Why do people assume that all Americans know nothing about the rest of the world?

Question

I encounter this whenever I talk to people from other countries, and frankly, I'm sick of it. I started traveling a lot about two years ago. I've visited eighteen countries, and I'm only nineteen years old (I'm not rich, I just work a lot to get money to travel). I'm bilingual, and I can get by with simple phrases in six other languages. I know the capitals of all the European countries (as well as other cities and their locations), and most capitals in Africa, Asia, South America, and of course Australia. Why is it constantly assumed that we're all ignorant? I love the world and would never assume another group of people were completely unworldly.

Answer 1

It is an unfortunate generalization, which, like many such, is based on some truth. The fact is that most Americans DON'T know much about other countries; you are an exception. Don't let it get to you.

Answer 2

I'm sorry for laughing but "i know the capitals of all the European countries (as well as other cities and their locations), and most of the capitals in Africa, Asia, South America, and of course Australia" I'm sorry but i really did laugh out loud when i read that. So has my 11 year old daughter since she was 7. I guess you just answered your own question.

Answer 3

Well dear, not all American are ignorant. There are reasons why the rest of the world think that way. Mainly is because there are really ignorant ones about the rest of the world. I have a lot of friends from all over the world, belief it or not sorry to say, my American friends are the most ignorant ones of all. No offense but the reason why they live in the box is because they are raised up to belief what they are told to belief and are not willing to stand up for themselves. But not all of them are like that, There are some really intelligent American that i would say live outside the box, now, they are the ones who belief what they strongly belief even though the majority beliefs otherwise. The other thing is that American really think that they are the king of the world, when actually they are really not, and that my dear friend, irritates the rest of the world!

Answer 4

Because the majority of Americans who are shown on programs are shown to be bigoted, ignorant, back-water hicks.
Many people in other countries also look at our politicians as example of the general public.....this couldn't be further from the truth.
I know so many conscientious adult Americans who are well educated, open-minded, and make an effort to understand all other countries and people. This is also hard when the news shown from other countries is mostly negative, with little regard for the entire truth.
Many Americans puts more emphasis on their own religious beliefs than on understanding other nations and their ways. We need more education, starting early, on understanding the worlds politics, ways of life, and being non-judgmental of others.

Answer 5

I'm from Brazil and I got the impression that United Statesians are ignorant after I got Fox News on my cable TV, 2 minutes of world news per day, if it! But of course, I know it's a large country with 300 million people, you can't generalize. Also, some United Statesians like to say phrases like "we are the only free country" that are preety weird. Plus, United Statesians tends to ignore international sport competitions, they pay almost all their atention to their national championships, like the NBA. Finally, the fact that you're one of the only 3 countries in the world that still don't use the metric system causes the impression that you like to live in a nut shell.

Answer 6

I hear ya. My wife's from brazil and I have to constantly tell her where other countries are and things like that despite being the ignorant gringo who doesn't know anything about the rest of the world. But you have to admit a lot, if not most, americans don't make it easy for those of us who do know there's another world out there. I cringed when my dutch friends told me story after story about americans they ran into; one thought russia was part of england because the beatles had a song called back in the USSR, another was impressed that a 5 year old dutch child had already learned how to speak dutch.....

Answer 7

We can say that we have information about something in the world, and still we know nothing. We have no knowledge about our own self, about our country and about the world. If we know, we don't have the same disputes and the same questions up here again and again.
Questions such as the following have not been satisfactorily answered:
What is life?
What is happiness?
What is destiny and free will?
What is man?
What is the soul?
What is the atom?
What is dust?
What is evolution?
What is God?
And so on...
Perhaps, we all need to look for the Divine Educator from the One True God to teach us about these and the other things we wrongly claim to know and things we have never thought of.

Answer 8

This is largely the result of how our own media portrays us. The image that the rest of the world gets is that we are silly, self centered, party fanatics who are mainly concerned with losing our virginity by the time we're 14 and consider having lots of Bling! to be the most important measure of success.
Look at who our pop idols are: Paris Hilton, Britany Spears, and about anyone else worthy of a tabloid front page, and we do look like we fit the description offered up in the Rammstein song "Amerika".
Look at the message from the popular "teen" movies like "American Pie", And you kind of get the idea.

Answer 9

My impression is that maximum comprehend how incredibly damaging that's, so i'm sort of shocked by skill of your question. i think people who would have confidence which would be fantastically paid and thoroughly out of touch with what is going on with the common American. whether, many individuals have been brainwashed to have confidence theirs is the desirable u . s . a . interior the international. that's a evaluate their thank you to make human beings extra patriotic, i think of, one in each and every of those physique of suggestions like, ignore what you have been, you're an American now! I see that with a number of my American kinfolk contributors, yet a lot of them come right here to Canada whilst they prefer intense medical care. And the brainwashing is complete in diffused procedures. I keep in mind of course whilst Yugoslavia replace into being destroyed, i replace into in Europe on the time. pictures on each and every channel in basic terms approximately all day long, it replace into depressing. yet at 6:00am it might show NBC information, which i'd awaken to work out. they might communicate approximately each and every thing, then interior the final 5 minutes of this methodology they lined the conflict. It replace into the day after that busload of females and childrens replace into hit. In Europe, it have been on the information all day. That night, Dan particularly did not even touch on it. daily, same subject. a short synopsis of the coolest and not one of the undesirable. That replace into whilst i found out that maximum individuals who in all probability don't have time to observe something however the information as quickly as an afternoon, do not even comprehend what's incredibly happening in different countries. they don't look to be on condition that techniques. i've got long previous off on a tangent, sorry. yet i desire you comprehend what i'm attempting to assert. it is not their fault, they only have no theory.

Answer 10

My assumption would be ... because we are a melting pot, a collective of various cultures that also morph and combined so that we grow up in in a general enviroment others may assume may not be a "pure " rendition of a culture because our knowledge of any number of cultures has been "altered" to an americanized version ,we lack any true knowledge of other countires.
It is a biased and unfounded assumption... but naivity breeds discontent.

(could also be all the programs about how poo our educational system is in the u.s., would be fair to say I could see where others think we lack knowledge due ot poor education. LOL)