What makes Europeans similar between each others, as opposed to Americans

[ricjoseph96]

Well i think what makes the Europeans united is there spirit and lack of egoistic approaches.It is with evidence the Europeans share the same currency,same parliament same union and many things which keeps them bind together in spite of a adverse history.Unlike Americans and Asian; Europeans don't often try to show off there authority and power to each other.

 

[DianaM249]

Hello, I just went through this America/Europe article and when reading throughout this post I felt like sharing my opinion as a native French residing in France. FYI I've lived and traveled in the USA, Sweden and Norway.

I agree with everything said in this thread when defining chauvinism vs patriotism when it comes to people in France, and I might even add that the French are very insecure when it comes to their national identity.

Let me explain: among this present "active" generation (14-50 year olds) there is a good share of North African people from the immigrations of the 1960's. So the culture is becoming more mixed and less "white French". Racism is and always was an issue from either side of the verbal conflicts but it's taboo. Since the education system and ethics date from the 1800's, we're not used to the idea of multiculturalism so the differences between ethnics are difficult to handle in polite conversation. This leads to a lot of tension and more than often are the White people denying their sense of belonging to the French nation. Let's not forget that in school we're bashed with negative images from WWII, we grow thinking that nationalism and patriotism lead to evil. All of these elements add up to the self-hatred that most of us French people have. Patriotism exists but in very tiny, deniable doses (among the elderly). Moving on.

The sense of insecurity makes it a weird environment for youths from immigrating families to evolve: they don't feel that they belong in France at all (because their origins aren't recognized, because they don't feel acknowledged as valuable assets to the country, etc) and often fall to the "dark side". They feel the racial prejudice so there is constant backlash whenever a white person addresses the difficulties with those people. The situation is similar in many of the larger European countries so there is crime in Europe. There are weapons on the streets from the black market, financed by drug and prostitution cartels. It's a fairly new situation for us so our police forces aren't equipped to deal with those issues. I'm not optimistic for the future.

I want to talk about foreign languages in the French education now: most people I know here can't or won't speak English because they don't feel the need to, or they are too lazy. France is the only country in Europe that uses dubbing for all TV programs (movies, documentaries, TV shows, News, live interviews), this makes that viewers are not familiar with foreign languages and won't go the extra mile to learn or be curious about speaking anything other than their native tongue. Other countries in Europe use subtitles whiles France prides itself with very sophisticated dubbing teams. The intentions behind that dwell in pro-Francophone politics that started around the 60's to encourage people from immigration to learn French. I'm not 100% sure so if someone has a better explanation...

The other and last thing I wanted to address in this post was the politics:

Well i think what makes the Europeans united is there spirit and lack of egoistic approaches.It is with evidence the Europeans share the same currency,same parliament same union and many things which keeps them bind together in spite of a adverse history.Unlike Americans and Asian; Europeans don't often try to show off there authority and power to each other.

I don't know which country or system you had in mind when typing that but it's not nearly how things work in France. Maybe France is Europe's black sheep? But our political parties are very divided and more than often do politicians (especially left-wing talkers) are self-involved and generally motivated by adversity instead of encouraging progress. Labor unions don't help, they'll first go on strike, take the economy and social peace hostage before sitting down to discuss solutions to their problems. A large part of the French thrive in conflict. They feel united in their hatred against the government and their president but they are not the majority. Nicolas Sarkozy was elected with 55% of approval but you don't hear those voters complaining.

The way I see things, democracy isn't working for France since it's obviously not making everyone happy (French sarcasm) :innocent:

 

[Glückspilz]

I dont know if this is the right place to post maciamo, but what about healthcare? A current topic in the US - the only country in the western world without universal healthcare. I hope they can fix it!

 

[Grizzly]

Since the education system and ethics date from the 1800's, we're not used to the idea of multiculturalism so the differences between ethnics are difficult to handle in polite conversation. This leads to a lot of tension and more than often are the White people denying their sense of belonging to the French nation.

