Has America lost all respect in the world?

Question

Is America so great because americans say they are or because the world thinks they are?

Just because you have a huge military doesnt make you a great country.
From what I see American boasting of greatness is due to military size and strength alone.

Why do most Americans seam to think that lack of respect is actually jealousy?

unreal

First of all I'm not European Im Singaporean.
You could not pay me to be an American.

Second of all the US foreign policy affects the world and all our peace of mind.

The US is a loose cannon and everyone has to do what they say or worry about invasion.
But noone can see a problem with this.
Eventually it will lead to WWII where American is the bad guy.

WWIII ...... oops

Answer 1

america is so graet because we stand up for social injustice. if we did not have that military might we would be discarded as weak and IMPOTENT. do you like impotence?
Do you like social injustice? don't you want the freedom to express your opinion without the the fear of torture and death? The MEDIA has a large part in what we see and hear. Support those who support freedom

Answer 2

America has had something that no other country in the world has ever had...over 200 years of political libery AND economic opportunity. If you give that to just about ANY country, that country could be great... that combination is rare.

Most people in the world who think America isn't great have never been here... I know a lot of Eurpoeans who come here and live in the USA for six months out of every year (the maximum they can stay and still keep their homeland citizenship in order), and they're amazed at what is available here when they walk into a simple grocery store...if they walk into a Wal Mart, forget it!

The USA is also (by far) the most generous country in the world... when there's a natural disaster in any country, Americans are always the first ones there, with the most medical supplies and food... we feed most of the world as it is...

So if America is not the world's greatest country, then you tell me what country is... I'm waiting...

btw, we don't care if France or Germany "respects" us (and face it, that's what the media means by the "rest of the world"... France and Germany). As long as they continue to fear us, that's all that matters (of course, the French fear EVERYBODY, not just the U.S.)

Besides, only linguini-spined liberals worry about what the "rest of the world" thinks about the United States... the rest of us just go on with our lives and continue to make our country the best ever.

Anyway, tell me what is the best country in the world, if it's not the USA...and tell me where the USA "ranks" in the world, in your opinion.


One other thing re: what the rest of the world thinks of us... the media has ALWAYS claimed that the rest of the world hates us whenever a Republican is in the White House... that's an automatic media template... when Clinton was in the White House, the world supposedly loved the great United States...

It's the MEDIA that hates their own country whenever a Republican is in the White House...happened in the 80s with Reagan and Bush 41, and it happened in the 50s with Eisenhower. And it's happening now with W in there. But just watch...if a Democrat wins the Presidency in 2008, all of a sudden, we'll be the most popular country in the world again.

Answer 3

The key word you use is respect. Most other governments across the world definitively respect the United States precisely because of some of the reasons you mention, largest military, most advanced economy, etc... Among peoples of the world, that respect has lessened. Iraq certainly did not help.

But there is also a bit of generalization in the question. You do see Americans saying "We're the best" or "We're number 1" but not everyone believes that as an absolute. And those that are doing that, I would suggest are prideful of the nation that they belong to, just as you are likely prideful of the nation you belong to. People across the world are good, bad, and everything in between. And the examples you are providing to demonstrate why Americans should not be respected revolve around arrogance. There may be something to that, but every culture has its issues. And I can tell you that there are plenty of Americans that understand that Asians, Indians, Europeans, Africans, and Latinos are just as good of people as they are. Don't give up on us yet. Get to know some of us that don't fall into the category of speak of. And allow us the time to change our country's leadership.

Answer 4

Eyota Xin ... Your point and question are great. I feel that people (and countries), themselves, cannot declare their own greatness. This is what wrestlers do on TV: they boast. While there is a time and place to celebrate one's standing — such as in the annual State of the Union Address — saying we're great doesn't make it so.

You know, your question reminds me of the days when I first began to chat in one of Yahoo Messenger's chat rooms. This chat room had the title of a foreign country and I made it my virtual on-line home because it turned out to be a nice place to hang-out. You could really have a nice conversation with the group that frequented this chat room.

Once in a while, someone would come along and started a spirited argument and they might say something like, "America is great (or not great)," depending on who was talking.

