What does abnormal mean then?

There isn't any value in "paying off debt" at a national level. The debt is scheduled in the form of bonds, which are treated as investment vehicles. Debt is "payed off" when holders cash out their bonds, which they can do voluntarily at any time (with some limitations/penalties for early liquidation) and which the government (US anyway) never fails to cover. If the government forcibly bought back everyone's bonds prematurely, it would destroy the value and trust in bonds as an investment, destabilizing the global economy in several different ways.

The government is not a business or a household, so the imperative to operate at a net surplus just isn't there. The extension of government debt is a sign of continued expectations of growth and political stability. Trying to remove all the debt from the system is like trying to collect all the rainwater in a region and store it in barrels instead of letting it cycle through the earth and natural bodies of water. It might seem like "saving for a rainy day" but really you're preventing a resource from flowing through the system where it can do the most good.

Oh okay that sounds right

I believe the record in that case is in Venezuela

I thought it was kilimanjaro