Multiculturalism is not a French notion because of History. France has received a lot of migrants since the 19th century, so the only way to integrate them was the melting pot in the French identity. The multiculturalism is a modern sociological feature, probably come from USA in the 50's as an answer to the afro-american question, and later the Latinos. There has been a lot of Mexican immigrants between 1850 and 1950 in US, and their integration had not been made through multiculturalism, but in the American melting-pot which was about the same as France.

France is the only country in Europe that uses dubbing for all TV programs

German television uses dubbing too for films or TV.

 

[abbyllw]

I dont know if this is the right place to post maciamo, but what about healthcare? A current topic in the US - the only country in the western world without universal healthcare. I hope they can fix it!

The US has lower taxes than any European country. A bi-product of low taxation is the lack of a universal healthcare system. While many US politicians "strive" to unite every American in equal coverage, the fact of the matter is that this likely will not change as too many politicians are in cahoots with major pharmaceutical companies. Though this is likely the primary reason universal healthcare has not yet been voted in, the secondary reason is that the average US citizen does not want their government involved with his/her medical affairs. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a change.

Americans place a lot of emphasis on personal space. In general, they do not like to be touched, bumped, nudged, or otherwise crowded by our fellow man. This need for personal space also extends to our homes and our vehicles. Most Europeans do not feel quite the same. It is not uncommon to see strangers densely packed in shops and elevators or on street corners, and for those citizens to be perfectly comfortable with it.

Taxation is an interesting difference between the US and some European countries. In the US, you buy a loaf of bread for $1.98 + tax. Which, depending on the state's tax rate, could make your bread cost $2.06. In the UK, when you buy a loaf of bread for $1.98, it costs $1.98. No hidden taxes.

 

[Regulus]

This article has been updated and can now be read here.

I read the article and found many well thought-out points.

The only thing that think should be brought up in response would be in reference to the portion under Government that mentions police searches of homes.

I would be willing to concede that American police are more aggressive than their European counterparts, but we would be remiss if we left out an appreciable difference in the manner in which the warrants that allow these searches/arrests are issued.

American police are generally held to very stringent standards (more so than those in Europe) in the proofs that would be required prior to the issuance of a warrant by a judge that would allow the forced (physical or not) entry by police into a subject's home or the home of another in which the subject may be.
American police know ahead of time that they will need to outline what criminal activity in occurring there, what they expect to find, and the reasons that they expect to find the activity/evidence for which they are looking.
All of this must put on the affidavit and sworn to by the officer requesting the warrant. Judges apply the court rules concerning the 4th amendment (protection against illegal search and seizure) very strictly when determining whether or not a warrant will be issued. Even minor mistakes or omissions such as leaving out adjoining houses that are not to be entered can cause a judge to deny the warrant. When I was a police dog handler, I would need to provide the entire history of my dog's record and my own also when, for example, my dog tracked a suspect from a crime scene to the back door of a residence. A record of a false positive result of a dog's work (even one occasion) could easily cause the judge to deny the warrant.
Dog handlers traditionally would be more likely to deny being sure of the results if they had any shred of doubt themselves. They and other officers just don't want that black mark of a failure on their record.
Exhaustive hearings are held where the minutiae of the affidavit and warrant are contested by the defense. Numerous and profound successes by the defense have caused our posecutors to take a major role in criminal cases from the very beginning. Any evidence deemed to have been wrongly taken is dismissed (Fruit of the poisoned tree).

In Europe, judges traditionally require less in the way of sworn proofs from police when a warrant is requested.

The big difference there is that European companies/individuals encounter much more legal barriers when trying to obtain personal information about other people. Although the US has privacy laws, they are not nearly as strict or as thorough as those found in Europe.

One last note: There is considerable debate is the US on the factors that make one feel safe. Many polls indicate an extremely high overall feeling of safety for those who live in states that have liberal gun laws. Conversely, states or urban areas that much stricter gun laws do not result in a strong feeling of safety for those living there.

 

[Reinaert]

"About 1% of family names still have a "noble particle" (uncapitalised "de", "di", "von", "van", etc.) and it does have a meaning for some people."

It depends on the name.

In Dutch there are far more names than 1% that tell where a persons ancestors originally come from.

For instance: Van Helmond. Helmond is a small town.

