Differences Between the Czech Republic and the US

Let me start off by saying that finding the differences between two countries that are nowhere near each other seems like the easiest assignment on Earth. Although it did take a little bit more than luck to get my ideas out, I managed to come up with a few key differences between the Czech Republic and the United States.

One of the main differences I'm sure we can all see today is that the Czech Republic has not had quite as much political turmoil as the United States in the past few years. We have had a main place of business (the World Trade Centers) go down by terrorist attack, we have gone on a full-fledged attack of other countries, and right now, we happen to be in the middle of an enormous war. Another key issue in this political turmoil is the never-ending hate for our 'commander-in-chief'. Although I know not the exact role of government in the Czech Republic, I can only hope that they respect their leader more than ours is respected at the current moment.

Although there is more political mayhem in our country in the past few years, there has been way more national chaos in the Czech Republic in the last few centuries. Even as the author to Prague: A Literary Traveler's Companion wrote, people who have never moved from the Czech Republic have lived in 6 or 7 different countries their whole lives. There have been so many changes in power and shifts in what to even call the country, that it really is chaotic.

Even though there is this lasting chaotic effect on the country, the inhabitants seem to be a lot more carefree than your average American. Let me back this up with observations from the movie Kolya. The main character would openly flirt and be playful with women, joke around with his friend often, and just wholly lived a life that was considerably carefree with the amount of stress he had to deal with. No one in the movie seemed overworked, overstressed, or angry, as you see characters being in many American-set movies. Another set of evidence, although it was only a story, would be "What Shall We Do With It?" from Prague: A Literary Traveler's Companion. In this story, the characters were all very friendly with each other and wanted to help with their problem, even if they couldn't. This is something that, while it's not nonexistent, is sometimes quite rare in the United States of America.

Something that is done quite frequently around this country, however, is to travel to all or many of the different fifty states. Something that we don't necessarily gain from this, though, is a sense of cultural awareness. Of course different states do things differently, but not on a global scale as they do in, say, the different countries that create the European Union. As a resident of the Czech Republic, you are free to move around to any of the other countries in the E.U. This is a great way for residents of one country to be exposed to many different cultures. There are endless possibilities for the growth of cultural understanding with the ability to move freely around countries. This is a freedom that I'm sure a number of Americans would love to possess.

Although there are thousands of ways that the Czech Republic differs from the United States, I like to think that I at least scratched the surface of issues that go much, much deeper into contrast. Not only are the laws different, but so are the people, and most definitely the governing body and issues of international peace. I hope one day to go to the Czech Republic and experience these differences firsthand.