1.  Following the United States Public Law 103-150 (the so-called Apology
    Resolution to Native Hawaiians for the Overthrow of the Kingdom of
    Hawaii) in 1993, the Reinstated Hawaiian Kingdom and Government was
    formed in 1999 with the goal of reinstating Hawaii's former
    sovereignty and having the Kingdom's authority recognized as the
    lawful government of Hawaii instead of that of the United States. How
    strong is the Hawaiian independence movement today? Is there the
    slightest possibility that the movement could ever succeed in its
    endeavors, considering that the Constitution does not permit states to
    secede from the union?

2.  The District of Columbia is not part of any state. Does it have its
    own law in a similar fashion as each of the 50 states?

------------------------

1. Why is American Football called "football," when only a minor part of
   the game has anything to do with feet and the ball simultaneously? What
   is the background of the name, and have there been any optional names
   for the sport?

2. What is the status of the languages the immigrants spoke back in the
   17th, 18th and 19th centuries? Are they taught in schools in the
   regions they were spoken in, or are they spoken in family tradition. Or
   have these languages simply disappeared from these regions?

------------------------

1. It is said that (Christian) religiousness is one of Americas most
   pervasive core values. With this in mind, how do Americans justify the
   death penalty? In general, is there much public debate about this,
   namely the (some people would say) irreconcilable conflict between
   Christian values and the death penalty?

2. In recent years there has been research by international relations
   scholars into different "anti-Americanisms" that have been seen to grow
   in the world especially after Sept 11, 2001 (see example).

   How aware in general are Americans of these sentiments; is there much
   about them in American media? If Americans are aware of them, have they
   affected their understanding of themselves as a nation at any level?

------------------------

1. What kind of relationship is kept up between the different U.S. states?
   Is there any mutual rivalry or pride? Have any states ever claimed a
   kind of independence? Are there stereotypes or jokes made by one state
   about another? What are they?

2. Why are Americans considered to be ignorant of the culture, history and
   geography of other countries?  Are they? I asked some Americans that I
   met here and it appears that they agreed with the stereotype. The
   reason they gave is the education system, which seems to be very
   ethnocentric. They said they do learn a lot about their country, and
   also learn about other countries. But they only seem to learn the
   American perspective. About the Vietnam War, for example, they said
   that everyone knows when the Americans fought it and that it happened,
   but not many people know why or how it ended. And they believe this is
   because they lost that war. And another reason given is that the USA is
   already a big country with a lot of different cultures so they already
   have a lot to learn about themselves.

------------------------

1. Which states are more Democratic and which are more Republican? In
   other words, which states vote for the Republicans and which for the
   Democrats? Are there huge regional differences?

2. What if you don't have health insurance and you are taken ill? Can
   patients be denied treatment due to their inability to pay the fees?

------------------------

1. Do the copyright laws in USA differ much from those in Finland? Is
   there any organization that resembles the Finnish Teosto?

2. If church and state are separated, why do politicians refer to God in
   their speeches? Is it commonly accepted or do people frown upon it?

------------------------

1. What is jury duty like?  Does it concern all American citizens?

2. Why do Americans use garbage disposal units in their kitchens? For
   Europeans this way of garbage disposal sounds a bit odd.

------------------------

1. The US is one of the most technological and scientific countries in the
   world, and at the same time one of the most religious. I cannot
   understand that Creationism is taught in schools and real scientific
   theories like Darwin's isn't. Does it depend on the State? Why does the
   religion have still this influence on teaching? What about secularism?

2. Last year in one of my English classes we talked about the letter of
   Chief Seattle to President Pierce in 1855, and about the importance of
   nature for native Americans. Does nature in general have an importance?
   What is the relationship of Americans with their National Parks?

------------------------

1. In Finland, people are generally reluctant to talk about religion. How
   openly do Americans discuss their religious beliefs?

2. Do homeschooled children have the same opportunities in life as the
   kids who have been to school? Does homeschooling have any negative
   impact on their future? For example, does it make it more difficult to
   get into universities?



