On average, what is the general attitude people of the world have of the United States? Do most people have anti-American sentiments?
Some parts of American culture jars with me.
-The very strong patriotism
-What comes across as arrogance about your position in the world
-All the truth/justice/liberty/American way crap
-On average you are way more right wing that myself
-You are constantly moaning about anti-American sentiments 
-The whole “If you don’t like it you can leave thing” is just silly IMO
-No real social provisions for the sick/unemployed etc AFAIK (I’m probably wrong on this one)
I could probably put a list together for any country I’ve visited BTW and a huge one about Ireland but you asked about the States. Basically you’re the big boy on the block and so get noticed a lot. You also have a huge amount of influence in the world which leads to people criticising.
I really like the States and do respect a huge amount of things about your country, people and culture.
Oh BTW what I see called anti-American is generally disagreements with decisions made by the US administration which IMO is not Anti-American.
Ireland is very pro-America. We have a lot of very strong ties with the States and for example had a official day of mourning after 9/11 which meant that the country closed enough closed down for 1 day. Shops, business’s even the pubs closed :eek:, one mile queue to sign condolence book etc but we are not in favour of the US and UK position re: Iraq
I can make just as many complaints about my own country as I can about yours, but since you asked… Personally I quite like Americans. I’ll just mention minor peeves not major foreign policy disagreements.
That every politician seems to end their speeches with “God Bless America”.
The continual bragging about how America is the “Freest nation on Earth”. I’m sure a lot of residents of other western democracies kind of role their eyes at that one.
The near religious ferver associated with your constitution. Politicians splitting hairs on what the writers of the second amendment intended for gun control over 200 years ago.
But I would have to say the most vexing thing is that you kick the world’s ass in basically everything. It is not proper considering you are all supposed to be a bunch of dumb lazy rednecks!
I was just asking because I was listening to the radio, and some schmuck from Kentucky called in and blatantly said that the rest of the world hates us. Point blank, like that. He said that despite Bush’s speech last night, everyone is against us going to Iraq and wiping out Saddam.
Balduran, you hate the same things I hate about America. But I can add to the list. And I will. Right now:
People who think flying a flag makes them a good American or good citizen (ugh!)
Foisting our values on other societies.
People who bitch about foreigners and foreign countries and then don’t bother to vote.
Our uncanny ability to elect near-braindead people to run the show.
That’s the short list. But I still think it’s the best game in town most of the time.
And I’m born and raised in the U. S. of A.
Balduran, you hate the same things I hate about America. But I can add to the list. And I will. Right now:
People who think flying a flag makes them a good American or good citizen (ugh!)
Foisting our values on other societies.
People who bitch about foreigners and foreign countries and then don’t bother to vote.
Our uncanny ability to elect near-braindead people to run the show.
That’s the short list. But I still think it’s the best game in town most of the time.
And I’m born and raised in the U. S. of A.
That says more about radio phone-ins than it does about the world’s attitude towards the USA.
Re the proposed military action against the Iraqi government; there are plenty of countries saying “with UN approval yes/without UN approval no”, or “no bombing raids on Iraq for the sake of Iraqi civilians”, and whether you agree with those positions or not, surely you can see that they don’t equate to the world hating America (even if a schmuck from Kentucky can’t)?
Funny, the last one is the only one that rings true with me. (I’m an American who has spent a lot of time abroad.) Last year was the first time I heard this patriotism stereotype. It was from a Brit - maybe these stereotypes are somewhat regional. I’ve always felt that other countries were much more patriotic and much more likely to engage in flag waving. Certainly most countries have a stronger sense of national identity than the U.S. does. Prior to 9/11 I had never seen private citizens displaying American flags. I suppose things are a bit different in rural areas and places like the Midwest. I have also lived most of my life happily sheltered from right-wingers.
In my experience, most people in the world do strongly disapprove of U.S. government because of its foreign policy. That’s not the same thing as hating Americans, though people often confuse the two. I’ve had people be hostile to me because of evil things the government of this country has done.
