Europe vs USA - Lifestyle

                                                                                      

Europe vs USA - Lifestyle

This is another installment of a series called America, to discuss why the US is so often at odds with the rest of the world. Both Europe and the United States have a large economy, political stability and strong military might. What differs is the lifestyle and politics in these two demographic regions. Here follows a brief comparison of living standards in Europe and USA on the basis of healthcare, multiculturalism, education and media awareness.

Healthcare - In the United States it is common for a hospital to refuse to treat a critically ill patient if they are not insured or are not US citizens. In Europe such a concept is considered ancient and uncivilised. In the US, doctors sometimes refuse to treat or prescribe the right options to a patient if the doctor’s religious beliefs go against what is medically best for the patient. It happens most often in cases of abortion, birth control and treating homosexuals where the doctors’ medical ethics conflict with their religious beliefs. Such an act in Europe would lead to cancellation of a doctor’s license to practice for violation of the Hippocratic Oath.

Diversity - United States, despite petty internal political differences is very uniform and homogeneous to an outsider. The culture (or lack of it) is same, the food is same, the language is same and the arts and style are similar. In Europe language, art, food, culture and politics are widely varied which might be overwhelming for an outsider but makes things interesting. A person visiting Scotland on a pleasure trip won’t feel like he could have done visiting England while a person visiting New Jersey and Virginia as a tourist would almost feel both are same states (except the differences in street crimes).

Education - The quality of public education in United States is much lower than that of Europe, in fact it is lower than many developing third world countries. US High School students are much less aware of the world history and politics, have lower mathematical and scientific skills, possess lower reasoning and judgement capabilities than European students of the same age. Universities are prohibitively expensive, the better the university, the more expensive it is. Students are often immersed on a lifelong burden of debt or get wiped out of all savings for an average college degree which costs a fraction in European countries or is free as in case of countries like Germany.

Media and News - The media in United States is very short sighted and excludes the rest of the world which it considers as an amusement park. The political and cultural news about the world is often negatively biased from an American point of view to suit ‘Americanised’ tastes. Sex and sexuality is either commoditised in an obsessively unhealthy way or vilified, making it to look as a dirty and evil act. In contrast, political and cultural news in European media is much more worldly and inclusive. News media tend to present facts rather than biased opinions; sex and sexuality is shown in a positive and healthy light as compared to the US.