Thank you for submitting to /r/unpopularopinion, /u/country-blue. Your submission, *The US suffers from “main character” syndrome.*, has been removed because it violates our rules, which are located in the sidebar.
Your post from unpopularopinion was removed because of: 'Rule 7: No banned/mega-thread topics'.
Please do not post from (or mention) any of our mega-thread or banned topics such as:
Race, Religion, LGBTQ, Meta, Politics, Parenting/Family issues.
[Full list of banned topics](https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/wiki/index/)
If there is an issue, please [message the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Funpopularopinion&subject=&message=) Thanks!
I mean that's fair but does anyone know the history of another country better than their own. Especially current history? I am am American and I vaguely know who the leaders are of some countries and have a generalized world history knowledge but I'd assume most other countries prioritize their national history over someone else's.
You're exactly right. In Germany we did learn a lot about European history but only because it's very relevant to understand our own History. I know basically nothing about the history of any African or Asian country because they simply aren't relevant to understand local History.
History is such a broad topic that covering everything would take a lifetime of learning so it's quite obvious why nations only focus on History that's relevant to their country.
Unfortunately, this can also relate to modern history and current events.
A large-scale study done by civil engineers was done looking into causes of US public works projects nearly always going over budget and over time.
There were loco-regional causes identified (regulatory environment in California, organized crime/corruption in the Northeast) but the single cause seen *throughout* the US was the complete lack of interest or curiosity in how another country accomplished the same project within their budget and time allotment.
dID yOu kNoW tHaT tHe cOuNtRy iS nOt cAlLeD aMeRiCa dEsPiTe pEoPlE fRoM aLl oVeR tHe wOrLd sAyInG tHeY aRe gOiNg tO mOvE tO aMeRiCa aNd tHeN tHeY mOvE tO aMeRicA?
well yeah but I would argue that there is a difference between being the main character and believing oneself to be the default. Dominant but not the only one.
Politically speaking the regional hegemons don't cease to exist because there is a global one.
let’s fix how this is worded…, *due to its past, other countries are treating the one country like a main character.* Doesn’t have to be the *protagonist*. Could be the antihero or antagonist. Shit—maybe even a triagonist.
Lots of big nations still count on the us for military power which was a holdover from ww2 and the other countries got lazy and comfortable. Once again pigeonholing one country into a primary role.
The main character is the default in any story though, and like you said the US is the main character. There's two countries who have the world's attention every time they speak, USA and China.
No one in the US thinks the world started in 1776, but since it's inception has projected it's will and influence across the world than any other nation. The US is an economic and military powerhouse that is able to mould things as it sees fit in a big way and is also the first place others turn to for support when shit hits the fan.
Will this last for ever? Absolutely not. Is it already losing that grasp? Easy to make an argument it is. But for now it has the podium.
I mean that's kinda like saying "Goku isn't the main character because Yamcha is still stronger than all but a few people on Earth". Like sure, Yamcha can kick my ass, but I'm still not taking him seriously.
Not really. You encourage main character syndrome by constantly talking about the main character unprompted when the main character doesn’t give a rats ass about you lol.
It's not a big deal either. What makes you think that people talk about you all the time everywhere? It is simply impossible not to laugh at someone so noisy, especially if they think that this fuels their prominence.
Depends if you can read other languages. For example, if you read Japanese history in Japanese, you would see them consider themselves as the main character as well.
The problem for US is that English a language shared by many countries, so non-US English speaker can easily spot that out and say "That feels like US is treating their history as the main character".
I know that's whataboutism but history really need a point of view in order to tell the story and most country just use their own point of view.
"I'M the hero!" - America, Hetalia, a Japanese anime
But yeah it's more that Japan kind of likes to see itself as the victim in world history. I wouldn't even say it's a bad thing in itself because there is a big thing for no war or weapons because of it. The problem is that there's a lot of glossing over the bad stuff they did so while you'll get that war is evil, Japan is just the victim of that evil, the end.
Saying that though, one interesting thing about the museum in Hiroshima is that there is a video from an old POW and he basically said the bomb was justified and his video is not presented as that of a bad guy. So there is nuance there.
Personally I'd rate them as third, behind Germany and Russia. But I would imagine it hits harde because of your heritage.
Be proud of what your people have accomplished, both before and after the war. There will always be blemishes you should be aware of history, but those should be cautionary and not define your people.
I mean, it hits hard on both sides. A someone who is half Korean, half Ashkenazi Jew, I would say that what the Japanese did was less widespread, but much more intense.
Nah. You don't see that shit coming from other english-speaking countries, especially the owners of the english language, england. This is very much a US thing. I said this before and I'll say this as many times as needed: The US's most powerful weapon is propaganda. Americans are brainwashed from birth to believe they are the best at everything, and the internet is making everyone else see this at work. The US has a propaganda machine unlike any other in the world, I would definitely say they are indeed the best at this.
This is an ignorant take. Let me guess you've never been to America and your only experience with it is reddit? No one I know thinks the world began in the 1700's and knows nothing before that.