Jan van Helmond means Jan from Helmond.

But there can be a noble title if a piece of land is mentioned, or large house.
But these names are rare. A name like Van Rode. Lord of St. Oedenrode. (a village)
The name existed in the middle ages.

 

[Eldin]

Privacy

I noticed a few stuff in American movies and series that are clearly different from what I know in Europe. However, this may not be typically American. It may also be used on TV for reasons of convenience regarding the plot rather than because it is extremely common.

Example 1 : answering machines

In American movies, most people seem to have an answering machine at home, and you can always hear the person's message loud in the room. I have never seen that here. Answering machines are usually silent, like on mobile phones. A light, ring or text message indicates that there is a message left, but you can't actually hear the person speaking if you are next to the phone when he/she leaves the message. I think it would be annoying if you are busy or resting while you get a message. It's also not good for privacy if you have guests at home and don't bother to answer the phone, then everyone can listen to the message being left.

Answering machines where you can hear the message as it's being left are quite rare these days. They've been around since the 60's and became quite popular in the 80's, but almost no answering machine produced in the last 20 years allows the message to be heard while it's being recorded. These days, voice mail service provided by the telephone carrier is far more common than answering machines at any rate.

Example 2 : neighours and front doors

In American movies/series, neighours tend to know each other well, chat with each others, and even spy on each others. It seems common to enter in a neighbour's house to ask to borrow something, ask a favour, or just pop in for a chat. What is more, doors seem to be left unlocked most of the time, and front doors often have windows.

All this is completely different from what I have seen in all the European countries where I have lived or travelled. People greet their neighbours, and may occasionally chat with them, but most people tend to mind their own business and value a lot their privacy. That is why most Europeans never leave their outside door open when they are not inside the house (or at any time in cities). That is also why people do not try entering without knocking or ringing the bell, even if they have seen somebody inside. Only close family members could do that. In general, in countries like Belgium or France, it is rude to drop by unannounced or unexpectedly at someone's house.

Front doors very rarely have windows (except in Britain and the Netherlands), because this allows anybody to peep inside, which is a total intrusion of privacy. In many countries (notably Belgium, France, Italy...), the ground floor of townhouses tend to be elevated from the street in order to prevent passerby's from looking through the windows.

Overall, the cultural difference between Europe an the USA here is that Europeans are not big on neighbours' watch, almpst never have a gun at home, but almost always lock their doors and tend to have good security systems, stone/brick rather than wooden walls, thick (anti-theft) glazing on windows, and heavy and secure outside doors. Reasonably well-off people often have good alarm systems and surveillance cameras. In Spain, bars on windows are common. In France and Italy, it is shutters. In other words, burglary prevention is based on house equipment and "fortification" rather than relying on the human factor, such as neighbours' vigilance or self-protection with guns.

Movies and TV often exaggerate the friendliness us Americans have towards our neighbors. Certainly there are some close-knit communities where neighbors know each other well and socialize frequently, but there are as many neighborhoods where most residents don't even know the names of the people living around them. Very few people in America would open the door to another person's home, possibly excepting family or very close friends. More Americans than not lock their doors when not at home, especially in cities of any size. Alarms and cameras are common in middle and upper class American homes. So while Americans *may* be more friendly on average with their neighbors than Europeans, don't believe everything you see on TV.

-Eldin

 

[Reinaert]

Well.. A big difference between Europe and America is that in Europe religion is a minority thing. Attending a church is rare. In some countries religion may be a bit higher on the scale, like Ireland and Poland. But in common religion is out of business.

 

[sparkey]

Well.. A big difference between Europe and America is that in Europe religion is a minority thing. Attending a church is rare. In some countries religion may be a bit higher on the scale, like Ireland and Poland. But in common religion is out of business.

Maciamo notes this:

Americans are much more religious than Europeans. Church going is very popular in the US, where it is seen as an indispensable way of socialising. In Europe the practise has almost entirely disappeared and is mostly limited to the elderly, or special events like weddings or Christmas.

God is often mentioned by American politicians, but almost never in Europe. Mixing religion and politics is taboo in many European countries (notably France), due to the stricter separation of state and religion. There are exceptions, such as Poland or Spain, but even these countries do not appear very religious compared to the USA.


