What do you think of the United States?
Put to people in Abuja and Lagos by two Nigerian contributors, and, from the inside, to a young man in Charlotte after a pick-up soccer game. The Nigerian answers come with their sources attached, which is what makes them useful: nobody claims to have been there, and everybody says where the picture came from.
The answer from inside the country is the one that agrees with the answers from outside it: the dream is real, and it is for somebody else.
The answers
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A very big state that controls the world’s affairs.
“we know US to be a very big big state. And they control most of the affairs in the world.”
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Racism. School shootings.
“Racism. … School shooting.”
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A nice place, but Nigeria is the best.
“I would say it’s a nice place, but I don’t have any opinion yet because Nigeria is the best for me.”
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The dream is here, and it is not for everybody.
“it’s here, but it’s not for everybody … common folk, not so much”
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The majority of people respect the law.
“I like this country because all the... All the people, or the majority of the people Respect the law”
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Here you leave work and pass a supermarket.
“Aquí tú sales del trabajo Y pasas por un supermercado Y si quieres comprarle el supermercado completo Lo compras”
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More opportunity here than in Canada.
“I just feel like there’s more opportunity in the U.S. than there is Canada.”
Other questions the archive has answered
- What is the most important global issue today? 8
- Is the internet good for us? 9
- What made you smile today? 9
- What is Ethereum? 7
- How has the place you live changed in your lifetime? 6
- Do you have a message for the builders? 5
- What would you say to someone under ten? 3
- If you could ask the whole world one question, what would it be? 22
Every answer on these pages is a quote checked against the transcript of the video it came from. To put a question to your own street, see One Question. To find a word across every transcript, search.