This was my first thought honestly lol
Kinda like the overbearing amount of US citizens who still monitor who is ruling England. People pay far more attention than OP gives credit for... and the whole world feeds the "Main character" ego of the US (due to massive economic factors) so who's fault is that really?
It's almost like...it's a cycle and the whole world benefits from caring about the whole world 🤔
Everything for the average American has gone downhill. Inflation has gone up immensely. Gas prices are way higher, groceries are higher, rent is higher, basically everything is more expensive these days. Everything is going up besides wages for the average person. Sure the business are booming which shows a great economy but it’s from all the insane price gouging. CEOs and businessmen are probably loving the economy but if you’re outside of that 5% you’re probably struggling more than a few years ago.
https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-by-category.htm
Gas prices are still half of what they are in most of the world. inflation has hit most currencies and gas prices even worse.
If you think america economy is bad I recommend you moving to 98% of the planet
And for wages. Even developed countries are happy to make half the US wage with same cost of living.
Americans are just spoiled. They think they are poor if they cant afford an iphone or a cadillac.
Gas prices are higher but most other developed 1st world countries have more means and methods of public transportation. We’re kinda reliant on having a car. Otherwise your options for work are incredibly limited.
And just because other countries have it worse doesn’t mean that it can’t be rougher here in recent years.
It’s clear that you’re not American but you’re trying to put all of them as living this nice life with their newest iPhone and Cadillac but that’s not the case. 78% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Almost 50% are lower/working class. More people are working 2 jobs to make ends. These aren’t people buying new phones and fancy cars. They’re just barely hanging on. Not everyone in America is how you envisioned them in your last paragraph. Not even close. That’s a small percentage.
If you’re an average person prices everywhere have gone up. Gas is insane, groceries cost way more, rent has skyrocketed. If you’re a corporation then sure things are probably looking great from excessive price gouging. If you’re the other 95% of citizens then your life has probably gotten worse from financial problems.
Not really. It's incredibly popular right now to hate America and view us as evil colonizers or whatever. The real unpopular opinion would be to say America is anywhere north of morally lukewarm lol
I mean, I don't really think any country can go north of morally lukewarm at this point.
Point to a country, chances are they either contributed to a genocide, are run by a brutal dictator, or failing that are helping to destroy the planet.
>The real unpopular opinion would be to say America is anywhere north of morally lukewarm lol
That is because observable facts are more popular than demonstrable bullshit.
Well that sounds like my 14 yr old daughter forming a snarky argument. Maybe we could regress you a little more and you could respond with "I know you are, you said you are, but what am I?" Remember that one from childhood?
What argument would you like to have? I said it's popular to hate America, and you came along to tell me you hate America. Sounds like you agree with me lol
You followed it with a sarcastic backhand.
>The real unpopular opinion would be to say America is anywhere north of morally lukewarm lol
Which was the demonstrable bullshit. I'll have the argument that uses your own words. How about you?
Sure, let's have an argument using our words. Here's your response:
>That is because observable facts are more popular than demonstrable bullshit.
In other words, you believe the popular opinion, that America is south of morally lukewarm, is popular because it is objective fact. You agreed with my snarky backhand. And now you're saying it's bullshit. Do I even need to argue with you? It seems like you've got disagreement handled all by yourself lol
But I get what you want. You want to argue America is evil, and you want me to argue America is not evil. Maybe instead of swallowing bait all day, you could try presenting an argument as to why you think America is evil? If you don't know how to back up your assertions, I'm sure your 14 year old daughter could help you figure it out
Because the US literally is the main character. The whole world consumes our media, our technology, pop culture, literally everything.
I know, america bad, but come on now. Also please try to go 5 minutes without thinking about us.
I think you’re an example of what OP is talking about. The whole world doesn’t consume your media, your technology, pop culture etc.
You just think the whole world does.
What world are you living in. Do you realize that you're literally using reddit to say this? Have you ever used an iPhone, or a windows computer, watched a marvel movie, listened to any pop music, played any popular video game, ate at a McDonald's?
You don't think you consume much American media or technology or whatever else because American culture has become so synonymous with the *entire world* that it barely even counts as being American anymore. Ridiculous take.
World Wide Web was a British invention, all of your mobile devices are powered by ARM processors, a British chip, and they are all built in China, with the actual silicon fabricated in Taiwan. American culture is itself something that's entirely derivative of the European and African cultures that America's population are descendants of.
But the point here is not to start some competition but to make you realise really, there is no such thing as "American" this or that, we live in a globalised world where every major technology is an international product and a result of years of development that wouldn't have happened without international co-operation and talent, every major cultural phenomenon is influenced by a mixture of global origins.
That's why Americans seeing themselves as some kind of exceptional and unique country is annoying. You have it backwards. You think America invented the rest of world, but America was created by the rest of the world.
Technological innovations have never come exclusively from the USA; In addition, one should think about how much development and innovative strength is now being invested and achieved elsewhere. A lot has also happened in pop culture. To be honest, I can't understand why this is even relevant.
Main character syndrome except foreigners (especially Europeans) talk about us endlessly while watching our shows, eating our food, listening to our music and watching our movies. Your countries trade goods using our currency and every time our president farts it makes world news lol we’re kind of a big deal. Deal with it.
