Believe it or not, there is something we can stand to learn from our friends across the pond.

The U.S is suffering right now, there’s no doubt about that, and I’ve written about it previously (though the crap just keeps on coming), but it’s no secret that the world holds a very dim view of the country as a whole and has done for, well, most of the country’s short history. We British have always had our issues with the Americans, namely that we consider them to be far more OTT and generally more brash and louder than us, with our more reserved and under-the-radar ways differing entirely. You may agree or disagree with this assessment, but I’m not here to argue or rag on anyone, American, British, or other. In fact, I’m here today to give what may be an unpopular opinion to the Brits, which is that the Americans can actually teach us Brits a thing or two about being more open.

(What I’m about to explain is purely from my experience with and what I’ve seen of Americans – I’m sure people vary in their personalities, but the following is what I’ve seen quite consistently.)

Something I’ve learned in the past few years of working alongside and befriending Americans is that they are not afraid to say how they feel. If they feel something is wrong or doesn’t align with their way of seeing things, they will bring it up and start a conversation about it (and we pray they’re open-minded enough to see another point of view!). On the other side of that coin, if they like something they will say so, or if they see someone they want to talk to, they will do so. This generally means they wear their hearts on their sleeves and you can usually know where you stand with them. This could be both a blessing and a curse, but either way you choose to look at it, I think us emotionally repressed Brits could do with coming out of our shells in a similar way. Maybe not to the same degree – we’re far too self-aware to consistently announce what we’re thinking – but we’re in dire need of breaking the cycle that has always been fed to us as something positive since time immemorial: Keep calm and carry on. Sure, that worked in war time, and it may serve us again in the future (though I sure hope not), but on a day-to-day basis, we need to learn to be more in-touch with our emotions and less stoic in the face of upheaval; more honest about what is going on, in other words.

This is just my thought process coming to the fore, but perhaps this is partly why younger people are in such turmoil these days. Those my age, the Millennials, and surrounding us, the Gen X-ers and Gen Z-ers, are still working to break the cycle that the Boomers and Silent Generationers perpetuated. When they were children, they were to be seen and not heard. They were to be physically and mentally punished if they stepped out of line, and their lives, if they were lucky enough to have a good one, were more or less mostly mapped out for them before they were even born. We understand it wasn’t their fault, at least not entirely. They were just doing what they were taught to do, and breaking down those barriers and diverting from the given path was not as common as it seemed to become later on. Now, we are learning to balance being true to ourselves while being understanding of others and to make a fuss and carry on anyway.

I do think we’re very similar to Americans in many ways, though. I believe if we had a leader like Donald Trump we would stand up to them in the same way Americans, particularly Minnesotans right now, are doing. It boggles my mind that he was voted back into office in the first place (was it rigged? I hope we can find out some day). I also think Brits are getting there with being more forthright, doing away with the incessant people-pleasing and awkward small talk in favour of self-preservation and being comfortable with silence or not indulging in empty conversation. Although those traits still lie within me personally, I’m grateful to see how Americans conduct themselves and want to try to take a leaf from their book of confidence and conviction. This also goes for celebrating our achievements. We tend to let things pass under the radar when there are things we should be celebrating, because when we were children and we succeeded at something, we were often told, ‘Well, what do you want, a gold medal?’ Then we moved onto the next thing because it was just expected. Let’s celebrate ourselves and each other more, because goodness knows we need the vote of confidence!

I’d also like to note that nobody is perfect. Some Brits can be just as brash and lack self-awareness as anyone else in the world, and some Americans can be just as reserved and self-aware. We’re all still learning to get it right, just as anyone is, but it all works better if we can support each other to be better people in general.