More extremely, a majority of Americans would find offensive for someone to openly claim not to believe in god, whereas the opposite is often true in Europe.

I find this generally true, although there is variation of religiosity by region in both places. For example, a Eurobarometer poll in 2005 showed levels of atheism as high in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands (25-35%), but low in Poland, Romania, and Greece (0-5%). Similarly, while religious adherence is extremely high in states like Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, it is actually relatively low in states like Oregon and Washington.

 

[Reinaert]

Hmm In The Netherlands most people don't care anymore about religion. They are not atheists, but agnostic. Simply said.. God may exist, but we don't know, and accept that.

Agnosticism in The Netherlands may be as high as 80%, but you get the low figures because a lot of people didn't write themselves out of their church for the reason they don't care about that. Another reason to still pay some money to a church is the practical reason to have a less expensive burial.

 

[sparkey]

Hmm In The Netherlands most people don't care anymore about religion. They are not atheists, but agnostic. Simply said.. God may exist, but we don't know, and accept that.

Agnosticism in The Netherlands may be as high as 80%, but you get the low figures because a lot of people didn't write themselves out of their church for the reason they don't care about that. Another reason to still pay some money to a church is the practical reason to have a less expensive burial.

Are the Dutch terms for "atheist" and "agnostic" understood to be mutually exclusive? I know in English, there is disagreement over whether or not they are. Usually, self-described agnostics will say they are "agnostics, not atheists," because they don't know for sure whether or not god(s) exist. Whereas self-described atheists will say that they are "atheists AND agnostics," because they don't believe in god(s), but don't necessarily know for sure.

I find it interesting that even the preeminent anti-immigrant conservative in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, is agnostic. A US counterpart, say Tom Tancredo, being agnostic would be unthinkable.

 

[Reinaert]

Are the Dutch terms for "atheist" and "agnostic" understood to be mutually exclusive? I know in English, there is disagreement over whether or not they are. Usually, self-described agnostics will say they are "agnostics, not atheists," because they don't know for sure whether or not god(s) exist. Whereas self-described atheists will say that they are "atheists AND agnostics," because they don't believe in god(s), but don't necessarily know for sure.

I find it interesting that even the preeminent anti-immigrant conservative in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, is agnostic. A US counterpart, say Tom Tancredo, being agnostic would be unthinkable.

No, Atheists deny the existence of some kind of God, in whatever form.
Agnostics don't discuss the question if God .. in whatever form, exists or not..

In a sense, atheists are believers, just like the religious people that do believe in a God.

Agnostics just say, they don't know about a God.
In fact a more pragmatic way of thinking.

And please leave Wilders out of the discussion.
That man is an idiot. A complete fool.
If he would be agnostic, why would he bother talking about the Quran?

He is an idiot, because he attacks the Quran, and doesn't talk about the atrocities mentioned in the Old part of the Bible. The old Testament.

In modern Catholic opinion, the Old Testament is obselete.
Protestants still stick to the Old and New Testament.

In my view, all that matters is what Jesus Christ has said.

And that is a total different message than what is happening in this world of today.

In fact the 10 commandments.
And a basic rule..

Don't do to another human being,
what you don't like another human to do to you.

The above sentence is the definition of real Christianity.
We don't need churches or the Pope for that.

And don't try to read or understand the Bible.
Leave that to people who take years to study that!
Let them explain things.

 

[sparkey]

No, Atheists deny the existence of some kind of God, in whatever form.
Agnostics don't discuss the question if God .. in whatever form, exists or not..

In a sense, atheists are believers, just like the religious people that do believe in a God.

Agnostics just say, they don't know about a God.
In fact a more pragmatic way of thinking.

You mean this as an answer to my question about whether or not there is the same dispute in Dutch? Or are you saying that there is no dispute in English (or in any language)?

And please leave Wilders out of the discussion.
That man is an idiot. A complete fool.
If he would be agnostic, why would he bother talking about the Quran?