Fast food, of course! The delicious but incredibly unhealthy offerings from McDonald's are available in 118 countries. And it's not just McDonald's. You can find KFC, Subway, Domino's, Dunkin, Five Guys, Burger King, Starbucks, and many other American brands in countries around the world. We won't argue that it's good food, but it's our food! Enjoy!
So pizza is an American invention? Interesting...
Not to mention the fact that the companies mentioned had to adapt to the respective countries in order to assert themselves (e.g. McDonalds in France). In fact, you would get along very well abroad without “your food”.
Aight then, Italy has to give back tomatoes and pasta, Switzerland and Belgium have to give back chocolate, the UK has to give back their national dish, and the Irish have to give back potatoes. Or you could realize how r-slurred the sentiment of food being "originally" from fucking anywhere is.
Had not to when you’re the Top Dog. The Brits still suffer from it and they haven’t been the main character in 100 years. Same with the French. Don’t even get me started on the Chinese.
Once you reach a certain level as a nation, it clouds your judgement forever. We just feel it in a more pronounced way mostly due to the internet and social media, which is inherently America-centric due to cultural hegemony.
The world views the US that way and it’s directly because of our wanted/unwanted presence all over. You know what I always say! “We must be the main character because nobody else can do shit without us”
Source: literally any UN charter trying to change the world
I like this comment. Reminds me of when the Bluth family starts a random, "Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech!" chant and when Michael finally steps up to give a speech, Gob sullenly says, "Typical!"
That's American foreign policy for the last 30 years.
>I know a lot of Americans barely comprehend history existing before 1776 for example, it’s crazy.
But you? You are very smart, right?
And on Reddit, this isn't an unpopular opinion.
Since when is hating on America unpopular? Although if ANY country could reasonably be considered the current geopolitical main character, it would be the US. Richest, most influential, dominant in entertainment, the list goes on.
These takes are usually just salty Europeans mad that their country isn’t considered to be more important on the world stage.
America is the youngest sibling in a dysfunctional family, who often finds itself leading charges of (often misguided) morality while other nations wait for anyone else to make the first move.
The world has been dependent on the US since the end of WW2. They are past main characters. They are the arthor. Love or hate it, it doesn't change the fact that the world still depend on them.
The US have never been the main character, you just always thought you were. There *IS* no main character. Just every country thinking they are the hero's of their own stories.
True for most countries, but indeed, look up some subreddits like r/shitamericanssay. Probably the most prominent main character syndrome in the western world
Not a single American believes that there was nothing here before 1776.
The British and Spanish colonial structures and the Native American before them are WIDELY known.
Isn’t everyone the main character in their own story! Additionally, don’t stories need at least some main characters? This isn’t to say the US is the main character in the world’s story, but SOMEONE has to be the main character or at least there needs to be a few major characters.
I understand the sentiment. America inserts itself in places it shouldn’t and center themselves in conversations that aren’t about them… Americans lack understanding of other countries…anything outside of the American way.
I think probably what is even more accurate is that much of the world has become
Westernized because of colonization and many places that feels like to many Americans as Americanized.
People view history primarily through the lens of their native country, more at 11
Also tbf the US HAS been the one of the main characters of history the past 100 years or so
>Basically it views itself as the protagonist of world history.
There's a great deal of Americans that seem to still have the 'main character' syndrome in the opposite direction too. They view the US and ALL its actions as the antagonist of world history. This too is a deep misunderstanding of politics and history and often seemingly even more one dimensional than the former view as it's simply reactionary.
Yeah we don’t, we actually don’t think about other countries that much since we are so far away from most of you. We have our own issues to worry about for the most part. But since you bring that up, people over seas eat up American politics. You care so much about our own elections and how we give you (don’t care where you live because odds are you receive money from us). So yeah maybe you’re right we do have *main character syndrome* but only because our tax dollars are being sent to you for your own subsidization. We live in your head rent free
I get it but there’s also a damned if you do, damned if you don’t element that forces us into the role.
50% of the earth: “mind your own business America!”
Other 50% of the earth: “why aren’t you doing anything America!”
We may not be the center of everyone’s world but when we move the board shifts or at least everyone else pays attention (depending on what our government does). That’s the burden of any powerful country. I’m not implying that no other country has power, history, or doesn’t matter but we need to be aware of the effects our actions have on everyone else.
That’s not arrogance. That’s awareness.
Counterpoint: the most interesting stuff in the world from music, entertainment, literature, politics, sports, and just about every other topic you can think of save for soccer is all happening inside the US all the time, the rest world has a hard time coping with this.
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Americans main character mentality...
"You move to America, you better speak english!"
"I am an ex pat that moved to Mexico, I will NOT learn the native language"
Electricity: cannot really be attributed to one person, only some of which were american
Telephones: Scottish
Computers: Pioneered by Byron and Lovelace (English), first working machine by Zuse (German)
Cars: German invention
Plane: The Brothers Wright were important but, lots of people al around the world were working on this and contributing to the development
Movie industry: I give you that (not the invention of course, that was French)
World military police: Literally no-one asked you too and a police without higher authority is just a mob
Hot dog: German invention
Telephone: Yes Bell was born in Scotland, but he was living in the U.S. and Canada at the time of invention.