I refrained from making such statements. That's like walking up to your neighbor and saying, "Hey, my car is better than yours." Now, why would someone do that, I wonder? But some people do, of course.

Since I felt like a guest in their chat room, I thought I should be on my best behavior. Furthermore, if the conversation ever degraded to a contest about whose country was better, I'd make this comment: "America has some of the best things the world has to offer ... and it also has some of the worst of the worst, too." In other words, I celebrated the things Americans should be proud of while also recognizing we (America) do not have a monopoly on all things that are good ... a small dose of pride balanced with some modesty, in other words.

Now let's jump up to the present again ... I hear a lot of mention in the media that America has lost the good reputation it used to enjoy. Who says that? The media?

Pardon me, but this is bunk! A mere handful of prominent journalists has found fault or raised some questions about our conduct of the war on terror ... or they question the legality of America imprisoning some battlefield combatants ... and this makes America bad???

Well, I have a simpler/better way to gauge whether America is a great place or not. First of all, let's agree that the way you measure/evaluate a country's greatness can vary from person to person.

But you only need to check whether people are trying to come here ... or whether they're trying to flee. Simple as that.

As for some people who try to make it seem that America is such a terrible place — including some Americans — I'd like to ask them why they just don't move? They try to make it seem that our problems and misdeeds are so overwhelming, that no repair is possible. Not even new leadership will solve the problem of America's poor reputation, they claim.

This is more garbage, though. Again, I must point to the flow of people. Last time I checked, people were still trying to come here ... Even illegally, if they must. This tells me the naysayers are wrong, or do you (not you, personally) think that all the people trying to "bust into" America don't know what they're talking about?

You know, my apartment overlooks the entrance to an office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, formerly the INS. People line-up there every, every day to get info and apply for the various methods immigrants use to be granted permission to stay. The line is always quite long, I assure you. Furthermore, if you want to be near the beginning of the line, you had better bring some coffee with you ... The line begins to form at THREE IN THE MORNING, I say with a small dose of pride.

I trust I've helped us to better understand whether America is great or not. The media don't make it so. Decide for yourself. And if the situation is as bad and as hopeless as they say, it would be time to pack, don't you think? Then let them pack, I say.

Thanks for a good and well-put question.

Answer 5

I love questions like these where generalizations are being attempted about 300,000,000 different people.

America is loved AND hated, depending on who you ask, where you ask, and when you ask. America does a lot of good things in the world too, and a lot of people seem to have forgotten about that because the current US administration is doing things that are unpopular - even at home. Please don't blame me for the policies of my goverment - I didn't vote for the current US president, and close to half of the Americans who voted didn't either.

There is one thing that does make America great - if Americans feel that a wrong has been committed then they do try to make it right. This is sometimes "too little too late", but in general it is true.

The situation in Iraq seems to be improving, although far too slowly, so IF what Bush has wrought upon Iraq leads to a lasting peace in the Middle East, then maybe he won't look so foolish after all. I don't necessarily agree with the foreign policies of my government, but I don't run my government. Only time will tell if what Bush wanted for the Middle East will come true or not, but I hope that despite all of his criticisms that it DOES work, because it will be best for the Middle East... a lasting peaceful solution to their problems.

Answer 6

Please don't judge US by the war or the military bases or the torture camps/the average American citizen is NOT for those things and is not even aware. Some of the things being revealed lately about US foreign involvements has left me in disbelief. One good thing it's gotten me back to a steady prayer life. Sorry but we are being played over here as well with the 'North American Alliance' being orchestrated w/o public opinion as well as open & unsecure borders. I've always been proud of the US and don't want to see it falling from it's noble character.

Answer 7

I just wonder why Europeans can't seem to talk about anything other than the United States. You guys seem oddly obsessed with discussing how much you hate us. I don't spend my life wondering if you hate me (as an American) or if you hate my country. I don't worry if you're proud of your country and think your country is great. Yet you seem strangely concerned that I might be proud of my country and think I am better than you are.

I could go through the long, long, long list of American achievements and contributions in music, literature, art, science, math, politics, philosophy, food, economics, human rights, education - well, you get it by now - but a simple search on Google or in Wikipedia would yield you those results, if you're actually interested enough to learn.

