Americans, why?

Question

I know this site has a majority readership from the U.S., which explains the many ridiculous statements proffered as educated answers. Don't americans get a more rounded education, all their answers seem to be from an american prospective and very misinformed, they always assume that the asker is a fellow american, it's incredible that such a big nation is so insular and is so ignorant of other countries and cultures, do americans realise what a low opinion other nations have of their culture and behaviour. I'm from Europe if you are wondering.

Answer 1

Well ...first of all, to assure you ( or the reverse!!! ): I am an American (gulp!)
A: I don't really think that many of the statements are proffered as educated
answers because
a many of them are from teenagers
b Americans do not as a rule think of such a thing as giving an educated answer.
Americans are very backward when it comes to education and culture. Let me offer two examples:
1 I have on my computer, which I sometimes share, a lovely wallpaper of the Petit Palais outside Paris. It is so
beautiful ... the inner courtyard is circular and has many classic colums making a rotunda.... the gardens are full of palm trees .....whenever the person
with whom I share the computer uses it,
she goes to all the trouble to change the wallpaper ..... because somehow it threatens her sense of identity, and prefers a background wallpaper supplied by some software company of steaming cups of coffee ... very banal. This is only a drop in the bucket of examples of its kind that I could offer you... it is simply the latest.
2. I recently posted on the American Yahoo a question about classical music composers ... I received back one fairly wishy-washy answer and about 6 others of the "duh" variety. However when I posted the same sort of question on the UK Yahoo, within seconds I received 9 really nice answers, full of enthusiasm and good cheer ....... Now, please you explain that??
In addition, I have pretty well stopped asking questions on the American site
because I receive such sad answers... often very unformed opinions, often really wishy washy, very conformist in their cut,
and some from downright troubled people.
I can't take it any longer.... I like to hear from people and I like my time spent thinking of things and answering things to broaden MY mind..... I once posted some questions directed to people who are in Ireland, or Irish of recent persuasion, and I got tons of fun, erudite, amusing and downright hilarious answers ... so do you blame me for wandering elsewhere?

B: Americans ARE insular. It is a very big country and very self-sufficient. We do not speak languages as fluently as Europeans because we are not as close as, say, the countries in Western Europe... with Spain right across the border from France, which rubs shoulders with Switzerland and its three languages, and Austria... and Germany. Our trains frum 3,000 miles from coast to coast and still the same language is spoken. We do not travel anywhere as much as do Europeans ... and that includes the United Kingdom and we don't know enough about the rest of the world.

There is a strange chauvinism here. It is as if it is a threat to know a foreign language, or to know the culture of another country. It is chic, of course, to know cuisine around the world.... but Americans do not like to be jolted into the very disappointing reality that other nations, other cultures are older, and have many good things to offer.

I will never forget the first time I was abroad. We were in London.... and I realised that the English had worked out
for themselves a lifestyle that they found made them
comfortable and happy /// they had their own humor, their own traditions like tea, laughing, dressing and not only that: America did not amount to a whit! They got along without us just fine.

I have a theory that every nation has a kind of aura surrounding it that it is the best, and I think it is to keep people from straying. But, when I was in England I was suddenly so shocked because I realised that the American "aura" was more like
propoganda .......AND: it was a lie. We are not the greatest country on earth, other countries have greatness and to deny that is to deny history, to deny the truth. I have seen this sort of thing in telecasts of political conventions and the like, where some elderly politician drawls on and on about "this great country, the
greatest country in the world".... and how we are the richest country in the world. Such UNBELIEVABLE bragadoccio! It is absolutely unexcusable and childish. I am always ashamed to hear such silly talk.

It seems to me such ignorance to talk about America being the richest country in the world, the way we do. Unless I am mistaken , the per capita income of the United Arab Emirates is larger than ours (but they aren't telling!) and so is that of Switzerland, as I recall. (You should see England's statistics .... they REALLY aren't telling!!!!!)

Let me see if I can answer any more of your questions. This is getting rather long, but I type fast, so ... oh, sure we assume that everyone is an American when we answer Yahoo questions, but not only that ... many people do not, because of fear, want to say where they are from ...... not that there is enough information here to chase anyone down, but no one has stopped to figure that out .. but we also do not inform even ourselves, other Americans where we are located. ///// Sometimes people post questions like: what shall I do for my
daughter's 16th birthday ... and they do not tell you if they live in the woods of New Hampshire, or near a big city, or if there is a zoo nearby, or if it is the middle of Las Vegas... if there are any bakeries nearby .... nothing....not even how much they have to spend on the party .. so out of the hat your are expected to give a relevant answer. Or .... maybe you are not!!! Oh, well!