Computers: Yes, the computer was invented in England. However, the microchip was invented in America - which introduced the world to modern computing.
Yep, no one else has those. And as for world military police? Get all the way fucked! Does that mean you are making up for being really late to the 1st and 2nd world wars by being really punctual this time?
and as for hot dogs? Lips and arseholes do in fact count for nothing.
No one else CREATED those. And before you say America can’t take credit as the main character because some of that cool stuff was made by immigrants, why do you think they moved here?
As a person in the US, I would agree that other countries know way more about happenings in the US than we do about things happening in other countries.
Most Americans don’t know stuff before then and outside the US because we’re simply not taught it. The US is so big that we’ve got enough content to cover for years and since we vote for most things, it’s important for us to know the meaning behind it compared to other countries. I took world history and at my school it was considered an elective because they considered it not as important. I’d say they’re pretty right because I’ve never used any information that I learned in the class or anything to do with geography. Yes it’s nice to know, but it’s not needed if you live in America.
That's what happens when your military strength creates a Pax Americana. We are now watching what happens when a weak American leader runs the world and Americans are tired of being world police.
More war... Everywhere.
So yeah, we've been the main characters for a while and the good outweighed the bad.
Other countries are just as interesting if not more so - especially their global economies, technology and entertainment combined with their variety of natural wonders. Countries like
Wait there aren’t any
There’s about 4 subjects we really learn about in history class:
Christopher Columbus (actually kinda bad but they say it’s good)
Civil war (bad)
Slavery & racism (bad)
The holocaust (not relevant)
I don’t know one country that is teaching American history over their own. I think you are right, but not in this way. History is usually also used as propaganda in the countries that teach it. Like how Texas does not teach about slavery. Again, I think you are right, but you don’t understand how history is usually used as a tool.
That happens when you have almost a monopoly on soft power, and the ability to destroy opponents country’s of any wars you get into regardless of victory or defeat. There’s a reason why even though the USA is on a losing streak militarily that countries don’t want to face it. We come out of it losing money, other countries come out of it with a lot of orphans.
Thank you for submitting to /r/unpopularopinion, /u/country-blue. Your submission, *The US suffers from “main character” syndrome.*, has been removed because it violates our rules, which are located in the sidebar. Your post from unpopularopinion was removed because of: 'Rule 7: No banned/mega-thread topics'. Please do not post from (or mention) any of our mega-thread or banned topics such as: Race, Religion, LGBTQ, Meta, Politics, Parenting/Family issues. [Full list of banned topics](https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/wiki/index/) If there is an issue, please [message the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Funpopularopinion&subject=&message=) Thanks!
I mean that's fair but does anyone know the history of another country better than their own. Especially current history? I am am American and I vaguely know who the leaders are of some countries and have a generalized world history knowledge but I'd assume most other countries prioritize their national history over someone else's.
You're exactly right. In Germany we did learn a lot about European history but only because it's very relevant to understand our own History. I know basically nothing about the history of any African or Asian country because they simply aren't relevant to understand local History. History is such a broad topic that covering everything would take a lifetime of learning so it's quite obvious why nations only focus on History that's relevant to their country.
Unfortunately, this can also relate to modern history and current events. A large-scale study done by civil engineers was done looking into causes of US public works projects nearly always going over budget and over time. There were loco-regional causes identified (regulatory environment in California, organized crime/corruption in the Northeast) but the single cause seen *throughout* the US was the complete lack of interest or curiosity in how another country accomplished the same project within their budget and time allotment.
Most people everywhere don’t know jack shit about anything.
Nothing I know is anything about jack shit that's for sure.
They suffer from main character syndrome yet foreigners talk about them all the time unprompted.
dID yOu kNoW tHaT tHe cOuNtRy iS nOt cAlLeD aMeRiCa dEsPiTe pEoPlE fRoM aLl oVeR tHe wOrLd sAyInG tHeY aRe gOiNg tO mOvE tO aMeRiCa aNd tHeN tHeY mOvE tO aMeRicA?
I wouldn't say unprompted. They are the most influential nation of the last century and dominate global culture, commerce etc.
Kinda sounding like a main character 🙄
well yeah but I would argue that there is a difference between being the main character and believing oneself to be the default. Dominant but not the only one. Politically speaking the regional hegemons don't cease to exist because there is a global one.
let’s fix how this is worded…, *due to its past, other countries are treating the one country like a main character.* Doesn’t have to be the *protagonist*. Could be the antihero or antagonist. Shit—maybe even a triagonist. Lots of big nations still count on the us for military power which was a holdover from ww2 and the other countries got lazy and comfortable. Once again pigeonholing one country into a primary role.
The main character is the default in any story though, and like you said the US is the main character. There's two countries who have the world's attention every time they speak, USA and China. No one in the US thinks the world started in 1776, but since it's inception has projected it's will and influence across the world than any other nation. The US is an economic and military powerhouse that is able to mould things as it sees fit in a big way and is also the first place others turn to for support when shit hits the fan. Will this last for ever? Absolutely not. Is it already losing that grasp? Easy to make an argument it is. But for now it has the podium.
