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DemonKia -> RE: Positive Experience ... Negative Backlash (5/8/2009 3:11:29 AM)
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Well. Here goes some of whatever 'popularity' I might have going on here, but I'm gonna tell ya what I think, Mr-Pirate-hubby-of-Greedy. Cuz I think you can take it, lol. & even better, I think you might 'get', & possibly even enjoy, it . ... .
&, yeah, just to be clear, what follows is my opinion.
I love much of what my country stands for, but I despair for our rather committed:
* narrow parochialism
* monolingualism
* anti-intellectualism
* pretensions of global (in all senses of the word) superiority
* delusions of manifest destiny
* imperial over-reach
(I'm gonna stop there, cuz I could literally rant this list for a good long time.)
It's so below us to behave in such ways, but we -- as a group -- do. The 'ugly American' is a label that's been earned by the hundreds of millions of poorly behaved 'proud Americans' acting like, yes, only America 'really' counts, everybody else, the other 21 out of 22 humans on the planet, they're rather incidental . . . . . Mere temporary custodians of resources we may someday want, that sorta thing . .. . . That's if we bother to notice any of those 21 out of 22 other persons in the world . .....
One on one, it's not necessarily so noticeable. & there are, of course, plenty of sophisticated, savvy, & well-informed thinkers in the U.S. & plenty who are nice & polite. & there's even some who are both. But.
American superiority (in just about everything, it's generally assumed) is the party line here, one of the primary thematics all over the place. People 'trigger' on the patriotism thing to a degree that's kinda alarming, it's almost impossible to have any kind of critical discussion of the state of the country (much less the world) with most because of that . ... . . 'Must not criticize the U.S., must not criticize the U.S.', it's like a freaking mantra of ostrichism. We just know we're better, & anything that points in any direction other than that is not happy news, & any bearers of such are to be shot. With prejudice. Immediately upon identification. & most definitely metaphorically if not actually.
& we Americans, who rarely speak any language but our own version of English & are (perplexingly) obnoxiously proud of our relative linguistic ignorance, & who barely travel abroad at all compared to many other citizens of the planet, feel quite empowered about sharing our minimalist worldview with everybody. Frequently we even believe in shoving it proudly down the throats of others. & of using every bit of fallacious reasoning at our disposal. In my experience, we Americans especially love every variation of ad hom we can figure out -- we love character assassination . .. . . .
Makes me rather nauseous, in addition to a might embarrassed . . .. . & I do have expat yearnings . ... . .
I like to joke (to those who can take it) that I'd be happy to give the whole place back to the Native Americans / Amerindians & they can ship me back to where my ancestors came from -- the UK. Hehehehe . .....
& I probably just did a most excellent job of pissing off a bunch of 'red-blooded twue American' types, but I've been doin' that my whole life, so *shrug* . . . . . See, I love my country enough to know it can improve, & the first step to improving is recognizing the problems. & while the First Amendment protections for freedom of expression are truly marvelous, they only mean something if they protect that which is despised & opposed. Like, oh, say, criticism.
Oh. & I don't argue about my opinion, don't really see the point. Jus' so's you knows.
(& for those who are open to learning about what truly rat-bastards we've (the U.S. gov't, mega-corps, & etc) behaved as on a global scale throughout the postwar period, I highly highly highly recommend 'Killing Hope' by William Blum. Warning tho', it's some of the most painful reading I've ever done.)
Okay. End rant. I'll put the soapbox away. For those who had a sympathetic ear for the above, thanks.
Oh. & as for how it pertains to here on CM. Yeah, well, there seems to be far more Yanks here than any other nationality, by a long shot. & since the 'Ugly American' thing is so pervasive & deep, I'd expect it to show up here pretty strongly.
Luckily, my experience is that the hater kind is just not my type of person, & I tend to spot those & learn to skip over what they have to say. There are some very hostile humans, here as well as everywhere, & I just try to avoid them. I stay focused on the (mostly) positive end of things, of what I want to achieve, do, & be, & I try to ignore or go around whatever doesn't fit into that.
To argue is a derailment of self into another's energy & stuff, & I care for my own attentions too much to waste them unnecessarily . . . ..
Hope something in this helped someone somewhere, other than just how good it feels to vent . ... . .
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