1. In US-1 we talked about different dialects in American English. I
   couldn't help but think the situation is somewhat similar in Finland.
   People seem to think the 'coolest' dialect is that of Helsinki region,
   whereas people from, for example, Savonia sound ridiculously funny to
   some people. Is there any reason the situation with American English
   dialects and the situation with Finnish dialects is NOT comparable?

2. Do Americans in general speak languages well? Do they study foreign
   languages a lot?  If so, which ones?

------------------------

1. It is said that 1 in 7 Americans don't speak English as their native
   language. What types of people does this one seventh consist of? Is it
   just recently arrived or poorly educated immigrants, or could there be
   for example a portion of people who speak another language at home and
   think of that as their mother tongue?

2. How do Americans in general view immigrants and immigration into their
   country? Illegal immigration is of course a whole other story in
   itself, but do where they come from and what they end up doing for a
   living in the States factor into how warmly foreigners are welcomed?

------------------------

1. I have read that The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate
   in the industrialized world. That made me wonder what kind of health
   education or sex education students are given at school. Are they
   provided with information about contraception and disease prevention?
   If so, why are there so many pregnant teenagers? Are there religious
   reasons for not using contraception?

2. In class we were told that Americans are very hard-working and
   persistent, and many don't want to take a vacation at all. They are
   also expected to take part in some activity outside work. How many
   hours does a typical American work a day, and how many days a week?
   When do they have time to spend with their families, if not on a
   vacation? What would be typical examples of freetime activities? Would
   they be taken part in as a family?

------------------------

1. In Finland there are strict regulations concerning the correct usage of
   the Finnish flag. The American flag on the other hand seems to be used
   quite liberally. What kind of flag etiquette is there concerning the
   American flag? How strictly is the use of the flag monitored and are
   there penalties for failing to follow the etiquette?

2. What is the relationship between the states and the central government
   like? What kinds of things does the federal government dictate and what
   kinds of decisions are left to the states?

------------------------

1. There are a lot of foreign and subtitled programs and such on Finnish
   television. In comparison, how much do Americans (in general) watch
   programs that are made somewhere else or in a foreign language? What's
   the general attitude towards subtitles?

2. Since American people seem to be quite patriotic, I'd like to know what
   the general knowledge of other cultures is like among average
   Americans? How much do they teach about other cultures and for example
   European history in schools? Also, how up-to-date are Americans
   generally with current events in other parts of the world?

------------------------

1. TV in the US; Most of us have at least some knowledge about the
   programs and technology in the US, but I'd like to konw about TiVo in
   layman's terms... Also, are the "After-School Specials" really as bad
   as all the pop-culture references seem to indicate? Oh, and are there
   any kind of statistics available on how many Americans use TV as their
   only news-source? I am especially interested in people who rely solely
   on the "truth" of FOX-News...

2. I know why the right to arm bears... ahem... right to bear arms is in
   the US Constitution... But why do people, after all these years, still
   think that gun-contol is anti-American? I get that big corporations use
   all kinds of ways to influence people, but somehow it just does not fit
   in my head why organizations like the NRA have such a strong influence
   in the politics...

------------------------

1. American television programs seem to have a commercial break every five
   minutes or even less (for example, "we'll be right back after these
   messages!" in talk shows). Is this purely out of capitalism or, as it
   has been suggested in Finland, that Americans simply can't focus on a
   program for longer than five minutes at a time?

2. Why is the American government so heavily populated with far left and
   far right wing politicians instead of middleground people?



1. Are there traffic-related laws other than the open container ones that
   differ from state to state, and if so, are they known to cause problems
   to people travelling in different states?

2. How rapidly are the regulations on gambling changing? Also, Utah and
   Hawaii seem to be the strictest states on this issue, why Hawaii?

