I want to bring something to attention that has come up quite often in my travels around Europe…which is, that many Europeans believe that most Americans are both ignorant and incompetent. I have heard “typical American” stories from various people of various nationalities and it bothers me.
This is a touchy subject because no one enjoys being called ignorant or incompetent…however, I want to address it. I do not believe that Americans are either of the latter, however, how am I supposed to justify actions and reactions of my fellow countrymen. Especially considering I have only met a fraction of the 300 million inhabitants of the US.
One cop out answer that I don’t enjoy using but have used (especially for European football…or soccer as we call it), is that our media does not provide us with much, if any at all foreign news/media. You could also say the same about the news from within the US – it is skewed and mainly irrelevant… How else can you explain that I hear more about Kanye West’s VMA act than the health care plan being worked on (or at least I think it is being worked on, because I haven’t seen much concerning it in my news feed). If you are on the other side of the argument here, please give me your input.
Here is a more tangible case – I just saw an American couple being interviewed about the upcoming Greek elections and the couple themselves said “Well I guess we are typical Americans, we don’t know anything about your government or how it works…”
1 – If you make a comment like that, you better be heading to the parliament/town hall or library right after to learn, so that next time you get asked that question you don’t have to make the same reply…because that would most certainly be considered ignorance.
2 – From the other side of the fence…how many governments do we need to familiarize ourselves with? I can firmly say that if an individual knows something about 2 governments, 1 of them will most likely be the American government. But, if I were to ask a Greek about the parliament in Germany or the Mexican congressional system, I wouldn’t expect a detailed answer if any answer. So, the question is – do you learn everything about a few systems, a little about every system, etc. ??
This whole article can be true for many foreign country affairs: politics, education, health care, conflicts, history, etc…
Personally – I don’t find myself too utterly fascinated with any sort of governmental system, so, I don’t mind not learning all there is to know about other systems. However, I am quite intrigued by education and health care of both my country and other countries. They are both a hot-topic in the US currently and maybe by looking at our fellow western civilization countries over here in Europe, we could get some ideas and answers we are looking for. Take for example – the health care systems in France and England are unsurpassed and the educational systems in The Netherlands and Germany as well.
If you are interested in any of this, I strongly recommend calling up your neighbors across the pond or just asking Wikipedia…and if you are interested in talking about how Europeans feel about the US in other regards, feel free to ask… I have heard it all (from perceptions of Las Vegas to 9/11 conspiracy theories)
I am really curious about everyone’s opinion on all of this, so please comment!
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A Spartan in Spain 
I’ll add some of my two cents on your perceptions of the media. To answer how else can it be explained that you hear more about Kanye and the VMAs than the health care debate is easy — it sells. It was also a break in between the 24/7 coverage of health care. You’ve been missing out on the media saturation of the health care debate for the past several months, and honestly, it’s getting ridiculous. Fox News is calling Obama Hitler, and CNN thinks the protestors are crazy conservatives. There isn’t any actual information on the health legislation, just opinions and over-exaggerations from both sides. That’s why I’m consuming less and less mainstream media and finding my information from alternative sources — blogs, organizations and podcasts. Honestly, the media are too concerned with money right now and unfortunately don’t have the resources to provide content to smaller groups of people. That’s why it’s the mass media — it needs to sell to the mass audiences. Is it making everyone dumber? Probably. I know that more and more people aren’t getting their news from the mainstream anymore, and I think this is a pretty good thing.
I’d be interested to see how Europe is covering the health debate, but that’s another post. Maybe you can write about that soon?
To discuss your other point, I don’t think it’s absolutely imperative to know every single detail about a country before you visit it. It’s almost egotistical for me to assume everyone who visits my country knows about how my government works (or is it even working? I digress). It’s good to have an understanding of different models of government, but I think it would be better to be able to talk to someone from a different country and compare/contrast how each other’s government works.
Those are my thoughts. I think you bring up a lot of points here and it would be interesting for you to take them apart more.
Kev, Because you’ve been out of touch of US news…Here’s an old lady’s slant on the health issue… As I understand things… The “Health Care Plan” does not exist in any particular form.It seems that no one has actually sat down and read any precise plan! i.e. there is no actual written plan! Congress wants to pass a bill to authorize one. After the bill is passed, then they’ll put something together. The idea of health care for all is in itself good. How to go about getting it is another story. Massachusetts and some other states passed a mandate that every person HAD to have health insurance. If they don’t get coverage, they’re facing a fine. This is pretty much what Obama et al want to have on a national level. Unfortunately, in the above mentioned states, it hasn’t worked at all. Affordability in its many forms has been a major stumbling block as is enforcing the mandate. Love you.
Kevin:
You bring up quite a few interesting points…….
When I was traveling more overseas, I really enjoyed reading the local papers, Financial Times and listening to the local European CNN stations…..I found the perspectives of Europeans and Asians’ very interesting regarding the US, North America and Europe. They had a different spin / understanding on things…..not that one side was right and one was wrong……
The various perspectives come from different cultures, countries, backgrounds and languages……….Anyway, I found different people and different cultures very interesting…..I agree with Nick’s comments….very insightful………
I believe that to visit a country does not mean that you need to know everything about that country…….But I do believe when you travel that you need to respect the people, culture and their history and be interested and open minded. I know you are all of these things …….
It’s nice to be able to discuss with people their culture and their country. People love to share their perspectives and that’s what I enjoy so much about traveling.
On to a different topic…… I know that everyone would really enjoy seeing more photos and more blogs from you………and we really forward to seeing you just before Thanksgiving
Love Dad
Hi Kev! In my opinion Americans are nice people.
Maybe in politic my opinion change, because what Bush did, i was not agree, iraq… and all that stuff.
But also i can’t say anything because in my country Russia happens the same shit, we make war because of money and other interests.
So i better stand out of giving my politic opinion, because we would have to discuse it and waste our time and don’t get a conclusion.
What about people that are from U.S.A. I have a very good opinion, i don’t judge people just because my politic view is different, and in general i hate politic.
Maybe there is some kind of discrimination in europe to Americans… but very less as racial discrimination.
Ignorance? well i saw in youtube a video where americans get questions about europe and most of them, could not answer to the question.
But probably if you ask european people about U.S.A. or Canada most of them can’t reply.
So ignorance isnt a thing of americans its in general. If greeks ask me about parlament elections i have no idee and what i would say next is: really to say i don’t give a shit about it, its something im not interested. But probably later i would go to library and get information about it just for curiosity,
In my opinion most of the people make a selection of what is profitable to them and they get to know it better, what not they just “suck on it”.
I hope my opinion helps you. Take care Kev!