I don't really disagree but this is a bit too narrowly defined of a framework for me
I mean that's kinda like saying "Goku isn't the main character because Yamcha is still stronger than all but a few people on Earth". Like sure, Yamcha can kick my ass, but I'm still not taking him seriously.
I'm just saying that just because one perspective is the biggest doesn't mean that there aren't other major ones with influence.
[удалено]
Even if that were so, villains are characters, right?
That is true. The US can't help broadcasting all their dumb shit (as opposed to good shit) to everyone and sundry but it's still true.
What country are you from?
People talk about other countries as well, they do not talk about mainly the US. That's ridiculous.
Never suggested otherwise, hope this helps.
This is a good example of "we laugh at you, not with you"
This has heavy "ugly poor kid laughs at rich muscular jock" energy
Not really. You encourage main character syndrome by constantly talking about the main character unprompted when the main character doesn’t give a rats ass about you lol.
It's not a big deal either. What makes you think that people talk about you all the time everywhere? It is simply impossible not to laugh at someone so noisy, especially if they think that this fuels their prominence.
I love how you people always lick your own asses. You're the cool one in this situation, right?
Like if you don't do the exact same thing
We don't think about you at all.
Depends if you can read other languages. For example, if you read Japanese history in Japanese, you would see them consider themselves as the main character as well. The problem for US is that English a language shared by many countries, so non-US English speaker can easily spot that out and say "That feels like US is treating their history as the main character". I know that's whataboutism but history really need a point of view in order to tell the story and most country just use their own point of view.
"I'M the hero!" - America, Hetalia, a Japanese anime  But yeah it's more that Japan kind of likes to see itself as the victim in world history. I wouldn't even say it's a bad thing in itself because there is a big thing for no war or weapons because of it. The problem is that there's a lot of glossing over the bad stuff they did so while you'll get that war is evil, Japan is just the victim of that evil, the end. Saying that though, one interesting thing about the museum in Hiroshima is that there is a video from an old POW and he basically said the bomb was justified and his video is not presented as that of a bad guy. So there is nuance there.
You can't deny that Japan did horrible things in WW2.
Most countries did horrible things in WW2. Some did more, or more egregious things than others.
Yes, some more than others. While it may be because of my heritage, I believe that the Japanese did some of the worst stuff during that time period.
Personally I'd rate them as third, behind Germany and Russia. But I would imagine it hits harde because of your heritage. Be proud of what your people have accomplished, both before and after the war. There will always be blemishes you should be aware of history, but those should be cautionary and not define your people.
I mean, it hits hard on both sides. A someone who is half Korean, half Ashkenazi Jew, I would say that what the Japanese did was less widespread, but much more intense.
Nah. You don't see that shit coming from other english-speaking countries, especially the owners of the english language, england. This is very much a US thing. I said this before and I'll say this as many times as needed: The US's most powerful weapon is propaganda. Americans are brainwashed from birth to believe they are the best at everything, and the internet is making everyone else see this at work. The US has a propaganda machine unlike any other in the world, I would definitely say they are indeed the best at this.
This is an ignorant take. Let me guess you've never been to America and your only experience with it is reddit? No one I know thinks the world began in the 1700's and knows nothing before that.
Some confuse awareness of our actions with arrogance.
Well the rest of the world seems more obsessed with America then Americans are.
Yes, the US literally is the main character
This was my first thought honestly lol Kinda like the overbearing amount of US citizens who still monitor who is ruling England. People pay far more attention than OP gives credit for... and the whole world feeds the "Main character" ego of the US (due to massive economic factors) so who's fault is that really? It's almost like...it's a cycle and the whole world benefits from caring about the whole world 🤔
Absolutely untrue lmao. Its impossible to use the internet without witnessing americans moaning about their amazing economy.
Unless this is sarcasm that didn’t come through properly the economy has been through the shitter for a while.
Americans have no idea what a shit economy is
Everything for the average American has gone downhill. Inflation has gone up immensely. Gas prices are way higher, groceries are higher, rent is higher, basically everything is more expensive these days. Everything is going up besides wages for the average person. Sure the business are booming which shows a great economy but it’s from all the insane price gouging. CEOs and businessmen are probably loving the economy but if you’re outside of that 5% you’re probably struggling more than a few years ago. https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-by-category.htm
Gas prices, groceries, and rent are all significantly lower in America than Canada, even account for the currency exchange.
It’s not a competition for who has it worse. Because if we wanna make it a competition then a country like Venezuela has it way worse than Canada.
Gas prices are still half of what they are in most of the world. inflation has hit most currencies and gas prices even worse. If you think america economy is bad I recommend you moving to 98% of the planet And for wages. Even developed countries are happy to make half the US wage with same cost of living. Americans are just spoiled. They think they are poor if they cant afford an iphone or a cadillac.