And, no, I don't think Americans are aware of how low an opinion people have of us. It really is bad, is it not? Ouch! It really hurts. As I said, when I was in England I suddenly realised what a lie is fed to us, it is straight propoganda ... and it really hurts to be so disappointed in one's own country.

I will close with a story that I think absolutely the cat's whiskers:
I was in Windsor Castle in England, looking around happily at everything. I spied a painting of a young man with long blonde hair held back in a peruke. I was very young at the time, and the fashion was distinctly for long hair for men. It was also the Kennedy era. I remarked to someone standing nearby, "I see. What long hair that young man has!" (remember I was about...20, maybe) Then I continued, "I see there is a precedent for our long hair today!" Just then a rather elderly lady turned to me with a look of utter scorn on her face, and said, "Well, he is not MY president, you know!" So, you see she was feeling the pressure of Americans feeling that of COURSE everybody HAD to bow and scrape to the
Kennedys... and that of COURSE they were important to EVERYONE!!!! Obviously she recognized my American accent. And somehow, she had gotten
"precedent " scrambled with "president" and it simply ticked her off! Needless to say, I did a triple take, and went off giggling to find my mother and her friend who was touring the castle with us. Is that not amusing???

Peace & Love
LPM

p.s. I must post just one more thought: When I was in college, one of our professors was talking one day about the crisis in education, saying that there was "a trained incapacity for deeper inquiry." It really upset us all ... because it was a progressive college and we were all assuming that except for our college where we were expected to do well on an independent level, everyone else was ok ... but, according to the way he saw it, it was not ok. I know now that he was right. It is very alarming. But.... it can be solved, I know it can... Peace.

Answer 2

First off…this is a Yahoo blog, not the New York Times…so that’s why you may not be getting the most educated answers or whatever you’re complaining about.

When it comes to the US, we are far away...surrounded by only 2 other countries. One is full of people like us, only with funny accents, and the other is full of Spanish speaking people trying to come into our country. We have a proud attitude because our country was founded on rebellion against Britain. Plus, most people who tend to be ignorant, attached to change, and insular are country folk...and America is mostly made up of blue-collar people, under the middle class range...farmers...stuff like that. I've been to Europe...not the warmest welcome. But I know not all Europeans are the same. I don't generalize, unlike you. But sit back and pretend that you're country has no problems of it's own. It's not easy to keep a clean image when you're under a microscope. We aren't the richest country or brightest country, and a lot of people hate us. But who the **** cares. There is never a "right move" when you're an American. We do too much or we don't do enough....it's a lose lose battle. The truth is, no matter how things seem, we aren't all the same, we aren't all rich, we aren't all proud, and over half the nations disagrees with the President. And you will never...NEVER understand what it is to be an American or the true American mentality until you live here. And even then, it will change, because the Americans in California, are different than the ones in New York, who are different than the ones in North Dakota, who are different from the ones in Texas...etc. Plus…America has done so much good for the world, and so many places would still be under tyrant rule or without any income without us. The War in Iraq is fucked…but America has done some amazing things.

Answer 3

The statement that you are from Europe is as general is I am from America. Which country? I am from Connecticut but live in California now and I spent several years in England where I lived briefly in the 80's. Let me set you straight... first, America is insular as we can afford to be. We don't really need any other countries... not like living in Britain where you can't even grow your own food. You are hindered by climate and geography due to your size. You think we are ignorant of other cultures but you need to realize that we are a congomeration of all those cultures. We have taken all of the cultures of the world and adapted and morphed them into something now called "american". If you have a problem with what we are it may be that we have taken what is the best of so many other countries. You believe we are ignorant as you think all Americans are as those portrayed on Jerry Springer. Are you considering at all what America has offered the world in terms of educated people, medical advances, scientific breakthoughs? Art, drama, cinema? We must be getting a rounded education here if we are capable of contributing to the world more than any other culture in history, and a country that is the youngest in history. Open your mind and accept that much of what you see and hear is sterotypical. What you see on TV and read in the paper is not indicative of a nation of some 300 million people. When it comes down to it, most Americans don't really care what the world thinks of us. We are not running a popularity contest, here it's called a democracy.

Answer 4

You answered it yourself bro. It is such a big nation and thats exactly the reason why so many people here are so ignorant. But on the other hand, we have a lot worldy people also. Just, apparently not on this site. If you go to a place like california or New York, chances are you'll bump into a lot more worldy people than you would if you were in the center of the US. because in cali we are exposed to much more culture and langauge than iin the center. I myself have traveled to europe about 4 times and i can totally see why american tourists are generally disliked. But dont let them fool ya, its pretty cool here as im sure it is in britian.

