Quote: (01-08-2013 10:23 AM)Sakebomb Wrote:
I realized i made a crucial mis-thinking on my part. While it helps to have that confident can-do attitude, it was wrong of me to assume that is an "American" thing to do. You can be a confident can-do alpha without subscribing to the American spirit. My mistake was that, minutes ago, i assumed the "can do" attitude is somehow inherently American - hence describing it as "American can-do attitude," "dat American mindset," etc.
One "can do" things without being that.
Game on.
That mindset definitely IS more common in the US than in Europe. Where an American sees opportunities, the typical German for example will see danger ahead.
You cannot argue against cultural differences, they simply exist.
As for the American dream, I'm not sure whether it's still alive today. What many Americans try hard to achieve, a lot of Europeans simply take for granted.
Not directly related to the topic but still reflecting overall living standards in the US compared to other industrialized nations:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/10/health...html?_r=1&