US Becomes Laughingstock of World for Something Other Than Gun Laws

By Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker

18 March 16

The article below is satire. Andy Borowitz is an American comedian and New York Times-bestselling author who satirizes the news for his column, "The Borowitz Report."

n an indication of shifting global attitudes toward the United States, the nation has become the laughingstock of the world for something other than its gun laws, a new survey of foreigners indicates.

According to the survey, which was conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, America’s gun laws, which used to inspire the most derision toward the country from people around the world, now place a distant second.

In another startling result, the U.S. Congress’s position on climate change, which in the past had been a leading candidate for making the U.S. the world’s favorite punch line, also finished far out of the money.

Davis Logsdon, who supervised the poll for the University of Minnesota, said he was struck by the unanimity of foreign respondents when they were asked to name what, in their opinion, currently made the United States the laughingstock of the world.

“In all the years we’ve done this survey, we have never had ninety-four per cent of respondents give an identical answer,” he said.

When asked to explain why they chose the answer they did, a wide majority of those surveyed were unable to stop laughing long enough to give a coherent response, Logsdon said.