Answer 5

You can find ignorance everywhere, even in Europe; I personally have nothing against Americans, there's good and bad there as well as anywhere else; Europeans tend to consider Americans (US nationals) like 'villagers', just because of their 'recent' past History, but that's really wrong because there are many educated Americans, great scientists, writers, researchers, architects, engineers, doctors, wellknown experts in any field; personally I believe that generalizing is always wrong, and Europeans should be less stuck up;) Especially some French people;) Not to mention many Brits who defend their pure British-English as the only real language considering American-English like a second class sort of cheap slang;)You're saying that Americans are ignorant about other countries, what about most Italians then?;) As you can see, ignorant and arrogant people are EVERYWHERE. By the way, if I were you I'd check the spelling before posting a question in English;)

P.S. I'm not American, I'm just objective and open-minded;)

Answer 6

Most White Americans are pure European descent, but I would say up to 1/3 have some small traces of Native American or even African ancestry. Even in those cases the Native American ancestry is like 1/16 or less and very distant. The typical American White is a mix of various European nationalities such as English, German, Irish and Italian. The reason American Whites look different from European Whites is because American Whites are usually a mix of different European nationalities.

Answer 7

I, myself, love to learn about other countries and cultures. I find it interesting and educational. Don't be misled by comments posted here, I don't think you will get a true reading of the American people. I'm sure you are right on the viewpoint of what other nations think about Americans. However, I find this also narrow minded. To group most Americans in one neat little category is wrong for anybody to do with any culture...not just Americans. Not all of us our arrogant and self serving. It's just that it seems we all get portrayed that way. A lot of us are more than what the media depicts, it's just that we aren't "seen" in the public eye.

Answer 8

Europeans love to pat themselves on the back and talk about how cultured they are, how intelligent, how classy, etc., but you're none of that unless you ACT it. I've spent a lot of time in Europe, and there are not many people there that have it to any larger degree than any American. You have a very high opinion of yourself, and undeservedly so. ACT with civility, class, culture, manners, intelligence, etc. and THEN you will have the right to talk to me of these things. I have seen just as many ignorant and misinformed answers on here from people living in other places than the U.S. You might not notice it, but then again, you're also not looking to criticize anyone from anywhere but the U.S.

Answer 9

Yes, Americans are rather focused on their personal issues, but it is short sighted of you to assume everyone in America acts and thinks like 'the average Yahoo Answers user' does. This is putting myself down, but do you really think that the "thinkers and doers" of America, the people who are educated and cultured, are really spending their time on this website? This is only a small fraction of America you are seeing, and you are just as ignorant to think that Americans as a whole are misinformed because of this.

Answer 10

look my european friend. i am american and i can say that here in america when you speak the truth you are considered a moron and no one wants to listen to you. in western europe people are more apt to critique their ggovernment. europeans tend to be more laid back and try to be fair to other nations. do not get me wrong western europe is not perfect but the traditions in europe are older and there is more culture. this country was founded by a bunch of criminals. no matter what the us wants to make the world believe this is a very intolerent country. the american government is backed by a bunch of lobbyists and they do exactly what israel tells them to do. americans are to sheep like for the majority to think for themselves. i must say in britian they are going through the same thing to a certain point considering many people did not want to follow tony blair. france was smart and got out of the conflict. in america the majority of the people feel that if you are not christian then you can not possibly be right. the american people do not respect the human rights of others. this is proven time and time again with in the corse of our political history,. there are a growing amount of americans who are comming to the realalization that americans policies in reguards to other countries are evil. but not nearly enough at this point to stop the corruption that funnles through our country. if you look at our country we are number 17 when it comes to science and math. for a developed industrial country we are falling. as you can see through any history any nation that rises to power the people of the nsation become more and more ignorant and become fat, lazy, corrupt, immoral, hipocraitical, vicous people. then what happens they fall. the greed consumes the very soul. i believe that if amerrican people took more of a open minded look at the whole box instead of being confined to just the box we would realize the impact our actions have on the rest of the world. unfortunatly no nation ever realizes this until it is to late.

Answer 11

Why oh why do people distinguish between colour, race, nationality. You have opinions about Americans then keep them to yourself, I have opinions about Europeans, but why should I publicize them on here? You are just after some cheeky answers, people like to chill out when they come home from work, not to be confronted with such nonesense. Can't you think about something to make people smile instead of vent their frustration on these pages!