I’m American….Shhh!! Don’t tell!
Analyzing the pandemic of global American Hatred
By Jessica Long
02/27/07 "ICH" -- -- Alright, alright!! The secret is out….. I
am, regrettably, not Canadian. In fact, I am an American from a
small city called Olympia, WA about three hours south of the
Canadian border. But shhh…. Don’t tell! Perhaps if you knew the
grief these three hours distance have caused me the last six
years you wouldn’t judge me so harshly for this little white
lie.
I represent the 7% of Americans that travel abroad each year.
Ordinarily, I would be proud to belong to this statistic. Yet
having done the majority of my globetrotting during the Bush
Administration years, I find my nationality to be the biggest
cause of stress in my travels. I have learned that being an
American is something you can no longer be proud of- well, at
least if you have any knowledge of global affairs. In fact I am
ashamed of my nationality. But wait a second here…. before I am
accosted by the headstrong patriot with ten “United we stand”
bumper stickers adorning his SUV, let me say this: I understand
the value of pride in opportunity, equality and justice- but NOT
in nationalism for the sake of nationalism! And that is what is
at stake here: American insular ideology. Traveling abroad has
allowed me a new perspective on this skewed American self-image.
I am grateful for my opportunities, my freedom, and my standard
of living- but I am ashamed of my government’s corruption, my
people’s ignorance and my nation’s neo-colonial egotism. But you
needn’t be a hardcore lefty to agree with me. All you need is to
go abroad to be reminded of the global hatred toward our nation.
Not only is it not safe to be an American abroad, it is not
tolerated! The majority of Americans I meet while traveling
admit to the same lie as I do: “I am, uh… Canadian.” We deny our
nationality to avoid the scowls, jeers, lectures, and sometimes
violence from other foreigners. In the last six years, I have
traveled to Africa twice, backpacked Southeast Asia and Central
America and lived a brief time in Europe for a total of 12
different countries. Above all, one thing has been made very
clear to me: The world hates us. And if the whole world hates
our country, don’t you suppose we ought to figure out why?
According to radio talk show host and best-selling author
Michael Medved, global American hatred stems from “their”
jealousy, “their” anti-capitalist agendas and “their” contempt
for our “toxic pop culture.” Okay, that explains the sentiments
of Islamic extremists, French idealists and Latin American
Marxists- but what of the rest of the world? Medved admits that
“American hatred has reached pandemic proportions” extending to
the “corners of the globe.” Can jealousy and communism really be
that contagious? Not when you look at western Europe, whose
standards of living are fueled by their capitalist
endeavors…..so why?
A survey performed by the Pew Research Center and cited in The
Economist challenges Medved’s perceived reasons for American
hatred. The study found that The Netherlands, Spain, China and
Germany were the top four nations who viewed America
unfavorably. With the exception of China, these anti-American
countries are NOT economically struggling, culturally
conservative or lenient toward Communism. So can we truly blame
envy, Marxism and pop culture? The standard of living in The
Netherlands, Spain and Germany are of the highest in Europe.
They are also considered culturally liberal in their perception
of foreign “pop culture” and are not known for their
anti-capitalist motives. In Britain and Canada, a little under
half of the population views American unfavorably. This is
alarmingly high given these are two of our largest allies. The
study did find that India and Poland liked us though! Oh….but
wait! This can be explained. From 1947-91, India went through a
period of Socialism and Economic isolation fueled by
anti-capitalist and anti-American thinking. An article in The
Futurist suggests that it was the failures of the Indian
economy, coupled with the fact that Indian-Americans are the
wealthiest ethnic demographic in the U.S., that lead them to
turn against socialist endeavors and embrace American ideals.
Similarly, Poland and Russia, who also favor America, do so
because of their lack of faith in the communist system which
fell in 1991. Given the end of the Cold War and the collapse of
the Soviet Union, we know why some like us. But not why the rest
hate us. Why the hate? Believe it or not, we can’t entirely
blame the Bush administration for this one either. Rather, we
must blame the insular ideology that isolates the American
citizen from the rest of the world: Americans don’t travel.
American’s don’t know. And still worse, Americans don’t care. We
claim to run the world, while statistics show that we know very
little, if anything, about it.
According to the European Travel Commission, only 18% of
Americans own passports. This does not take into account the
number of newly naturalized citizens either. When we compare
this statistic to 41% of Canadian citizens who own passports,
the U.S. appears much more culturally secluded than our northern
brothers. Furthermore, three times the number of Australians own
passports than Americans. Thus we cannot blame our lack of
travel and global interest on our geographic size or location.
We do not travel because our insular ideology implies there is
no need. It is a deeply rooted American creed that “we are the
best country in the world” and “innately right,” if not
“saviors,” in all global action. Based on this mentality, there
is little need or interest to learn about other countries. In
2006, a survey commissioned by National Geographic found that
85% of young Americans (ages 18-24) could not locate Iraq or
Israel on a map. 90% could not locate Afghanistan. 75% of
Americans cannot locate Thailand on a map, even after the highly
publicized tsunami of 2004.
In 2002, a different geographic survey was given out to the
United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico,
Sweden, and Great Britain. American citizens performed the worst
with the exception of Mexico who scored only slightly lower.
This is not just a reflection of our education system- it is a
reflection of our ideology. How so? Because only 30% of
Americans think it is important to know the location of
countries in the news. What do these statistics say to the rest
of the world? Simply, that while Americans have no problem in
attempting to run the world, we have little experience in how it
works. It is on this ignorance that we justify our wars, trade
relations and political action in a rapidly globalizing world.
Aside from being fat and loud, the dangers of the American
stereotype lie in the fact we are viewed as being simultaneously
globally ignorant and culturally egocentric. This is our
downfall.
Douglas Richardson, executive director of the Association of
American Geographers in Washington, D.C. agrees that geographic
knowledge is crucial for functioning in a rapidly globalizing
world.
Remember the fall of Rome? I am not suggesting a similar fate
but merely suggesting that Americans should be aware of their
insular ideology as we stand pitted against the peoples of the
world in a global showdown. We must partake in the global arena
as knowledgeable, cultured and open-minded individuals if we are
to preserve any form of international decency we may have left.
If not, be prepared to raise an apologetic, timid generation who
looks down in same every time they say, “I am an American.”
Jessica Long graduated Western Washington University with a
degree in Political Science. When she's not travelling the
world, she makes her home in Washington State.Click here
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