The American Village

In a comment to a recent post on my blog about the French being both arrogant and wonderful at the same time, a remark about the American flavor of arrogance sparked a minor discussion.

So, In the interest of fairness I've dug up some interesting trivia about Americans and the US that I'd like to share.

According to the Economist, 34% of US citizens hold a passport. This is a scary number because it means that most Americans don't get out much. I'm speculating that a majority of those who do travel abroad do so for business or military purposes. It also means that Americans in general are not exposed to cultural differences in the same way that Europeans are.
As a European I think that traveling to other countries and get first hand experiences of other cultures and customs is something that helps me grow as a person, enlightens me and makes me more tolerant. So, the Americans in general are spending their time happily unaware about the world outside and perhaps afraid that if they venture too far they might fall of the edge of the earth.

In the recent PEW study (measures the worlds attitude towards the US) there are many interesting facts and conclusions illustrating just how isolated most Americans are from the rest of the world. Only 58% of Americans compared to 85% of the Germans (83% France) have heard that Hamas has recently won an election and only 76% of Americans compared to 98% of the Germans had heard about the Guantanamo abuses.
In the US 91% have heard about global warming, but almost half responded that this issue was of little or no concern. Well, I'm concerned since the US is a really really big producer of greenhouse gases...

A piece of good news is that the US image in UK, France, Germany and Spain is rapidly declining, which means that I'm not the only one who thinks that US foreign policy has taken a turn for the worse. And it only reinforces my suspicion that US is trying to build an empire based exclusively on American values and we as Europeans should not jump on that bandwagon.

However, speaking for myself, there’s more to it than just the way the US is handling the WOT. As a European I’m also flabbergasted by some of the aspects of internal US policy and I have very different views on abortion, gun control, the death penalty and various environmental issues + a lot of other stuff that I can’t think of right now. Combined this means that I feel more estranged from the US than ever before.

Don’t get my wrong. There is a lot of good stuff coming out of the US too. It’s not all bad, and still we should remember to treat the individual American with the same courtesy and respect that we bestow upon others and if we get the chance teach them to become more European.

Finally, a small joke:

George Bush: `So, what’s this hullabaloo between India and Pakistan all about anyway? ´

Dick Cheney: `They have conflicting opinions about Kashmir, Mr. President´

George Bush: `What?? They’re fighting over a sweater?? ´



JB