What Americans Think Of Themselves - And Other Countries!

During her U.S. tour, Pea interviews 27 Americans across the country, asking them to rate their happiness, describe what they'd change about America, name one country where they'd be happier, and use single adjectives to describe people from various nations. The responses reveal a country that's deeply self-aware about its political divisions but still broadly grateful to live in the U.S.

Happiness ratings cluster between 6 and 10, with no one below a 5 ​

• Older Americans reported being happier than younger ones
• Southerners rated themselves slightly happier than Northerners
• Men and women scored almost identically
• The guy who rated himself a 10 was a patriotic older man who said "there's no other place in the world I'd rather live"
• A construction worker rated himself a 6-7 and cited his job as the reason he couldn't go higher

Political division was the #1 complaint across almost every interview ​

• Richard (rated himself a 9): wants Americans to stop being so divided by party and actually listen to each other
• A Filipino-American man: everything in the U.S. gets reduced to "are you Democrat or Republican" — even missing a bus gets blamed on one party; the two-party system forces people into factions
• He adds a conspiracy angle: "the powers that be want you fighting each other so you don't get mad at them for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars that should be going to people that need it"
• A woman: the division is her number one thing she'd change
• A young man: the division is politically driven; "somebody will always have a problem with something"

The Filipino-American interviewee provides especially rich commentary ​

• His mother was born in the Philippines during an earthquake in Quezon City; family moved to America in the 70s
• He grew up with chicken adobo but volunteers an "unpopular opinion": he does not like mechado at all
• Grew up Roman Catholic — "Filipino Roman Catholic flavor, a little fanatical, with some Spanish Catholic mixed in"
• Rates his happiness a 6-7; says the missing ingredient is a sense of community
• His critique: "You get in your $50,000 SUV, drive from your house to the store, drive to your friend's house — you only interact with people you really know"
• Unless you're part of a religious organization, it's hard to meet people as a secular person
• Would be happiest in Denmark or somewhere Nordic — drawn to walkable communities, shared outdoor spaces, not being car-dependent, knowing your neighbors

The one-adjective game reveals consistent patterns ​

• Canada: overwhelmingly "friendly" or "kind" — got the highest marks from almost every American interviewed; Pea notes "way to go, Canucks"
• UK: "stubborn," "stuffy," "dry" (meant as a compliment about humor), "Posh," "a little annoying" — one guy specifically said he doesn't like the accent because "it feels like they're always acting"
• France: "uncaring," "pretentious," "fancy," and one guy said "they're there, they exist" — also pushback on the "romantic" stereotype with "they're a little too into it, tone it down guys, leave some for the American guys"
• Germany: "very severe," "structured," "they like beer"
• Australia: "easygoing," "shady" (from the Filipino-American), "brave" (for living there)
• Philippines: "very industrious" (from Richard, who's met many Filipinos), "hot" (from the Filipino-American, to Pea's amusement)
• Italy: "lovers"

Where would Americans be happier? Nordic countries dominated ​

• Multiple people named Sweden, Norway, or Denmark
• One woman cited happiness statistics she'd researched with her husband
• A construction worker of Norwegian descent wanted to visit family he'd never met in Norway
• The Filipino-American wanted somewhere walkable and communal like Denmark
• One older African-American man said he'd only been to South Africa and it made him grateful for the U.S.

North vs. South cultural differences came up repeatedly ​

• Northerners are direct — "what they're thinking is what they're gonna say, no filter"
• The Filipino-American argues this is actually more respectful: "they value your time"
• If someone's having a public meltdown in the North, people walk right past — "that's your business, I have stuff to do"
• Southerners are polite but indirect — "they talk in riddles"
• "Bless his heart" sounds sweet but actually means "you've messed up"
• A Southern woman explains: in the South, politeness is "yes ma'am, yes sir" and taking your time; in the North, politeness means getting to the point quickly — taking your time is seen as rude and wasting someone's time
• The Southern philosophy: "you attract more bees with honey than with vinegar" — people are friendly as a strategy to get you to go away; being rude invites confrontation
• Pea gets worried: "Should I be worried? People are so nice to me — are they just being nice or am I being stupid?"
• An African-American woman from the North says door-holding confused people in Michigan: "they seemed confused by my act of kindness"

Other specific complaints about America ​

• A woman's #1 change: paid maternity leave — "we have a minimum wage, why don't we have a minimum maternity leave?" (Pea notes the Philippines gets about 6 months)
• An older man: the economy and the drug epidemic
• A construction worker: healthcare and overdevelopment in Florida — "constantly being torn down so they can put apartments"
• A 64-year-old African-American man: racism — "it's subtle but yes, you experience it in your workplace, if you go to a restaurant, you know the difference"
• A younger man: housing affordability — houses that were $250-260K are now in the $400s; even with combined incomes, homeownership feels out of reach; wages haven't kept up with inflation (making $20.15/hr after 8.5 years at previous job)

Richard (the most optimistic interviewee) ​

• Rated the U.S. as "phenomenal" and his happiness a 9
• Says Americans get too wrapped up in political discord but "it's nothing we haven't been through"
• Believes the U.S. still has the best resources and opportunities
• Described the Philippines as "very industrious"

Pea's summary of patterns from all 27 interviews ​

• Everyone above a 5 on happiness
• Older people happier than younger
• Southerners slightly happier than Northerners
• No meaningful gender difference
• Canadians got the most consistently positive adjectives

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