Who knew?

[634-5789]

[surfered]

1. The Portuguese have a longer life expectancy than Americans

[Farmer-Rick]

18. And it was just recently established

Portugal's current constitution was passed on April 2, 1976.

Principles:
The constitution establishes fundamental principles such as sovereignty, the rule of law, and the separation of powers.

They are rated 96 on the Freedom scale. 96!!!!!!! The US is 83, and that was when Biden was president.

I've always been a fan of Portugal, I can understand why their life spans are so long.

[Dem4life1234]

2. Life isn't so stressful and not all about competition there

That is not the case with many parts of Europe. Certainly not Eastern Europe! Europe has its shitty parts, the media doesn't show it, though the media loves spotlighting the worst parts of people of color nations.

It's only a handful of countries that are really worth living in that continent.

[markodochartaigh]

4. "It's only a handful of countries that are really worth living in that continent."

I think that everyone's life is worth living.

But living conditions averaged between Luxembourg and a slum in Bucharest are no more useful than living conditions averaged between Los Altos and the Pine Ridge Reservation.

[ck4829]

3. But we're living shorter so we can give more money to healthcare CEOs! Isn't that awesome?! Right?! Awesome?

[Prairie_Seagull]

5. Sharon Stone indicates 80% of Americans don't have a passport.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219768652.

This probably explains a whole lot.

I wish there were demographic and political data on this statistic.

Imagining very telling stuff there.

This would be a great place to put some resources. I do believe. Now we just need to make a billionaire or 2 believe.

[ShazzieB]

7. What does not having a passport explain?

Just curious. (I don't know what Stone said, because the link you posted comes up "404 Not Found." )

I do know this much: most foreign countries are very far away from most Americans, except those who live near the Canadian or Mexican border. For a lot of people, traveling to another country involves a long trip, and a lot of money. Passports cost money, too, and there's not much point in spending money to get one unless you have the wherewithal for travel.

I don't have a passport myself, because I've never had the money to travel abroad. (I traveled to Canada once, back when Americans didn't need a passport to go there; I live less than a day's drive from the border, and it kind of bums me out that I will need a passport if I ever want to go there again.)

[Prairie_Seagull]

9. Seeing the world or even a part of the world is very educational.

There is no way I meant anything about not having one.

[ShazzieB]

14. Okay, I think I see what you meant now.

When you said a lot of Americans not having passports "probably explains a whole lot," you were talking about how traveling abroad can make people more informed about the rest of the world, I get that.

From what I understand, in many European countries, especially those in the European Union, traveling to other countries is as easy as traveling to other states in the U.S. So of course, they know a lot about each other. But there's a whole ocean between them and the U.S.

I absolutely agree that there are too many Americans who know very little about any other countries except maybe Canada and/or Mexico. Part of it is economics, part of is geography, and part of it is a matter of how much time is spent (and not spent) on various subjects in most schools. Most of what I know about the world outside the U.S. I've learned through my own self-educational pursuits, like reading and watching documentaries about the history and geography of other parts of the world.

[Cirsium]

8. They can't afford to travel

Maybe people don't have passports because they can't afford to travel overseas. Two-thirds of Americans with a household income of 100K or more (64%) have a valid passport. One in five Americans with a household income under $50,000 (21%) have a valid passport. There apparently is no partisan gap.

Stone's idea that the US is a young country - "in our adolescence" - is off, too, in my opinion. Italy was created as a country, as a single political entity, in 1861; Germany in 1871.

[haele]

15. I think she means that Americans are in their emotional adolescence.

Which is true in many ways; like teenagers, Americans still have problems imagining people with different cultures than their own and most importantly, we don't really have a history of the majority of people having to deal with regular long term multi - generational disasters - wars, famine, significant plagues, cycles of tyrants and border shifts - things like that.
We still think we're special simply because of a circumstance of geography. Most people, with the exception of the very poor or slaves, lived a relatively safe life. And there is always been opportunities to re-invent one's self if one hasn't backed themselves into a metaphorical corner.
So yes, in many ways, Americans are still very young.

Haele

[Cirsium]

23. "We?"

Imagining people with different cultures than their own? That was not at all hard to do growing up in Detroit.

You say "we don't really have a history of the majority of people having to deal with regular long term multi - generational disasters - wars, famine, significant plagues, cycles of tyrants and border shifts - things like that."

The US has certainly had all of those. The Civil War, the ongoing war against the original peoples, slavery, many periods of famine, the Great Depression, the Spanish flu and COVID, plenty of tyrants in the form of Robber Barons, many, many border shifts...

"Special simply because of a circumstance of geography?" Do you mean abundant resources? Do people think the US is special because of that?

"Most people, with the exception of the very poor or slaves, lived a relatively safe life?"

Seriously? For a brief time, for a few people, yes.

As far opportunities to re-invent one's self, that has been available to some extent for some people at some times. Inherited wealth operates against that, always has, and so do misogyny and racism, as well as inequality in educational opportunities.

[dalton99a]

10. Fifty-one percent of Americans now have passports

Fifty-one percent of Americans now have passports, up from 46% in 2023 and 30% in 2008. There are more than 171 million valid U.S. passports in circulation, according to the State Department.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2024/10/23/state-department-issues-record-us-passports/75794556007/

[generalbetrayus]

16. I got my first passport ever earlier this year in anticipation of a Drumpf victory in November.

I'm pretty sure there are others.

[Prairie_Seagull]

20. Thanks dalton99a.

This is more like a number that makes some sense to me. Have you seen the crowds in Rome or ...

[Historic NY]

17. The live in a bubble world just to hurl insults at foreign people.

I can name countries to where I've gone. They can't even name the 50 states and territories. That included the jack wagons elected to Congress. They though Puerto Rico was a foreign country. PR has full status as a Commonwealth territory. Perhaps they should go back and ck how many states are Commonwealths.

[Conjuay]

22. Surprise!

I can, from personal experience, report that there's going to be quite a run on people getting passports.
My kids are working on getting theirs presently, and I am certain that they are not alone.
On top of that, my kids, nieces and nephews are awaiting their turn to apply for citizenship in Ireland. ( Proof of one Irish born grandparent is required to apply for citizenship.) My parents birth certificates, marriage certificate and passports are crisscrossing the country as we speak.
Sad but true.

[Figarosmom]

6. And gun laws. ...nt

[Evolve Dammit]

11. Truth!

[TomSlick]

12. Who would have suspected?

It seems counter-intuitive somehow.

[paleotn]

13. I've worked with European colleagues....

They look at our healthcare system with a mixture of horror and uncontrollable laughter. Boils down to..."you're the richest country on earth! What the hell is wrong with you people?!"

[Farmer-Rick]

19. Just goes to show you

Wealth doesn't make you smarter.

[paleotn]

21. Not always. Certainly doesn't make one moral.

In fact, it has the opposite effect. Whole bunch of parasites making a bundle off our healthcare system. If we want to cut the cost of healthcare in America, at the very least cut out some of the middlemen.