad.

By: elliottbenton

elliottbenton — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:34:33 +0000

Neither side is perfect. I think Americans can be ignorant of other cultures. However, I also think European’s can be terribly snotty about being European. The only reason european countries have clout is because of the EU. They applaud their economy claiming it is bigger and subjectively better. Let’s not forget the U.S. made those economies after WWII. We were the only country to come out on top of WWII. We poured mounds of money on Euro nations. To this day, those debts have gone uncollected (most countries believe time has canceled those debts. No, they technically still exist, yet are not factored into national debt). Both sides should get off their high horse.

By: EUROPESUCKS

EUROPESUCKS — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 15:40:56 +0000

Jajaja…I just wish Everyone but europe get to dominate the world…They still think they should have colonies all over the world…old culture, old continent, old people, old ideas, will never succeed. Europe has done well just because americans have done badly….by the way I do live in Europe (Spain) I hate it I want to go to America to get a job at least, since there is nothing but lazyness, coruption an lack of inspiration to make things work over here.

By: mostlyneutral

mostlyneutral — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 23:39:35 +0000

It appears to me that both groups are exceedingly biased to their side of the atlantic. europeans living in boxes while americans work their lives away. also, quality of life depends on what the person thinks, one might think knowing your neighbor and having a lot of friends is the best, while another might like a bigger house and nicer car. Its not for you to decide.

also saying that their is nothing in america is completely wrong. Its like staying in the bronx and calling New York a horrible place. Not all the beauty is in the cities. Don’t forget we were the ones who invented national parks.

By: mrcwill

mrcwill — Tue, 03 May 2011 02:26:15 +0000

Zach have you been listening to this guy or what?

http://youtu.be/-7z_1Smg6pk

By: cardew

cardew — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 22:58:39 +0000

As a UK/US dual citizen I am very happy to live in the UK, a truly great nation. I have travelled extensively in the US and I understand the desire of many Europeans to travel and work in the US. I have come across the ugly “the US is the greatest” attitude from Americans who, frankly, should know better. That 80% of Americans have not travelled outside the US, and given US cultural imperialism in Europe and across the world, a perceived bias toward the US is understandable. The US ‘may’ be a better place to forge a career, but it most definitely does not compare to Europe on many levels (as the indices demonstrate – on crime, education and health it simply does not compare). The food is dreadful; US influence on UK society has been devastating. Personally, I am willing to work for less money if it means I can work with well-educated people with whom I can discuss, for example, Libyan self-determination and the Renaissance (for personal development reasons), live in a lower-crime society and spend valuable holiday time with family members and friends, contributing to society, rather than pursuing selfish materialistic aims. Americans here deign to discuss the size of their fridges? Having travelled in sub-Saharan Africa I find discussion about the size of fridges frivolous to the extreme, and if I may say so, pretty disgusting.