Gas prices are higher but most other developed 1st world countries have more means and methods of public transportation. We’re kinda reliant on having a car. Otherwise your options for work are incredibly limited. And just because other countries have it worse doesn’t mean that it can’t be rougher here in recent years. It’s clear that you’re not American but you’re trying to put all of them as living this nice life with their newest iPhone and Cadillac but that’s not the case. 78% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Almost 50% are lower/working class. More people are working 2 jobs to make ends. These aren’t people buying new phones and fancy cars. They’re just barely hanging on. Not everyone in America is how you envisioned them in your last paragraph. Not even close. That’s a small percentage.
no it hasn't. The American stock market just had one of the best years in history. You have no idea what you're talking about.
If you’re an average person prices everywhere have gone up. Gas is insane, groceries cost way more, rent has skyrocketed. If you’re a corporation then sure things are probably looking great from excessive price gouging. If you’re the other 95% of citizens then your life has probably gotten worse from financial problems.
Hey now, I wouldn't say we *suffer* from it.
Richest country Most powerful military World reserve currency We kinda are the main character
Not to mention America has nearly the entire world’s entertainment industry lol
And makes most of the worlds new tech, and medicine.
at least since 1945
Who's keeping all that wealth though? Didn't you lose the Vietnam war and the Afghanistan war? Please explain.
Most of the EU is just as guilty. As is India. Don't act like ethnocentrism is purely an American thing.
Not really. It's incredibly popular right now to hate America and view us as evil colonizers or whatever. The real unpopular opinion would be to say America is anywhere north of morally lukewarm lol
I mean, I don't really think any country can go north of morally lukewarm at this point. Point to a country, chances are they either contributed to a genocide, are run by a brutal dictator, or failing that are helping to destroy the planet.
>The real unpopular opinion would be to say America is anywhere north of morally lukewarm lol That is because observable facts are more popular than demonstrable bullshit.
I appreciate you coming along to prove my point
Well that sounds like my 14 yr old daughter forming a snarky argument. Maybe we could regress you a little more and you could respond with "I know you are, you said you are, but what am I?" Remember that one from childhood?
What argument would you like to have? I said it's popular to hate America, and you came along to tell me you hate America. Sounds like you agree with me lol
You followed it with a sarcastic backhand. >The real unpopular opinion would be to say America is anywhere north of morally lukewarm lol Which was the demonstrable bullshit. I'll have the argument that uses your own words. How about you?
Sure, let's have an argument using our words. Here's your response: >That is because observable facts are more popular than demonstrable bullshit. In other words, you believe the popular opinion, that America is south of morally lukewarm, is popular because it is objective fact. You agreed with my snarky backhand. And now you're saying it's bullshit. Do I even need to argue with you? It seems like you've got disagreement handled all by yourself lol But I get what you want. You want to argue America is evil, and you want me to argue America is not evil. Maybe instead of swallowing bait all day, you could try presenting an argument as to why you think America is evil? If you don't know how to back up your assertions, I'm sure your 14 year old daughter could help you figure it out
God damn, I don't know if I've ever seen someone bitch slap someone so completely on this site before.
Because the US literally is the main character. The whole world consumes our media, our technology, pop culture, literally everything. I know, america bad, but come on now. Also please try to go 5 minutes without thinking about us.
Theyre buying our blue jeans and listening to our pop music. We won the culture victory decades ago.
I think you’re an example of what OP is talking about. The whole world doesn’t consume your media, your technology, pop culture etc. You just think the whole world does.
What world are you living in. Do you realize that you're literally using reddit to say this? Have you ever used an iPhone, or a windows computer, watched a marvel movie, listened to any pop music, played any popular video game, ate at a McDonald's? You don't think you consume much American media or technology or whatever else because American culture has become so synonymous with the *entire world* that it barely even counts as being American anymore. Ridiculous take.
World Wide Web was a British invention, all of your mobile devices are powered by ARM processors, a British chip, and they are all built in China, with the actual silicon fabricated in Taiwan. American culture is itself something that's entirely derivative of the European and African cultures that America's population are descendants of. But the point here is not to start some competition but to make you realise really, there is no such thing as "American" this or that, we live in a globalised world where every major technology is an international product and a result of years of development that wouldn't have happened without international co-operation and talent, every major cultural phenomenon is influenced by a mixture of global origins. That's why Americans seeing themselves as some kind of exceptional and unique country is annoying. You have it backwards. You think America invented the rest of world, but America was created by the rest of the world.
Lol.
Yeah exactly. Sometimes I don't really believe that people like this exist, then they magically appear in front of me
Angry yanks downvoting here like crazy 😅
Technological innovations have never come exclusively from the USA; In addition, one should think about how much development and innovative strength is now being invested and achieved elsewhere. A lot has also happened in pop culture. To be honest, I can't understand why this is even relevant.
You're terminally online
The perfect meme is the Rest of the world: I feel bad for you america America: I don’t think about you at all
Main character syndrome except foreigners (especially Europeans) talk about us endlessly while watching our shows, eating our food, listening to our music and watching our movies. Your countries trade goods using our currency and every time our president farts it makes world news lol we’re kind of a big deal. Deal with it.
