(1.) The United States is a Democracy:
This is quite a common misconception, but it's easy to see why. The United States is a republic, which is a form of government similar to a democracy except instead of the citizens voting directly for laws, the citizens vote for officials that, once elected, vote on the laws. The reasoning behind this is that masses are not educated/rational enough to make the decisions for themselves, so it's best for them to elect representatives that know what they're doing to vote in the people's interest instead. The other advantage of the Republic is supposed to be a protection against majority (mob) rule, where at least 51% of Americans thinking a certain way could oppress the other 49%. Make of it what you will, but the masses certainly still have their fair share of morons, and unfortunately so does the elected officials. That's probably where many of the problems in the United States stem from, morons running the show.
With American influence during the cold war, many countries also set up republics that mirrored that of the United States. So far, only Switzerland is a country with a real direct democracy. Many other "democratic" countries are republics like the United States.
(2.) The United States is a Capitalist country:
The US is touted as the champion of Capitalism, whether that is a positive or negative thing depends entirely on your own judgment. However, calling the United States a "Capitalist" country is the same as calling the color pink "red". Sure, you're technically right, but you're missing a lot of important distinctions. While the United States does lean a lot towards the Capitalist ideology, it is nowhere near a fully capitalist country nor is it even one of the top 10 capitalist countries. According to the 2015 Index of Economic Freedom, the United States is only the 12th most capitalist nation, while its Northern neighbor Canada is number 6 and Australia is number 4. This ranking of the US is due to higher taxes (one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world) and greater government regulations over the past several years.
The US is just like most other developed countries, it has a mixed economy, with both capitalist and socialist values/practices. While it is true that the US leans more towards capitalism than say, Sweden, it still is a mixed economy. Many accuse the US of not having enough government programs to support its populace, unlike many other developed countries in Europe. The thing is though, the US actually shares a lot of government/social programs that it's European brethren do:
- Free College education (limited only for the poor and veterans) and federal student loans.
- Free Healthcare (limited only for the poor, veterans, disabled, and elderly).
- Social Security (free income for the elderly and disabled).
- Its own postal service, NASA, and utility services (TVA).
- A federal highway system.
- Federal regulators like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Reserve System (Central Banking), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and many, many more.
- Income Security: Welfare, Food Stamps, Unemployment Compensation, Nutrition Assistance, Foster Care, Family Support, etc.
- Public Housing
- A whole fifth (20%) of jobs in the US are government jobs, with over 20 million employees, making the US government the largest business in the world in terms of pure employee count.
My point is, even though more socialistic nations reach farther with their government programs than the United States does, the US still has many, many social programs and government regulations. It isn't some completely privatized, "Be rich or starve" wasteland the media and outsiders paint the United states to be. Sure College Education isn't free for everyone (it doesn't need to be anyways, as I've stated before) but the poorest in the nation and those that severed are able to get free or heavily subsidized education. Again, saying the US is a Capitalist country completely ignores the numerous and powerful government agencies and programs there are.
(3.) The US has the biggest military in the world:
As you might be shocked to learn, the US military is actually only the 2nd biggest military in world, nearly 800 million in manpower short behind China, the world's biggest military. The US only has about 1.5 million active military members. The US military also doesn't have the most tanks (Russia does), but it does have the most submarines, aircraft carriers, and planes.
Make no mistake however, the US has the most powerful military in the world, by leaps and bounds. The US military has a budget of over $600 billion USD, more than the next 9 countries combined. Not only that, the shear manpower, the top quality training, the vast access to vital resources, the world's most powerful nuclear arsenal, and armament with the latest and greatest military technologies have lead the US to be the world's most powerful military. The US isn't just a NATO member; it practically is NATO. After the Soviet Union (USSR) fell more than two decades ago, the United States has remained the only military (and economic) superpower in the world.
(4.) The United States is the most obese country in the world:
Surprising even me, the United States is only the 11th most obese country in the world, with 31.8% of the population being obese. Still a much higher percentage than desirable, though. Kuwait is actually the world's most obese country, with 42.8% of the population obese.
(5.) The United States and it's people are pretty much all the same:
Generally speaking, whenever someone hears the term "American" a common, steretoypical image pops into his or her head. If you need a reference, look at the image in number 4 on this list.
In reality, the United States is a bunch of separate states that are united (I know, confusing). However, these states are big. Some are the size if not bigger than European countries.
Point is, European countries themselves almost all have unique and varied cultures, and so do American states. However, the States all generally tend to share a common culture within their region:
While debate, this is the best map I could find that splits the different cultural regions of the United States up quite well. Many of these people within these regions share a similar lifestyle, traditions, accents, and ideologies. The United States is a whole mish-mash of different ideologies and cultural aspects such as music and arts. While in general Americans are quite similar, usually speaking English and living a classic "American" lifestyle, you'd be surprised how different regions of the country are from each other. Sure, they're not polarizing difference, and if you didn't know any better you'd probably even mistake a Canadian for an American with how similar the two countries are. Either way, there's something unique and worthwhile to find in each different region of the country.
Well, I hope y'all enjoyed my article here and please feel free to leave any of your own misconceptions or opinions below!
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