OK, I admit, I brought up Wilders in particular to see what you would say about him. But he has said "Zelf ben ik agnost." It seems like a contradiction to me, too... why does he want the Netherlands to be totally non-Islamic so badly while at the same time glorifying its Christian past? Shouldn't an agnostic prefer neither, or have no preference? He plays favorites with religions, no doubt... I guess his thing is just that he hates Islam in particular.

 

[crudshoveller]

What makes Europeans similar between each others, as opposed to Americans?

One factor that bears comparison is bloodthirstiness. By murder rate Americans are much more accomplished killers than Europeans - I don't mean Americans abroad, but in their own country. The European Russians are worse than Americans by the latest figures I have, take comfort in that, and the Lithuanians do quite well too - though Lithuania falls well behind America in killing rate. At the low end of the scale comes England, Wales and Ireland - next Denmark, Germany and Spain. Scotland and Italy don't do quite so well but are miles behind the horrendous American murder rate. One naturally seeks explanation. Could it be down to immigrants, backwoods people, criminal gang activity. But no, the causes and reasons are across the board and crime for profit, random stranger killing and domestic disputes all figure large in the numbers. Interestingly, world comparisons with regard to incidence of gun ownership within a population seem not to correlate with murder rate.

 

[Reinaert]

You mean this as an answer to my question about whether or not there is the same dispute in Dutch? Or are you saying that there is no dispute in English (or in any language)?



OK, I admit, I brought up Wilders in particular to see what you would say about him. But he has said "Zelf ben ik agnost." It seems like a contradiction to me, too... why does he want the Netherlands to be totally non-Islamic so badly while at the same time glorifying its Christian past? Shouldn't an agnostic prefer neither, or have no preference? He plays favorites with religions, no doubt... I guess his thing is just that he hates Islam in particular.

Yes, indeed, that's why I called him an idiot.
He is partly Dutch, and partly Indonesian. The blond hair he has is artificial.
He grew up as a child in a post-colonial family, that may have caused his minority complex feeling. He hates Islam, because the majority in Indonesia is Muslim. And his family went out of Indonesia because they were the middle class there, who worked for the Holland Dutch colonialists.

So, Wilders is in fact the same fascist product of neo-colonialism like Le Pen in France and Franco in Spain.

In my country we like most of the people from abroad, but there is much dislike for former colonial managers. They came to our county when the colonies got independence, but they still think and act like they are the masters of the universe.
Those twits don't understand that the old motherland is different than they ever expected. The Dutch people are brutal, straight forward, free, tolerant but also aggressive against bad behavior.
We don't care about Afghanistan, or Iraq. But our stupid government is planning a deployment of Dutch troops and fighting jets in Afghanistan again!!

So, I am convinced the Dutch Crown and the Dutch government is bought by American big business. Remember "Bilderberg" ?

A pain in the neck for much too long!

 

[sparkey]

Yes, indeed, that's why I called him an idiot.
He is partly Dutch, and partly Indonesian. The blond hair he has is artificial.
He grew up as a child in a post-colonial family, that may have caused his minority complex feeling. He hates Islam, because the majority in Indonesia is Muslim. And his family went out of Indonesia because they were the middle class there, who worked for the Holland Dutch colonialists.

So, Wilders is in fact the same fascist product of neo-colonialism like Le Pen in France and Franco in Spain.

Very interesting, I didn't know that about Wilders. Sounds like the charge has some credibility, and could explain a few things about him.

It's interesting that a politician like Wilders can get so much support in the Netherlands, although I feel he would be marginalized in the US. Getting back on topic: civil rights for Muslims are much more widely supported in the US. For example, bans on full veils have been polled... two thirds of US respondents reject that idea, while support is huge in Germany (71%), Britain (62%), and Spain (59%). Source. I feel the same way as the majority of Americans on that issue.

In my country we like most of the people from abroad, but there is much dislike for former colonial managers. They came to our county when the colonies got independence, but they still think and act like they are the masters of the universe.
Those twits don't understand that the old motherland is different than they ever expected. The Dutch people are brutal, straight forward, free, tolerant but also aggressive against bad behavior.
We don't care about Afghanistan, or Iraq. But our stupid government is planning a deployment of Dutch troops and fighting jets in Afghanistan again!!