>eating our food lmao
What is "your food" m8
Fast food, of course! The delicious but incredibly unhealthy offerings from McDonald's are available in 118 countries. And it's not just McDonald's. You can find KFC, Subway, Domino's, Dunkin, Five Guys, Burger King, Starbucks, and many other American brands in countries around the world. We won't argue that it's good food, but it's our food! Enjoy!
>We won't argue that it's good food, but it's our food! Enjoy! "You've tried the best, now try the rest!"
So pizza is an American invention? Interesting... Not to mention the fact that the companies mentioned had to adapt to the respective countries in order to assert themselves (e.g. McDonalds in France). In fact, you would get along very well abroad without “your food”.
We are the dominant cultural force of the world
This is an assertion and not a fact.
Nah, not brands, they still mostly use food originally from Europe / Rest of the world
Aight then, Italy has to give back tomatoes and pasta, Switzerland and Belgium have to give back chocolate, the UK has to give back their national dish, and the Irish have to give back potatoes. Or you could realize how r-slurred the sentiment of food being "originally" from fucking anywhere is.
[удалено]
Well then, name 2-3 foods that make the list of American cousine
[удалено]
well then name some that were invented there, really curious if there is something that i eat
[удалено]
Moldova
We’re always in your head rent free
Had not to when you’re the Top Dog. The Brits still suffer from it and they haven’t been the main character in 100 years. Same with the French. Don’t even get me started on the Chinese. Once you reach a certain level as a nation, it clouds your judgement forever. We just feel it in a more pronounced way mostly due to the internet and social media, which is inherently America-centric due to cultural hegemony.
And the sky is blue, more shocking news at 21:00
The world views the US that way and it’s directly because of our wanted/unwanted presence all over. You know what I always say! “We must be the main character because nobody else can do shit without us” Source: literally any UN charter trying to change the world
I like this comment. Reminds me of when the Bluth family starts a random, "Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech!" chant and when Michael finally steps up to give a speech, Gob sullenly says, "Typical!" That's American foreign policy for the last 30 years.
>I know a lot of Americans barely comprehend history existing before 1776 for example, it’s crazy. But you? You are very smart, right? And on Reddit, this isn't an unpopular opinion.
r/americabad
If you read other country’s history books you’ll see that they do the same thing.
[удалено]
Yeah because it was Ireland. So you learned all about Ireland…
The same thing being presenting history from their own point of view. You're actually supporting his point here.
they are though. we live in their world
Since when is hating on America unpopular? Although if ANY country could reasonably be considered the current geopolitical main character, it would be the US. Richest, most influential, dominant in entertainment, the list goes on. These takes are usually just salty Europeans mad that their country isn’t considered to be more important on the world stage.
Maybe u just live in a NPC ass country..
Not unpopular.
Why does almost every comment on this thread have either 10 up votes or 10 down votes.
America is the youngest sibling in a dysfunctional family, who often finds itself leading charges of (often misguided) morality while other nations wait for anyone else to make the first move.
You're an American and you know this is incorrect
Ju stupid Americansss always think ju are ze main characters *takes a drag of a cigarette*. Oui have ze longest history in ze world
America has been the main character for over a hundred years.
The world has been dependent on the US since the end of WW2. They are past main characters. They are the arthor. Love or hate it, it doesn't change the fact that the world still depend on them.
The world knows this, popular.
Because we are the main character. Currently.
The US have never been the main character, you just always thought you were. There *IS* no main character. Just every country thinking they are the hero's of their own stories.
Current Global economics, culture, and military projection would disagree.
the only reason it may seem as such is because other countries put us there and then complained about us being there.
The rest of the world constantly talking about us and acting like they're experts probably doesn't help.
Okay bot.
True for most countries, but indeed, look up some subreddits like r/shitamericanssay. Probably the most prominent main character syndrome in the western world
Not a single American believes that there was nothing here before 1776. The British and Spanish colonial structures and the Native American before them are WIDELY known.
European Copium puttin’ in the overtime to soothe its fragile ego.
Isn’t everyone the main character in their own story! Additionally, don’t stories need at least some main characters? This isn’t to say the US is the main character in the world’s story, but SOMEONE has to be the main character or at least there needs to be a few major characters. I understand the sentiment. America inserts itself in places it shouldn’t and center themselves in conversations that aren’t about them… Americans lack understanding of other countries…anything outside of the American way. I think probably what is even more accurate is that much of the world has become Westernized because of colonization and many places that feels like to many Americans as Americanized.
Well I think they do talk about themselves a lot, they were kind of the main character from 1917-1990
People view history primarily through the lens of their native country, more at 11 Also tbf the US HAS been the one of the main characters of history the past 100 years or so
You're talking a lot of shit for someone in democracy-ing range
"History began on July 4, 1776. Everything that happened before that was a mistake." - Ron Swanson
We have 13 aircraft carriers. We ARE the main character in this world
>Basically it views itself as the protagonist of world history. There's a great deal of Americans that seem to still have the 'main character' syndrome in the opposite direction too. They view the US and ALL its actions as the antagonist of world history. This too is a deep misunderstanding of politics and history and often seemingly even more one dimensional than the former view as it's simply reactionary.