The real question isn't why I think America is great--the answer is self-evident to anyone who is remotely objective and knowledgeable--but why people like you care that I'm proud of my country. So, why do you?

Nietzsche is not my favorite philosopher by any stretch of the imagination, but he said something interesting that I think relates. The wealthy, powerful, and successful man doesn't sit in his home wondering if the lowly and poor don't like him. The lowly and poor do, though. The thought that anybody has more than they have is of constant concern and irritation to them. Nietzsche was an elitist bastard and I don't follow his ideology, but don't you think this pertains? The reason Americans think Europeans are jealous (or weak or insecure) is because you're endlessly fascinated by us, what we do, what we think, what we have, and what, if anything, we think of you.

We don't think of you. We go about our lives and we wish you would just go about yours without forming these IRRATIONAL stereotypes about what Americans are like. For all I know, you're Canadian and not European, but fill in the correct nationality when it applies.

I hope I answered your question.

P.S. Europe has had a disdain for the United States before Bush was president. Try the 18th century. Europe always portrayed Americans as backward, ignorant, country folk who were too stupid and naive to know how the big boys play. During the Civil War some members of Parliament actually thought we were going to 'come home,' that they were correct - we couldn't make it on our own. THE ARROGANCE. Woodrow Wilson was treated like a naive idiot when he proposed his Fourteen Points. Germans loved it, of course, but the English and French thought he was being overly idealistic. Maybe if they had listened to Wilson, Germany wouldn't have descended into a fascist dictatorship. But hey, what do we Americans know! So, as much as you all want to blame European hatred of the US on Bush, it's much older than that. Bush was just a catalyst for a resurgence of hatred, not the sole reason.

What I find HILARIOUS is that Americans are always being accused of arrogance, but Europeans are so goddamned arrogant about how much better they are than Americans. Do you people not see the irony here? Maybe your criticism of the US would hold more weight if I ever saw Europeans being SELF-critical first. I'm always asked to admit my sins as an American, past and present, but I don't often see a European taking responsibility for Europe hosting the two worst wars in human history or imperialism that wiped out or subjugated a huge percentage of the world's population. I don't see England apologizing for colonizing North America and oppressing the American colonists. Where are these apologies for Europe's crimes against humanity? Why does the US get called a warmonger when European countries have committed the worst human rights violations of any country that currently exists?

Answer 8

I am an american and I think mostly all americans are good people. Some just have different initiatives and goals than others. As for american pollitics, our government has been our worst enemy. It has lost us americans the respect we deserve after all that we have fought for in the past. Our constitution has did us justice and currently our government is doing what it can to take those liberties away from us. It has gone so far as to support the same terrorists in various countries including ours so that we will unknowingly become a police state with them as the dictators. This has not gotten much respect from other nations who are struggling to become what we used to be. free

Answer 9

Interestingly enough, TIME magazine held a recent poll and asked people in 27 countries to rate the influence of other nations on the world. The US has fallen sharply in world esteem over the past 3 years. 51% stated that the US is mainly a negative influence in the world.

Answer 10

There has always been a dark side to American politics, American history in general and in American culture.
Were we not such a powerfull empire at one time, the dichotomy would not be so evident and ironic.
From one vantage point, every era in history reflects amazing and beneficial achievements as well as the shameful and regrettable events that shaped us.
From the history of land acquisition and the genocide of the native inhabitants, to the legacy of slavery and racism, segregation, and black oppression, to failed wars, and clandestine meddling in the domestic politics of other nations, our love of violence and the worship of corporations, any one can find aspects that are not respectable. Our current administration does not reflect all of America and in fact is not supported by most Americans.

Answer 11

Hi.
It seems its respect is dwindling very fast because of the president. He claims to be a christian and a champion of freedom and this and that but still he wants to keep Guantanamo open and deny justice to those people there. Even if they are bad it should make us bad, they should be tried fairly or set free. The president is doing all sorts of bad things that reflect badly upon the USA and thus alienating it from the rest of the world. This president is going to cost America dearly . . . .