# Non-US Dopers: What do you see as ridiculous American propaganda? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 7, 2014, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876 "2014-05-07T05:48:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/21 "2014-05-07T14:38:16Z")
Last night, on the National (Canadian national nightly news program), they were interviewing a panel about what Canada’s response should be to the Ukraine crisis. The single American, an academic with the American School in London, said that Canada’s job was to guard its northern border with Russia; the US and some of the other NATO players were handling the situation in the Ukraine itself. This response didn’t really answer the questions posed and seemed bizarre. I mean, Canada is certainly concerned with Arctic sovereignty, but absolutely nobody thinks that Russia is going to invade or anything, and it has nothing to do with the Ukraine. It seemed like nothing other than propaganda designed to reassure us that the mighty American nation was taking care of our NATO responsibilities, so we should thank them and stay out of it. (Edit: and follow orders, was the subtext.) I’m not sure if that’s what you were looking for, since it’s aimed at foreigners, but both my husband (British) and I (American/Canadian) immediately concluded it was poorly-executed propaganda. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/22 "2014-05-07T14:41:28Z")
Translation: It’s your job to be our northern guardpost. We don’t really care about your national security other than as the buffer state between Russia’s northern border and us. Not that I personally agree with that sentiment. But that’s how a lot of Americans think of Canada in a global security context. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/23 "2014-05-07T14:45:47Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > The War on Terror. > > “Terror” is an abstract noun. You can’t wage a war against it. That is like fighting smoke. > Oppose, resist, defuse, ignore - certainly. So does that mean one cannot fight ignorance? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/24 "2014-05-07T15:09:30Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > So does that mean one cannot fight ignorance? :eek: Well, it _is_ taking longer than we thought… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/25 "2014-05-07T16:02:58Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > \ A war on terrorism has the same meaning as a war on bullshit.\ I can go for that. I’ll agree with “The US is the greatest nation on the planet!” I think the real problem with this attitude is that it prevents the US from learning anything from anyone else. That universal healthcare is bad. The really surprising thing to me is that the people who hate this idea the most seem to be the people who are one disease away from being ruined financially. That the Democrats are left-wing and the Republicans are right-wing, when they look almost identical (and far to the right) to this outsider. That people need guns to feel safe. That it is a good idea to put people in jail for smoking a little weed. That people need to be 21 before they can have a beer. That it is acceptable to give the government all of your rights and freedoms for the illusion of feeling safe from terrorism. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/26 "2014-05-07T16:12:13Z")
As an American, one thing that always bothered me, even as a kid, was hanging a prominent portrait of the sitting president in a place of honor in every public school I ever attended. It seems about on par with hanging pictures of Hitler in Nazi Germany or Stalin in 1950’s Soviet Union. I don’t know how common that is any more. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/27 "2014-05-07T16:23:17Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The silly notion that the Constitution, (with all its amendments), is the _ne plus ultra_ of constitutions worldwide, a unique treasure trove of rights and freedoms unsurpassed by any other country’s. When, in reality, it is seriously outdated and due for a complete reboot. While I think the outside world has many a gripe regarding the United States, the Constitution is hardly a low point in our nation’s history. After all, what we are attacked for most often, are blatantly _Unconstitutional_ actions: undeclared wars, indefinite detention, eroding of privacy rights, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/28 "2014-05-07T16:27:16Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > As an American, one thing that always bothered me, even as a kid, was hanging a prominent portrait of the sitting president in a place of honor in every public school I ever attended. It seems about on par with hanging pictures of Hitler in Nazi Germany or Stalin in 1950’s Soviet Union. I don’t know how common that is any more. That would bother me. I haven’t seen it, either as a child or since. I must say, everything our friends for other countries have noticed about the US seem ridiculous to me too. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/29 "2014-05-07T16:29:07Z")
Great thread. I’m a Yankee, so it’s great to get a reasonable perspective. I know we’re weird, but don’t know quite \*how \*we’re weird. > [@Leaffan](#): > > Yeah, the whole “greatest country in the world” thing. When, in reality, the US doesn’t rank number one in any metric, and in a lot of cases barely cracks the top 10. > > Look, I like your country, but you’re not the best in the world at anything anymore, OK? For good or bad, I think we’re still the most powerful country in the world. We are number one in military strength, spending, and capability. I’d rather we were number one in lifespan, quality of life, education…but when someone says “greatest country in the world!” what’s going on unconsciously is, “we could kick your ass!” ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/30 "2014-05-07T16:52:10Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Yeah, the whole “greatest country in the world” thing. When, in reality, the US doesn’t rank number one in any metric, and in a lot of cases barely cracks the top 10. > > Look, I like your country, but you’re not the best in the world at anything anymore, OK? Dude. We still have the highest number of people imprisoned per capita of ANYONE in the world. USA! USA! USA! ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/31 "2014-05-07T17:11:16Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > So does that mean one cannot fight ignorance? :eek: You can fight ignorance, but typically not with incarceration. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/32 "2014-05-07T17:18:13Z")