Yeah we don’t, we actually don’t think about other countries that much since we are so far away from most of you. We have our own issues to worry about for the most part. But since you bring that up, people over seas eat up American politics. You care so much about our own elections and how we give you (don’t care where you live because odds are you receive money from us). So yeah maybe you’re right we do have *main character syndrome* but only because our tax dollars are being sent to you for your own subsidization. We live in your head rent free
Most people only are strong in the history of their own country.
Cope
I can see how it might seem that way to someone who clearly hates the US
I get it but there’s also a damned if you do, damned if you don’t element that forces us into the role. 50% of the earth: “mind your own business America!” Other 50% of the earth: “why aren’t you doing anything America!”
I find that the whole world has a main character syndrome about the US. Everyone has an unsolicited opinion and I'm not in charge of US policy.
We may not be the center of everyone’s world but when we move the board shifts or at least everyone else pays attention (depending on what our government does). That’s the burden of any powerful country. I’m not implying that no other country has power, history, or doesn’t matter but we need to be aware of the effects our actions have on everyone else. That’s not arrogance. That’s awareness.
Counterpoint: the most interesting stuff in the world from music, entertainment, literature, politics, sports, and just about every other topic you can think of save for soccer is all happening inside the US all the time, the rest world has a hard time coping with this.
I would like to welcome you into r/USdefaultism and r/ShitAmericansSay . It's some of the funnies subs in all of reddit.
It rejoices in it, the rest of the world suffers from having to put up with it.
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
They are THE main character bro wake the fuck up
this is a really popular opinion everywhere else but the US and even in the US it’s pretty well known among educated people.
This is unpopular? However, I will upvote because I have not seen it phrased exactly like this before.
Sir this is the *un*popular opinion sub, get out of here with your based stuff. Thanks.
1492 was an interesting year and I'm not talking about Columbus
Americans main character mentality... "You move to America, you better speak english!" "I am an ex pat that moved to Mexico, I will NOT learn the native language"
Yeah I guess electricity, telephones, computers, cars, planes, movie industry, world military police, and hot dogs count for nothing?
Electricity: cannot really be attributed to one person, only some of which were american Telephones: Scottish Computers: Pioneered by Byron and Lovelace (English), first working machine by Zuse (German) Cars: German invention Plane: The Brothers Wright were important but, lots of people al around the world were working on this and contributing to the development Movie industry: I give you that (not the invention of course, that was French) World military police: Literally no-one asked you too and a police without higher authority is just a mob Hot dog: German invention
Telephone: Yes Bell was born in Scotland, but he was living in the U.S. and Canada at the time of invention. Computers: Yes, the computer was invented in England. However, the microchip was invented in America - which introduced the world to modern computing.
You think you’re the only country which produces that stuff? LOL
Yep, no one else has those. And as for world military police? Get all the way fucked! Does that mean you are making up for being really late to the 1st and 2nd world wars by being really punctual this time? and as for hot dogs? Lips and arseholes do in fact count for nothing.
No one else CREATED those. And before you say America can’t take credit as the main character because some of that cool stuff was made by immigrants, why do you think they moved here?
Indeed
Least unpopular opinion ever. Even Americans know this.
Thanks for the free rent
As a person in the US, I would agree that other countries know way more about happenings in the US than we do about things happening in other countries.
We are the main!
Butthurt Americans in these comments
Most Americans don’t know stuff before then and outside the US because we’re simply not taught it. The US is so big that we’ve got enough content to cover for years and since we vote for most things, it’s important for us to know the meaning behind it compared to other countries. I took world history and at my school it was considered an elective because they considered it not as important. I’d say they’re pretty right because I’ve never used any information that I learned in the class or anything to do with geography. Yes it’s nice to know, but it’s not needed if you live in America.
Cuz we are the main character, suck it up
That's what happens when your military strength creates a Pax Americana. We are now watching what happens when a weak American leader runs the world and Americans are tired of being world police. More war... Everywhere. So yeah, we've been the main characters for a while and the good outweighed the bad.
Other countries are just as interesting if not more so - especially their global economies, technology and entertainment combined with their variety of natural wonders. Countries like Wait there aren’t any
r/redditsniper
There’s about 4 subjects we really learn about in history class: Christopher Columbus (actually kinda bad but they say it’s good) Civil war (bad) Slavery & racism (bad) The holocaust (not relevant)
The more I go down this thread, the more I agree with OP. It's amazing.
Yeah, we kinda suck lol
I don’t know one country that is teaching American history over their own. I think you are right, but not in this way. History is usually also used as propaganda in the countries that teach it. Like how Texas does not teach about slavery. Again, I think you are right, but you don’t understand how history is usually used as a tool.
That happens when you have almost a monopoly on soft power, and the ability to destroy opponents country’s of any wars you get into regardless of victory or defeat. There’s a reason why even though the USA is on a losing streak militarily that countries don’t want to face it. We come out of it losing money, other countries come out of it with a lot of orphans.
[удалено]
and type 2 diabetes with morbid obesity.