What do Americans think of British politics

1. 59

   Silverspeederposted 12 years ago

   What do Americans think of British politics
   
   A lot of people here in the UK see it as elitist so I was wondering what our American cousins think of our politics and politicians.

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2. 0

   JThomp42posted 12 years ago

   It appears to be much like our government with a conservative party and a labour party (Here we have the Republicans, conservative and the Democrats, the liberal party) The whole monarchy situation I do not understand. Of course, I know the Queen is not involved directly in politics, but as I understand she does have the power to do so.
   
   What also intrigues me is how they scream at one another during I suppose in what is known as The House of Commons? The same as congress here in the U.S.? Please correct me if I am wrong.

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   1. 59

      Silverspeederposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      i think you are right about the commons and congress being similar however i will say the commons does seem more like a kindergarten for spoiled brats and congress seems a little more high school in its operation. Thank you for your answer

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      JThomp42posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Agreed.

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   Old Empresarioposted 12 years ago

   First off, the politics of Britain are never discussed in any of the media outlets in the US. Unless US citizens have been to the isles, they remain isolated from any real information on what's going on in Britain and Americans are forced to only make speculations based on the small narrative that is put forward through our media. That narrative essentially amounts to the fact that the British are "atheist socialists" who have a failing healthcare system that is bringing down their government. We also hear a little about the arguing and heckling that goes in the Parliament. Aside from that, Americans view the British as our military auxiliaries who assist us when we conquer desert countries. Aside from that, I think Americans are secretly enamored with your ancient aristocracy, even though it doesn't really mean anything over there anymore.
   My dad and his family are British, but I am thoroughly American, so I have some opinions on this. Although the forms of our systems are different, they are functionally very similar. Everything about US institutions is simply a dumbed-down and cheap carbon copy of what you have in Britain. I think the public discourse in Britain is a little more intelligent. I think your press discusses important matters a little more than ours does; even though it doesn't usually make a difference. But here, significant questions are not even discussed in the press. Although we have two political parties, the parties are not very different in matters of foreign policy. I think British political parties are similar in this way. Our two parties split hairs on domestic issues, but they argue publicly about nonsense meant to entertain the public and sway voters over trivial issues. Our two parties have various factions within them that may be more liberal, religiously fanatical, progressive, fiscally conservative, etc. I think British political parties used to be more aligned, but perhaps they are more fractured these days.

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      Silverspeederposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for your comment. We seem to have American politics in our media everyday at the moment as both the BBC and Sky seem to have jumped on the Obama bandwagon for some reason.
      Our new aristocracy seem to be the mega rich.

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4. 72

   dashingscorpioposted 12 years ago

   The majority of Americans don't concern themselves with their own politics!
   If the truth be told we see ourselves as being the center of the universe and the rest of the world is simply a "vacation destination".
   Don't get me wrong there are lots of people here who are concerned with what happens in the world but I'm talking about the (masses) or "average Joes" working 40- 50 hours a week trying to put food on the table for his family. That guy just wants to escape into television, sports, hobbies, or relax with an ice cold beer.
   The more successful one is the more time he or she has to focus on "big picture" items.

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5. 73

   Jeff Berndtposted 12 years ago

   I'm sorry to tell you that most Americans /don't/ think of British politics. Most people here wouldn't know who David Cameron is.
   
   A lot of us seems to be obsessed with the Royals, however. In fact, a lot of American families (especially ones that aren't particularly well-off) like to talk about their noble heritage, and how if enough people in England all die at the same time, then Cousin Jim-Bob gets to be Earl of Frothingsloshe or something.
   
   Speaking as someone who does occasionally listen to the BBC World Service, though, I wonder how different things would be if we did our elections for congress the way you do your elections for the House of Commons: no primaries, just one election day, and whoever gets the most votes gets in.
   
   I think your Parliament is a lot more interesting to watch in session than either house of our Congress.
   
   I'm also intrigued by the idea of the Life Peer. If I understand it correctly, when someone does something awesome for the country, the Queen can give them a seat in the House of Lords for life, but it doesn't pass down to their descendants.
   Neat idea. Better than inherited wealth making someone powerful.

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6. 61

   adorablebabyposted 12 years ago

   I say they are stupid because they claim americans are stupid but over all we are all the same race thus calling ourself stupid so pretty much we are all titled stupid regardless

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