So, I am convinced the Dutch Crown and the Dutch government is bought by American big business. Remember "Bilderberg" ?

A pain in the neck for much too long!

I thought the conspiracy about Bilderberg was that they were creating a One World Government, not that US companies were buying the Dutch government. I need to keep on top of this stuff. :shocked:

Either way, I agree that the Dutch government wanting to get in on Afghanistan is baffling. I can't imagine that the Dutch support their country joining that war, so doing so will have to cost political capital. Maybe Rutte thinks that he has some political capital to spend and that it's worth spending it to get closer to the US, but I don't see it, especially with support for his coalition stagnating (the CDA in particular is having an epic implosion).

Dutch elections are interesting... I know political systems have been mentioned already, but it's worth reiterating that the two-party congressional system of the US and the multi-party parliamentary system of much of Europe produce very different political dynamics. Although American, I much prefer the proportional representation model of the Netherlands... which is probably why I follow their politics more than most.

 

[Rastko Pocesta]

Yes, indeed, that's why I called him an idiot.
He is partly Dutch, and partly Indonesian. The blond hair he has is artificial.
He grew up as a child in a post-colonial family, that may have caused his minority complex feeling. He hates Islam, because the majority in Indonesia is Muslim. And his family went out of Indonesia because they were the middle class there, who worked for the Holland Dutch colonialists.
So, Wilders is in fact the same fascist product of neo-colonialism like Le Pen in France and Franco in Spain.
In my country we like most of the people from abroad, but there is much dislike for former colonial managers. They came to our county when the colonies got independence, but they still think and act like they are the masters of the universe.
Those twits don't understand that the old motherland is different than they ever expected. The Dutch people are brutal, straight forward, free, tolerant but also aggressive against bad behavior.
We don't care about Afghanistan, or Iraq. But our stupid government is planning a deployment of Dutch troops and fighting jets in Afghanistan again!!
So, I am convinced the Dutch Crown and the Dutch government is bought by American big business. Remember "Bilderberg" ?
A pain in the neck for much too long!

Who do you consider "colonial managers?" I heard that both Surinamese and Indonesians are very well integrated into Dutch society and that the only "problem" are Moroccans and Morocco was never a Dutch colony. If someone breaks the law he has to be tried for that and punished regardless of his ethnicity. It would be contrary to Dutch constitution which guarantees equality in it's first article to send a Dutchman in prison and deport a Moroccan. Both should have the same fate if they commit a crime.

Islamic veils should not be banned, but woman has to temporarily remove the veil if police officer orders her to.

 

[Brett142]

The British exception

Excellent read I must say, however I think you've kind of overlooked the UK a bit, as it is significantly different from the rest of Europe and from the US.

1. While the metric system is becoming more and more common, and it's pretty much the only measuring system taught in schools these days, in everyday situations (with the exception of temperature) metric is never used. You will never, for example hear anyone give their weight in KG or their height in CM, or distances in anything other than miles. Remembering, of course that all British road signs are still in Imperial measurements. When babies are born their weight is given in pounds and ounces, the list goes on.

2. As for baby showers and bachelor(ette) parties, we have equivalents in the UK. Christenings (Baptisms) are our version of baby showers, of course happening once the baby is born (obviously) and despite the fact that no one really goes to church or is religious these days, everyone seems to still have christenings. This is when the parents will receive gifts from family members and friends and just a general celebration of the birth of a baby. Our version of bachelor(ette) parties are stag do (for men) and hen night (for women), which are always celebrated, often very wildly, just like the US counterpart.

3. Prom nights are pretty much now standard in all schools in the UK (sometimes referred to as a 'Leavers' Do', as it was actually originally a British tradition which fell out of practice many years ago, making a comeback now, most likely because of american popularisation. As for universities (with the exception of Scotland, and to a certain extent Wales and Northern Ireland), they are becoming increasing more like our American counter parts, with maximum tuition being raised from £3,200 to £9,000 next year (2012).