------------------------

1. Barack Obama announced a few days ago that all U.S. troops will be
   brought home from Iraq by the end of this year. What exactly have the
   U.S. achieved by the War in Iraq?  How do  the Americans feel about the
   war, do they think it's a good thing and justified because of 9/11?
   Have there been any large demonstrations or peace movements (like there
   were against the War in Vietnam)?

2. I've read that there are many dumb laws in the U.S. For example, in New
   York "A person may not walk around on Sundays with an ice cream cone in
   his/her pocket" and in Alaska "Moose may not be viewed from an
   airplane". Every state seems to have a few crazy laws of its own. Where
   do these laws originate from and are they truly enforced nowadays?

------------------------

1. The American people seem to be very proud of themselves and their
   country, unlike the Finns, who often wonder why anyone even comes here
   willingly. How come the Americans have such pride in themselves and we
   don't? Is it the culture of modesty in Finland or the history of the US
   or what?  America surely has its share of problems with the education
   system, social security and such, and Finland is quite a good place to
   live after all, even though it surely also has its problems too.

2. How does the American public feel about increasing social benefits?

------------------------

1. 16, 18, 21: those are the magical numbers for anyone growing up in the
   U.S. How does the American society justify the fact that 16-year-olds
   are allowed to drive a car, become de facto adults at the age of 18,
   yet it is only upon turning 21 are they allowed to possess and consume
   alcohol and tobacco products?

2. Why is it so that even though English is obviously the most commonly
   spoken language in the United States and is the language of the
   government, the US does not have an official language?

------------------------

1. What are the big names of modern art in USA today? Are Americans
   interested in art in general?

2. Why are there many religious people in the "Bible belt"?

------------------------

1. As the U.S. is a highly individualistic country, the relationships to
   one's family aren't as important there as they are in, for example,
   India. What are the relationships like in a typical American family?
   For example, in many American television series set in big cities,
   adult characters don't seem to have much contact to their parents, not
   to mention to their grandparents. Is that a realistic image?

2. During World War II, the American Japanese were treated as highly
   unreliable, and many of them were forced to live in concentration
   camps. Has there been an official apology for that? How are ethnic
   Japanese people treated in the United States nowadays?

------------------------

1. People living in the US are sometimes portrayed as ignorant about
   history and other countries. Is that image just a stereotype that's
   been blown out of proportion or is there some truth to it?

2. There seem to be few interracial couples in American television
   programs, at least in those that are shown in Finland. Are they a taboo
   or outside the target audiences?

------------------------

1. How much public support and power (as in representation in the
   Congress) does the Tea Party movement have? Is the movement all about
   cutting taxes, or are there some other issues it is concerned with?

2. Even though the principle of separating state and church is written in
   the constitution, does religion play a role in the politics of the
   United States?

------------------------

1. Is there any movement towards adopting the metric system in the U.S.?

2. We have all heard of stereotypes about Italian Americans, Mexican
   Americans and so on, but has there ever been any, positive or negative,
   stereotypes about Finnish Americans?

------------------------

1. When the US troops killed Osama Bin Laden there were big celebrations
   at Ground Zero and I heard numerous people say that they were "so proud
   to be American today". How was the death portrayed in the media?  How
   big a portion of Americans believe, for example, that they had the
   right to kill Bin Laden and not give him a trial or the right to attack
   Afghanistan in 2001 even though The United Nations Security Council did
   not authorize the attack? Is there division between the Republicans and
   the Democrats?

2. What are the best-known traditional songs/folk songs in America?

------------------------

1. I'm wondering about environmental awareness in the U.S. When I went
   there for a trip, I was really surprised how they throw everything
   together in one bin. Some said recycling is more costly since in
   America there is a lot of barren area where they dumped trash and burn
   or whatsoever. Still, it wouldn't make any difference in a matter of
   environment. My question is, does that also depends on the states?
   Wouldn't environmentalists have a movement to go against this?

2. In America, possession of guns is relatively tolerant. Even if those
   who want to possess a gun have to go through test and get a license,
   isn't there a lot more possibility of crime in society? What is the
   background and what's people's notion about this issue in general?