Lot of valid criticisms, but this one is something I’m actually happy about. The U.S. Constitution is one of the great documents of the world, and the fact that we’re still arguing about it shows that it’s still relevant. I hope people are still arguing about the Second Amendment a hundred years from now. What worries me is when politicians seem to be ignoring the Constitution.
What bugs me is whenever the President of the United States is referred to - usually by US media it seems, or other US politicians - as the “leader of the free world.” That’s quite a presumption.
I was going to post some stuff similar to the posts above, but I’m not at all sure that the America that is presented to me by the UK popular media is anything more than a gross caricature. Certainly my experience has been that the majority of Americans on this board are more…umm…moderate than I would otherwise be encouraged to believe.
I don’t see any reason to believe that the American stereotypes in circulation are any more valid than, say, it would be to suggest that all Frenchmen wear berets and striped shirts and sell onions from bicycles.
I’d endorse those views, Mangetout, although there is a certain amount of national stereotyping on this board too. Ironically, I believe the French are especially badly treated here.
It’s quite fashionable in some circles to be anti-American. Even among Brits and Aussies I know here in HK, who are better-traveled than average, it’s thought funny to refer to Americans as “septics” [it’s too tiresome to explain] and generally mock them. It seems to spring from jealousy, resentment and a chip on the shoulder about US success (or “dominance”). A pity, because most Americans have a lot of respect and affection for the UK and Australia.
Now I think about it, the Aussies also mock the Brits, who in return think Australia’s great. It’s a way to compensate for feelings of inferiority.
Noblesse oblige - you just have to put up with it.
Most of us Canucks hold that “Bigger Brother” sentiment: they’re our partner, major influence, source of income, and view it as a symbiotic relationship…but…heaven forbid that the U.S. try to impose their views upon us, take all of our precious resources, or influence our laws. Other Canadians, however, feel that we are basically a “Mini-Me” version of the U.S., what with the pop culture, economic reasons, etc. Most of those people harbor some “not-so-nice” sentiment towards the U.S.,but it’s definitely not a “Bomb the U.S.! death to America!”-type rage. Bush may blow but he’s our biggest brother right now. (not on that whole Iraq war, but on everything else practically)…
It’s not “you” it’s “US”; I mean that not in a flippant way, the idea being that freedom, quality of living, low taxes, jobs, sound fiscal policy, etc. should attract capital and labor and brains from around the world – a “brain drain” if you will, but we have our problems. Crime is still legendary here, coupled with an increasingly whiny, entitlement-it’s-not-my-fault type of uneducated oaf who is content to muck up a good thing. And so it goes.
American living overseas.
I think most people who give some consideration to the matter will have different feelings about American people than they do about the American government. A frequent sentiment I’ve heard from people in Japan is that Americans tend to boast about their abilities a lot. We’re also lacking in subtlety and can be pretty loud at times. And fat. On the other hand, we’re also viewed as very friendly, romantic and honest about our feelings.
America is also sometimes seen as “The Big Time” and Japanese who even partially succeed there (Ichiro, Takeshi Kitano, Youki Kudoh) are viewed with some measure of awe.
backstory: I’m a Brit, still a resident alien, my parents brought me to the US as a child.
I dislike blind patriotism that borders on outright jingoism. I a military wife, so I see a lot of this.
I hate the “love it or leave it” sentiment.
I have a hard time dealing with how in your face religion is here.
I hate what I see as corporate control of our government.
I would say that one of the most frustrating things for myself - and I suspect many other Aussies - is when comments regarding the US (and in particular US politics) which aren’t glowingly positive are perceived as “anti-American” or as implying that the US “deserves to be hated/attacked/etc”. This is especially true when we comment on the impact of your foreign policy.
I also worry about the belief that because the US is economically and militarily strong now it will always be so. History is littered with fallen empires which once believed in their own superiority and invincibility.
Have we had enough “who hates (list of pet peeves) about the Great Satan in Clouds of Sulfur?” threads on the SDMB? Alternately, how many more will we need before we can move on? 