Quote - Life in America

Life of an average American is more controlled than the life of any citizen of Russia, China, or, say, Afghanistan. Teenagers here can't skip school to spend a lazy afternoon in a forest with a girlfriend, because you can't get anywhere without a car, you won't get a license until you are 16, and having sex on public lands is a crime. Your every step is recorded by security cameras, credit card companies, and your neighbors, who would immediately inform the officials if they don't like the way you raise your children or the plants you grow in your backyard.

In most countries, you see European, Australian, even Israeli tourists more often than Americans. One reason, of course, is that most Americans don't have vacations to speak of (just a week or two), so if they ever get abroad, they are limited to the most accessible tourist traps. But even those who can travel don't do it. People here are generally scared of the world, and only go to a few popular places like Florida, Hawaii, or Cancun. Internet access is slowly changing things, but the United States are still a "closed" society.

~ Vladimir Dinets, a Russian living in America