Schooling Generations in American Exceptionalism

[Hack]

Originally Posted by UofMfan

I get that you don't want to be lumped in with every other American, I am guilty of that sometimes even though I hate it to be done to me.

I find that most US citizens that have traveled abroad (and I don't mean Cancun) have a better sense of how they are viewed by the rest of the world.

Having said that, most of what I have encountered, regarding how people from other countries view those form the US, has come not from TV or films, but from what the US has done with its image abroad.

Even in your post, and I say this for the sake of discussion, you mention this: "afterall, it is people like me who make the world economy go around." That in itself is a perfect example of how many US citizens feel. This is not true, the world economy is fueled by so many other countries, not just one country or one class. Perhaps back during the industrial revolution this was true, but it isn't the case anymore.

By the way, we pick up our dog poop here too, but we are greatly lacking in the cookie variety.

Thanks for your post.

OK, let me clear up the dog poop reference...in the Netherlands, they DO NOT pick up their dog poop. In fact, my girlfriend there thought it very odd that I would want to pick up after her dog when I was out walking it. And the first time I took her dog out, I discovered NO ONE picks up after their dog there. lol

I think that the last administration (I refuse to call him President Bush because he didn't win fair and square) did a huge amount of damage to our image abroad. Some of the most positive interactions I had with Europeans were about Obama. I had one of the poster-ized Obama tshirts that I wore out a few times while there, and got a lot of nice comments or smiles or friendly looks.

I happened to be in the Netherlands during their Liberation Day observance (as in World War II) last year, and I was always very moved at the mention of all the Allies -- US, Canada, British, etc. -- during the ceremonies and tributes. In fact, while wandering around a small village in Belgium, we went in to a church yard that was surrounded by cemetary. It was amazing to me that the WW II era graves of Canadian and RAF pilots who were shot down during the war were the best tended graves in the place. My girlfriend told me that it is a point of pride for the church, and in fact, the entire community, that they honor the soldiers who fought to liberate Holland and Belgium.

Yet, I get your reference that the US seems to have this need to be the world's policeman, or bully at times. I think there are times when we need to go flash the hardware and show some muscle just to keep the peace, so to speak. But I think when we get mired in situations we shouldn't be in because we are no more than a schoolyard bully, yes, that does hurt us abroad.

And my statement about making the world economy go around wasn't just about me. It was about Americans in general feeling that way. I don't think you can argue that Americans are not the most consumptive people on the planet. That is how we are viewed -- at least that is what my, albeit small, sampling of Europeans told me.

Jake