Why are Americans so ignorant about other countries ?

Question

I mean, they have the biggest country in the world to the north of them and are continually asking dumb questions about us!

For all you Americans.....the country is Canada

Sorry Kila, but the USSR was bigger than Canada, but now Canada is bigger then Russia

Answer 1

lol @ kain

Thanks for answering that question.

Just because you see americans asking dumb questions does not mean that ALL american are dumb. how would you like it if the next time i see canadian and i called them Stupid because of a stupid question you asked. Next time think and rethink your question again!

Answer 2

funny...it's unfortunate, eh? it's not that people here in the states are dumb, or that we ask dumb questions. the media doesn't talk much about things that don't feed the self-interest of this country - NPR actually does the best job exposing the rest of the world to us, but who's listening? not enough people are paying attention to anything outside their own lives and celebrity gossip. so the reality is that not only do we not know about other countries, we don't necessarily know about other parts of our own country.

ok, now for the canadian perspective (since i'm both): part of being canadian is embracing the role of a global citizen. american mentality is more about the role of global guardian. these two roles are very different and the mentalities that come from the perceived roles are on opposite ends of the spectrum. global citizen would seek to know about other citizens (culture/political situation/economics/etc.) while global guardian would seek to leave their mark on those they guard.

personally, it can be really frustrating to always have to go out of my way to find out about how the rest of the world is doing. it's very easy to turn on CNN or MSNBC and just take that perspective as fact. so it's when i go home to canada that i get harrassed by my friends (God bless them!) about how american (read: ignorant) i've become...and this is even when i try to keep up with the world.

Answer 3

Well, I agree that Americans are ignorant about other countries but the impact of your statement is reduced by the fact that Russia Federation really is the biggest country in the world. A simple look at Wikipedia will confirm that Canada is the second biggest country in the world (9,984,670 km²). Russia Federation is still vastly bigger (17,075,400 km²)

Answer 4

So, you're complaining that they are ignorant but you're also complaining that they are asking questions which might cure ignorance. I'm sorry that Americans seem so damn interested in your large but largely uninhabited country. Perhaps you'd be happy if we ignored you and didn't dump billions in tourist money on your side of the border every year. We're not one large collective in which if you tell one person something about your country all the rest of us hear it as well.

I always thought that Canadians were super friendly and I've raved about it to all my friends. I've vacationed there often. Fortunately I never ran into you!

PS: Russia is still the largest country by surface area by far. One of the sources below comes from the Canadian Bureau of statistics. Maybe Americans aren't the only ignorant ones and if you asked the appropriate questions you wouldn't seem so hopelessly arrogant.

Answer 5

Because since we were young we were forced fed and brainwashed to believe that the US is the best country in the world with the RIGHT policies and beliefs and everyone else is wrong. I call this "big ego brainwashing".

It takes people to truly know other countries by visiting them in person. I've visited, yes Canada, South America, Asia, and Europe (I haven't been to Africa yet but I would like to some day).

Answer 6

Yeah i became ignorant after I first got here on right here. i did not recognize rapidly that different individuals from different international places were on right here. I do now. yet being ignorant? which will be reported for countless international places. And the yankee preparation device is administered through different states. maximum of that are Democrats who imagine it really is going to be run through the federal authorities. yet through doing this they enable it fail which will say: See I advised you so! yet they are basically correct about this because they enable it fail. I do admit that once the federal authorities does take over a school district it does all correct. why does it do nicely? Um... because the Republicans are in administration of the federal authorities.

Answer 7

Speaking as an American, not all Americans are ignorant about other countries. As a kid, I was always interest in other cultures and other countries.I will said alot of Americans are stupid about other countries and cultures,but hell most of them don't even understand other races in their own country,so what do you expect. The news in the USA is more focused on American news,than whats going on anywhere else. There's your answer.

Answer 8

Good question Blue girl. I ask myself too the same thing like you did. I think because Americans are perfect combination of arrogance and ignorance. And since they were children, almost all Americans are already brainwashed that USA is the best and number one country in the world ever and US policies are the greatest on this planet.
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Answer 9

Guess again blue girl:

The Twenty Largest Countries in Area in the World
Here's a listing of the twenty largest countries in the world by area, in both square kilometers and square miles.

1. Russia: 17,075,200 km2 (6,591,027 mi2)

2. Canada: 9,984,670 km2 (3,854,082 mi2)


Admittedly, most americans are ignorant about other countries, but if you're any indication canadians don't have room to point fingers.

Answer 10

Why do some Canadians obsess about the world to the south of them and are continually making dumb accusations about Americans?

Answer 11

The Media.... all other countries carry local and international news. However, for Americans the news about the town you live in is local news and the news outside your town or about other states is International news. American TV hardly give news about other countries.