a UK survey says 70% of Americans do not have passports...?

Question

Something occured to me at work today when an American customer asked me "What language is spoken in Brighton"...jokes asdie, this is just one of a heap pf dumb questions ive been asked by American tourists. And now I find that only 30%of Americans have passports. Do they know there is a WORLD OUTSIDE AMERICA? Its starting to really piss me off! I was also asked "How long did it take to build the bridge that goes from England to Scotland" ....... need I say more? What are youre views on this?

Answer 1

I am an Italian living in the USA and I found it weird too. Maybe in Europe more people have a passport because we are closer to Asia and Africa, and even some European countries require you have a passport to go through their customs. The USA are a continent themselves, and people are just happy to travel within them. If I was American, however, I would definitely have a passport!!!

Answer 2

I came to the US when I was 15... which is about 7 years ago... I have seen Exactly what you're seeing right now.

TO BE FAIR, before I came to the US, I Did NOT know much about the World. All I knew was that UK Speaks English and so does US ( and of course France speaks French and Germany speaks German this basic knowledge). Coming to the US opened my mind.

No offense to any Americans, I think they are very brilliant when it comes to technology, and mostly kind. Their Open and Free System enable them to learn whatever they choose to learn and religious freedom allows them to worship the way they want. US is a great country, or Nation.

I think Most Americans have enough of everything in the US soil. They don't need anything else from anywhere else other than things from US (well, at least they know lots of stuff are made in China)... This obviously shows Isolation is a great barrier for Americans to see the world.

Btw, it is a really really funny question: "How long did it take to build the bridge that goes form England to Scotland?" - to respond to this question, it's pure ignorance (Not in a sense that they're stupid, but they just either don't care and don't feel the need to know about the world) .They see US is the Only modern world, and Europe is a very Old civilization, South America is poor, Asia except Japan is poor, Australia and Canada are both like the US... some even asked me that Hong Kong is in which part of Japan?

I think Americans (To be fair, I should say People Grown Up in the US) simply have enough and see the World as US. When they have some extra cash and they travel, this shows proof of their ignorance (Again, NOT stupid, just don't know Enough in that particular area- well, in this case, the Modern World)

Answer 3

I hold my hand up here and say that as someone living in the UK, I don't have a (current) passport either. I did however make a bit of an effort when younger (prior to my passport expiring) of having a bit of a look around the world to see what's out there.

I managed to pop around Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Norway and even the USA prior to the age of 16. That was around the last time I felt the need to leave the country. Adolescence provided other distractions, I guess.

Nowdays, with the cost of passports having increased, and their complexity changing practically daily with biometric data to be incorporated to comply with American demands, I doubt that I will be able to afford another passport, let alone a flight anywhere that requires I hold one.

I do feel content however that my actions in avoiding long-haul flights are preventing the world from even more carbon dioxide emissions and pollutants being generated from air travel. I feel grateful that 70% of Americans, by not having a passport, are probably doing more towards preventing greenhouse gas emissions than anything their government is doing on their behalf.

Perhaps the more interesting figure would be what percentage of Americans have not left their state?

Answer 4

It is true that most Americans don't have passports, only those on business or the rich can afford to travel overseas these days. Some people just don't think it is safe because of all the "hate America" that is going around. Yes, I'm well aware of the world outside of America, but considering I have a target on my back why risk it. Last time I heard they speak English in Brighton. (Have worked with a few from that area over the years)

Answer 5

I'm a native New Yorker of Chinese heritage. And I've travelled all over the world (including England). It is probably true that a high percentage of Americans (300 MILLION) do not have passports, and it's true that many don't even leave the district/borough where they live most of their lives. It is limiting and they might have a narrow view of the world. However, it might prove that Americans are content to be home in the land of the free. A U.S. Passport (now coded with a special electronic chip) costs $67, which is ALOT of money for some people. And it is good for only 10 years. (The passport photo will cost an additional $8-$16.)
And in the past, Americans did enjoy the freedom of unhindered passage between Canada and Mexico; but by January 2007, all Americans will need a valid US Passport to re-enter the US. 9/11 changed everything for us.
My sister have actually said that she's Canadian when she was in Indonesia on business. Indonesians persecute the Chinese, and they certainly despise we Americans. We Chinese-Americans have a double target on our backs. In fact her employer provided instructions for possible evacuation by helicopter, to the German embassy, if "anything" happened in that country.
I'd say that college-educated and immigrant Americans are most likely to have a valid U.S. Passport. Americans are quite fond of Brits. It's obvious that it's not reciprocal...harking back to King George??
Have you ever been to America, and know about our 50 states -- diversity in people, wildlife, national parks (most in the world), tiny hamlets to large cities, every possible temperature/climate, the very poor to the wealthest people in the world? Do you know what is the major language spoken in Miami, Florida? Did you know that we have private schools where kids speak only German or French all day? I always meet German tourists in the most remote American places, like atop a mountain peak in Utah. I've never met a Brit atop any American mountain honestly. Where would Europe be if Americans did not come to relieve your tired soldiers in WWII?
And any question is a well-meaning opportunity to learn. It's ILLOGICAL (and contradictory) for you to despise American tourists who have THE passport. Bollocks to you!!

Answer 6

Americans don't need passports to go to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Bahamas and many other places in the Western Hemisphere. So, unless an American is fairly well-to-do and can afford to fly to Europe or another far away country, there is no need to have a passport. Most of us would have to save for a really long time to be able to afford to go to the UK etc. I can't afford to go anywhere but somewhere in the USA for now so I don't have a passport. I hope to someday go visit my great-grandparent's family farm in Norway someday and then I will get a passport.

Answer 7

There's a reason most American's don't have passports. When the majority of Americans take a vacation, they go to another state, which does not require a passport.

Any of the closest countries that we might visit (Canada, Mexico, Virgin Islands) do not require a passport as well.

In Europe it is much more feasible to travel from country to country, which furthers the need for a passport. Much of Europe is accessible without the need for air travel, thanks to a railway system. Flying from Idaho or Kansas to England would be expensive whereas taking a train from Germany to Italy would not be.

Answer 8

That statistic is pretty pathetic. I am not surprised by it either. Many a time have I been asked stupid questions by Americans and British people about where a certain country is or what language is spoken where. I noticed that people in Northern Ireland do not travel much either. I believe that the more one travels, the more open-minded they become. The people I know who have not travelled tend to be less knowledgable in geography and world cultures. It is valuable to possess cultural awareness, especially with regards to international business and technology.

Answer 9

I am an american and I don't have a passport...when in my teen years i traveled to canada( my only trip outside the US) didnt need one.by the way it was a 3 day drive just to get to the border ... I can drive for thousands of miles and not need a passport... I can go from mountains to deserts to plains to semitropical areas...all within my own country according to wikipedia "Great Britain stretches over approximately ten degrees of latitude"
Illinois, the State i live in goes for around six degrees of latitude according to wikipedia "36°58'N to 42°30'N" and I got 49 other states to go to

Answer 10

To many Americans not all, the world begins and ends with America they have no interest in anywhere outside the U.S.

Rather than laughing at them for asking about the England to Scotland bridge you should congratulate them for knowing Scotland is a totally different place to England.
I'm sure we, Brits ask stupid questions about America to Americans they just don't seem silly to us