I wonder if any of our friends from outside the US could tell us about how much coverage their news media gave to the Icelandic response to their banking crisis? Because I can tell you that the coverage of USA media to Iceland’s response has been virtually nonexistent. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/33 "2014-05-07T17:39:13Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > As an American, one thing that always bothered me, even as a kid, was hanging a prominent portrait of the sitting president in a place of honor in every public school I ever attended. It seems about on par with hanging pictures of Hitler in Nazi Germany or Stalin in 1950’s Soviet Union. I don’t know how common that is any more. I graduated in 2000. I have never seen a picture of the president in any school I have gone to. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/34 "2014-05-07T17:40:51Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I wonder if any of our friends from outside the US could tell us about how much coverage their news media gave to the Icelandic response to their banking crisis? > > Because I can tell you that the coverage of USA media to Iceland’s response has been virtually nonexistent. Don’t know where you get your news, but I get most of mine from the American media and saw a decent amount on the crisis. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/35 "2014-05-07T17:51:16Z")
Americans in professional jobs have a terrible work life balance. Two weeks vacation? Disgraceful! And I read that many workers don’t even take the vacation they’re owed? I get that its a tough economy. But insist on your rights. Work to live, don’t live to work. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/36 "2014-05-07T17:54:08Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I wonder if any of our friends from outside the US could tell us about how much coverage their news media gave to the Icelandic response to their banking crisis? > > Because I can tell you that the coverage of USA media to Iceland’s response has been virtually nonexistent. Not a thing. We’ve got Rob Ford and hockey to discuss. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/37 "2014-05-07T18:07:53Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > After all, what we are attacked for most often, are blatantly _Unconstitutional_ actions: undeclared wars, indefinite detention, eroding of privacy rights, etc. Yes, but what we outsiders perceive as your internal turmoil is often Constitutional: your gun-nuttery (as the rest of the West perceives it) is a result of your 2nd amendment, and your current SSM culture wars are a direct result of not enshrining sexual orientation as a protected class (unlike, say, South Africa - of course, we had the advantage of drafting ours in the 90s) - like I said, not keeping up with the times, and not really a selling point to us foreigners. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/38 "2014-05-07T18:26:28Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Don’t know where you get your news, but I get most of mine from the American media and saw a decent amount on the crisis. [Many](http://syncrenicity.com/2013/12/08/sync-news-icelanders-overthrow-government-rewrite-constitution-banking-fraud-word-us-media-way-go-guys/) [many](http://beforeitsnews.com/politics/2013/12/after-banking-fraud-icelanders-overthrow-government-and-rewrite-constitution-nothing-in-us-media-2577696.html)[many](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/3100925/posts) [many](http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002546016) [sources](http://cac.ophony.org/2012/04/16/the-icelandic-revolution-why-didnt-i-hear-about-it/) [disagree.](http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/?p=86053) And yes, one of those sources is Democratic Underground and one of them is Free Republic, I just wanted to show there’s a lot of non-partisan feeling that the Icelandic story was buried. Where do YOU get your news? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/39 "2014-05-07T18:27:39Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > …your current SSM culture wars are a direct result of not enshrining sexual orientation as a protected class (unlike, say, South Africa - of course, we had the advantage of drafting ours in the 90s) - like I said, not keeping up with the times, and not really a selling point to us foreigners. Combined with a legal system that on one hand puts a very large weight on precedent, and on the other can be literal to ridiculous extremes. That concept of “classes specifically listed as protected are the ONLY classes that are protected”, for example. The Spanish constitution doesn’t list “sexual orientation” as a “reason by which it is illegal to discriminate”, but when someone brought it up those Fathers of the Constitution still alive to be consulted answered along the lines of “are you fucking nuts? Of course it’s illegal! We weren’t writing a shopping list!” The stuff that first came to mind has already been mentioned: the best schools (no, only those everybody has heard of, and many that you think of as very good/famous are unfamiliar to the immense majority of the world), the best everything… when what you’re actually best at is marketing and having Hollywood; the pledge of allegiance (as has been mentioned in several threads, this is something which actually keeps many eligible residents from becoming citizens, because they take it seriously). Not directly from your government, the amount of Americans who think that their way is the only right way, from electoral mechanisms or which offices are elected to accents (these people exist all over, but personally I’ve encountered it in smaller ratios elsewhere); also that they are found abundantly among the college-educated. Note that these aren’t only a PITA to foreigners, they’re also extremely irritating to someone who happens to have a different accent, or to those people who are actively working to change the electoral system one way or another, to continue with my own examples. This also doesn’t come from your government directly, but I find it very irritating when retcons of pre-existing characters end up producing situations which would have been incompatible with America’s racial history. Given how much you guys love to try and impose your views on race on the rest of the world, the least you could do is own up! (Please don’t throw anything hard) ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876/40 "2014-05-07T18:34:20Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > ‘The Constitution’/‘Amendments’ as gestalt entities. > > I get that the articles of the US Constitution, The Amendments, The Bill of Rights, etc are all things that didn’t just spring into existence, and have all been fought for and argued into their places, but I often find arguments such as ‘because it says so in the Xth Amendment’ unsatisfying. > > I’m sure it’s mostly perception on my part, but it feels like people are saying that X is thus and so _because it’s written down_, not just because it’s a demonstrably true or good thing. I always want to point this out, especially in debates about guns, where people often don’t seem to understand the difference between the current legality of something and a position on whether or not it _should_ be legal. The idea that the Second Amendment might not be the best way of doing things, or that it could be changed, just doesn’t seem to come up much. Also, the implication that America “invented” freedom and democracy. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone state it outright, but I’ve often heard Americans say things that imply they imagine Americans came up with these great ideas and the rest of the world is slowly catching on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-see-as-ridiculous-american-propaganda/687876.md?page=3)