[JR]

American vs. The world.

i am American. i have spent most of the last 7 years in Europe and Eastern Europe. i travel. i travel a lot. i like spending a lot of time seeing new things, places, peoples and cultures.

in the last year and a 1/2 or so, i have been to:
France (several times)
Spain
England
Holland (several times)
Germany (several times)
Austria
Italy
Russia
Luxembourg
Belgium
Monaco (a couple times)
Thailand (had apartment there)
Korea

and probably others i am forgetting right now. so its not exactly like i am many Americans who dont get much past the 7-11 down the street, yet feel that they have a valid opinion about life in Rome.

American vs Europe/world and my opinion.

I have made this points on GFY many times in the recurring debate about "why do we hate you/why do they hate us/Europe vs America" debate

some factors that play a key role.

media:

media in most of the world shows far more about the US than the US shows about the world. Even Alex's beloved CTV will show a trivial story about a food poisoning incident in FrozenNipple, South Dakota as if it was right down the street from Saskatchewan. Canadian TV talks about America like it is a part of Canada or like there is no border. I remember North America being used far more often that referrences to "Canada/USA". They refer to States and cities without distinguishing between countries.

i dont think this happens in the US. if it does, it happens merely a fraction of the time it does in Canada.

this happens throughout the world from what i have seen. in Russia, 1/3rd of their news about the world is about the US. This cannot be said of other countries. For example, people in Japan are probably not continually bombarded with stories about pop stars breast implants in the Czech Republic or box office grosses of the latest film of Polands greatest director.

Nationalism:

One of the most interesting things that is very different between Europe, a lot of the world and the USA are the various forms and degrees of nationalism.

I dont mean pride, arrogance or a sense of superiority. i mean that in Europe and most of the world, people identify each other more by country/nationality. For example ALMOST ALWAYS, European news says the same things in headlines/stories. "The Italians said..." "The French decided..." "Germany is going to...." and group an entire country and culture together behind the remarks or actions of one politician. Europe in the news seems to me to often be more like competing sports teams or something.

It makes me crazy to keep reading stories that say "the americans still want..."

I am not "America"
I am not "Americans"

To most Europe and the world, George Bush = "Americans".
To me, that sucks balls.

i think this happens less in the US press. I could be wrong. but its one of the things that i am always aware of and watch because i see so much "America decides to..." rather than direct references to politicians or people. I think this happens less in American press and is one of the greater causes of a missunderstanding of how Americans perceive themselves vs. how the world perceives America. Americans see themselves as a nation deeply divided amoung political and idealogical lines with a wide range of opinions, beliefs and ideas. The rest of the world, mostly just sees "America"

Cultural perspectives, General Media Bias and political agendas.

All countries act in their own interests in the International playground of politics. People in a villiage in Dagestan may REALLY have no idea why the US or anyone is interested in what happens in Taiwan. To them, you wake up, you milk the goats, you butcher some chickens and sell some wool... all while being completely baffled by why anyone would try to assert their authority to influence the behavior of another country.

every country shows the news from its own perspective. bias is unnavoidable. everyone insists it isnt. Thats absurd and rediculous. This always spawns the typical GFY "my news is better than your news" debate. Showing a different perspective that is consistent with what may be news worthy to them, suddenly means that US news is just propoganda because they "see the real truth"

The truth is that Pakistan is probably spending less time talking about Madonnas latest hit or why Michael Jackson looks so freakish, as they are talking about all the Issues around the world that are related to the India, religion, or anything else that is important to them as a culture, people and country... and those events that may effect Pakistan and how. Whats important and relevant to people as a culture, society and country also determines what is newsworthy and determines how it is presented. Bias and different perspectives and view points cannot be avoided. Otherwise news would be a universal, boring, monotone, math formula... that is completely irrelevant to everyone.

Americans dont understand how the world perceives America

Americans really dont understand on the whole why many in the world do not like or certainly resent America. Bush in my opinion is fucking the image of America up in the world in the worst way possible.

The same words come up all the time in every arguement and conflict. The fact is, they sell well only to Americans.
"truth"
"freedom"
"justice"
"democracy"

then these words are used in a coversation about war, choosing another countries leaders, going around the UN and Security Council to attack another country. A REAL perceived war against Islam in the Islamic world. talking about the suffering of one people when politically convienent and ignoring the plight of others.

it all sells well in the US. it is apparently selling less and less in the rest of the world. Should we attack Iraq? sure, i think we should. Saddam Hussein should be shot in the head in my opinion. BUT should we send a bizarre contradictory message that we are going outside the democratic process of the UN in the interest of democracy? i dont think so. Should we be talking about attacking a country in the interest of freedom? i think thats a little contradictory.

a lot of this sells well in the US. to most who can only helplessly sit back and watch the worlds most powerful nation, most powerful military and most technologically advanced fighting force go around the UN and arguably international law, to attack a country, it doesnt.

Kyoto
Steel tarrifs
North Korea
Attack Iraq
etc etc.

The US, to the outside world looks increasinly like a runaway freight train. This is why i partially agree with the actions of and Germany, Russia, France, Beligium etc. its not about right or wrong... there is proving to be a legitimate need to keep a check on US power and global influence. It does not make attacking iraq any more right or wrong. But stabilty in the world begins with a majority opinion on the most serious of decisions - attacking another country.

inflated sense of self

every country has a different sense of self and it often varies greatly from world perception of that coutry. people talk about "American Ego" - well, i dont want to sound racist but i have spent a great deal of time around other people too. its not unique to America. America just seems to have the loudest and most frequently heard voice. RawAlex mentions Japan. I have known many Japanese who felt they were truly the worlds one, true
"Super Race". I have grown up fishing in Alaska in the Bering Sea. Many Norwegians. They too seemed to me to have a collective sense of superiority over others. Americans do too. So what? So does France. So does Germany, so do Middle Eastern countries, so do many who feel they dont receive the proper recognition for their achievements, or for religious grounds, or for the percieved greatness of their culture, history, past achievements etc. so what?

You cant say "American Ego" and refer to it as if it is some isolated phenomenon that only applies to the US. It would be hard to find a country in the world that did not have a collective sense of pride about their place of birth, their people, their history and their culture. its quite normal and expected.