4. As for languages, they bare next to no importance in the UK. I have never seen a non-English TV show on UK television and I think there has been maybe 5 or 6 non-English songs on British charts in the last 20 years. Languages are not compulsory after year 9 in schools (ages 13-14) and they are extremely unpopular subject choices in the UK and are entering into extreme decline. Someone mentioned that Americans and Australians have no need to learn foreign languages, the same is true for Brits, as we don't share land borders with Europe, so there is no influence from other languages. As for the 2 weeks a year Brits flock to Spain, Turkey, Greece etc, almost always you will find that they make no effort to learn the language of the country, because no matter where you go, especially in tourist areas, English is always spoken, so people often feel no need to bother.

5. Although there are technically 3 main parties in the UK, Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats, the latter has never even come close to being in power (with the exception of the present Conservative-LibDem coalition, which the conservatives dominate). So a lot of the time, only the first two are considered the main parties with one being centre left (Labour) and one centre right (Conservative), so we do actually have a system similar to the US Republican-Democrats.

6. As for fast food and soft drinks, we are much much much more closely aligned with the US, with our obesity rates being the highest in Europe. Italian and Indian cuisine are extremely popular. However after celebrity chef Jamie Oliver campaigned a couple of years back, all food in every school in the country is now regulated and has to be healthy. For example in my school, after the change you couldn't buy any chocolate bars or fizzy drinks, everything was healthy.

7. Sports, you missed out Rugby, popular in the UK, France and Italy (Six nations Championship)

8. I have to disagree with your text on marriage being less formal or less important and most people in the UK spend a lot of money on their weddings and rent out big venues to showcase it and often going on honeymoons to exotic locations. However you are spot on with dating, it is far more spontaneous here in the UK and Europe.

As for global awareness, British people are no more aware than Americans or Australians. Most people will only know one world president (USA) and most people could not identify even the most widely known countries on a world map and for a lot of people, not even the UK. I think it's really unfair that Americans seem to get the brunt of the 'no outside awareness' criticism, because we're just as bad.

As for media, I would definitely agree that mainland Europe is far more Americanised than the UK . Something I noticed when I was staying with a French family, was the amount of US shows on their main TV channels (TF1), it seemed that CSI (Les Experts) and other US crime orientated shows were on almost every night, at least while I was there. I don't know if this is the case in the rest of Europe, but I'm assuming it is.

In the UK, the opposite is true, on our two main TV channels BBC1 and ITV1, which together account for just under half the audience share, there haven't been any US shows on prime time since the early 90s. US shows used to regularly be up there with domestic shows for ratings, now they come even close to getting the ratings of our home grown shows. CSI is the most watched import and only manages around the 2.5 million mark, compared to the X Factor 12-20 million, Eastenders and Coronation street 10 million etc. However US shows are much more popular with British teens and people in their 20s, most likely because there simply aren't enough shows made for this demographic in the UK, I really don't know why this is the case.

And the British police, I know they seem to have a reputation for being polite, kind and cautious compared to the US, but this really is not true. I don't know whether its a recent development and this is maybe where the confusion comes from but British cops are actually quite aggressive now.

The religion thing is true, in England for example, people get bullied in school for being religious because amongst youths, religiosity is now near zero (with the exception of recent Muslim, Sikh and Hindu immigrants) and in my personal experience I have both never met and do not know anyone who goes to church, with the exception of people of retirement age and even then it's still not massively important. Even amongst immigrants, the importance of religion definitely wanes from one generation to the next, as the children of immigrants gel much better with the secular British society. One thing I noticed talking to Americans is Christian Rock, something I had never even heard of before.

Sash windows are not the most common windows in the UK, nowadays there are virtually none, most of them are double glazed and open outwards (upwards or to the left or right).

You do see full frontal male or female nudity on UK TV after the 9pm watershed and porn magazines in shops but in recent years there have been widespread concerns, especially with parents who want to put a stop to this.

 

[wersy]

The prom part is simply not true, just look at this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prom#Europe

Stance towards patriotism, religion and mariage differs between the European countries - you could say that Europe taken as a whole is less religious than America, but that realy isn't saying much. It isn't something that sets Europeans apart from the Americans, it's rather something that sets the Europans apart within their continent.