5 Most Shocking Observations Of America After Returning From Living Abroad

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After having lived abroad since 2008 in more than several different countries and on different continents I returned to the states for a short visit with my family only to be somewhat disturbed at what I observed in the states. These were mere observations but made me think…wow, what happened here? So, let me share those observations with you and not be concerned about political correctness since political correctness could be defined as the way Americans speak so we don’t offend the whining pussies. So, please don’t whine but do enjoy the reading and hopefully at the very least I will have entertained you. 

1. FAT PEOPLE

Whoops, I meant to say obese people, but really, are you kidding me? In many areas in the states, people are getting bigger and bigger. I watch a game on TV and see all those round people in the stands and wonder if it’s always been this way (maybe it’s the hot dogs?) or have things changed that much? I go to the stores and see fat people (excuse me…I mean obese) and I’m not just talking about Walmart. Then my neighbors take me to a buffet where I see obese people eating as much as they can, stuffing their faces and then having three desserts and then later ask how they became so huge? Of course, we all know that Americans love to go to the fast food joints to order super-sized burgers and if that’s not enough they add on french fries, but damn…enough already.

If you are already fat (obese), then why would you continue eating like this? One doesn’t just wake up one day and say, “Gee…I’m fat,” since getting fat takes some time and at some point along the way, you would think measures would be put in place to maintain weight even if one just ends up a little heavy since having a perfect body for most is not an option. So yes, it disturbs me, and I wonder why so many are becoming so big and ask if it’s the antibiotics in the meat, too much meat, too many fast food joints, too much junk from the grocery store, or just plain ol’ lack of exercise since most everyone rides everywhere? Many Americans merely walk from the house to the car, car to the store or work, and then from the car back to the house. Come on America…I understand the difficulty of staying slim, but don’t allow obesity to become our norm. 

2. WHERE ARE THE AMERICANS?

I’m an American, but perhaps only one of the few. My Grandparents are from Germany, but since I was born here, I consider myself to be an American, not a German-American.

Now that I’m back I observed so much more reference to one being an to African-American, Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Colombian, and so many others even though they were born in the United States just like I was. Are only the Indians true Americans? So really, if you are born here or became a recent citizen, wouldn’t one be an American? As for me, I am American, end of story. But if one would like to know where my grandparents are from, I’d be more than happy to tell them as I am proud of them and their culture. 

3. THE NEWS

I used to enjoy watching the news, but now I can’t watch for more than 10 minutes since the actual news is 10 minutes and the rest is interview after interview with experts, former experts, and wannabe experts expressing their opinion on what they thought may have happened, is happening, or will happen. That’s not news. Tell me what happened and then update me later with verified evidence of new developments. Then we have someone of importance who is gay, comes out, and now it’s news. Say what? I don’t care if they are gay or not, just don’t want to see it on the news, and think our sexual preferences are not newsworthy. And on Fox news all they seem to do is criticize the Democrats, the President, and talk nonstop about what they call Obamacare, and what went wrong in Libya (that would be history).

I would also have a problem with a station that spent the majority of their time criticizing the Republicans because that would be nothing short of advocating their political preference by using the station as a platform to deliver their rhetoric against the party that beat them in the previous election or whomever they choose. So Fox, please don’t call yourself Fox News since a news station should be delivering unbiased news without a Fox opinion. Please give me news…but just the news!

4. TELEVISION COMMERCIALS

They’re killing me! On some channels, every 7 minutes there is a commercial and on others a bit less frequent, but nonetheless far too many commercials. If you have not lived abroad, the frequent commercials probably don’t bother you, because to you it’s the norm and you don’t know any different. But for me, it’s driving me crazy. When living abroad, you watch the show for 50 minutes or so and then they have 10 minutes of commercials between shows thus the programs do not get interrupted. So what’s the answer? Perhaps we need to watch more downloaded movies or play on our smartphones during the commercials every 7-10 minutes.

5. FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Do we really have the freedom to express ourselves without being chastised or is it getting to the point where most everyone is afraid to share their thoughts publicly? True, we will not be thrown in jail as one would in a middle eastern country but if what you say is not politically correct you just may be fired, get retired early, or at the very least be chastised by those who perceived the comments as offensive. But then why is it that certain groups seem to be able to say whatever they want about others and it’s tolerated while another group dare not share their thoughts publicly? I wonder?

I am proud to be American and grateful I have the opportunity to share my observations with the masses without fear of government reprisal because really, there is no right, no wrong, just our observations, and thoughts to be shared and cataloged.