Anyway, the point of this little entry is how people judge and perceive other people. This isn't really an American bashing entry though. It's kinda the opposite, and mainly due to the comments and outlook of a European traveller we've met.
So...
A lot of people say that Americans are stupid. Why? They are as intelligent as you and I. It's all how well educated we are. Some people that I know get annoyed about Americans not knowing anything about Europe or the rest of the world, but I have to actually ask, apart from MTV and what we see in the Media, how much do we (Europeans) know about the U.S.A, the rest of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australasia?
Great Britain is linked heavily to America in Politics, Music, Humour, Diet, etc that we expect that Americans must know as much about us as we know about them... but why is that? Maybe we have a self-righteous need, an elitist mindset that expects other cultures/peoples/countries to know about our own peoples and culture.
People also complain that people in the USA think they're the best society in the world. You can't really blame the people from the USA if they think this as this is what's portrayed in the media; We only know as much as we are taught.
Also, saying that America is all the same is a totally crazy mindset. The country is huge and diverse. If you live in America you don't actually need a passport to experience another world as there is a diverse range of peoples and cultures. Chinese, Italians, Spanish, French, Japanese, Lebanese, Filipino, Australian, the list goes on and on. You're not in the original place but communities have come together and settled, created their own world inside America that American people can experience. The landscapes of America are different throughout the country; snowy mountains, vast deserts, gigantic forests, sprawling urban landscapes, etc. In terms of McDonalds, Starbucks, Nike and all the huge brand names then I agree, they have a structure to them that will be constant throughout the world, but then we have: Tesco, Fedex, HSBC, Costa Coffee, New Look, TopShop, and loads of others, all sticking to a specific structure, all promoting their own same image.
There's also little (or big) things like walking down the streets in Long Beach, CA. Ok, so this is a small part of America, but all the buildings are different. The streets are set out into a grid structure but the buildings are all unique. In most of the places I've been in the UK, most of the buildings are the same, or are the same in an area, but the streets are all unique. This might not be the case in other parts of America but I know which option I'd rather have.
I think Long Beach has a massively Mexican influence and by visiting Spain I can see a resemblance in the cities and towns I've visited so maybe the more north you go in America, the more like Britain the cities become in terms of architecture.
Anyway, I know there's a lot wrong with American politics and education, health care, etc, but it really annoys me when people jump on the bandwagon of 'hating' America. Sometimes it feels as if people like to make themselves feel better by blaming other people and countries. People like to feel superior and this is an easy way to do it. Judging others is not intelligent and highly disrespectful if you judge them on knowledge and actions you know and they don't but assume what they know is inconsequential.
Not sure if that made sense.
I think an example would be saying Americans are stupid for not knowing where countries in
Europe are but then not knowing where each state in America is... something like that.
Anyway, it's around 1.30am/2.30am (don't have a watch) and I've
written most of this when I'm tired so not sure if it
makes sense.
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