American Hyper-sensitivity

I dunno.

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Tunnel vision...

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Kicky, you're a yankees fan, right? What makes you so focused on them? What makes anyone loyal to anything else? THere, I guess it's a sense of loyalty. Why it's so intense in some.... I dunno.

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I don't think it's just Americans......

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No, that's true, Dlow, not just americans.

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Bingo.
I have had that responce MANY times in verbalizing my desire to move to another country.
I keep asking... What makes america so GREAT? ....... never get an answer.
SO I asked someone I know who is the same way..
" America is great. I wouldnt live anywhere else.. blah blah blah"
So, I asked, Why? What is so great about this country?
His responce : America is the richest country in the world!
My answer ; America is 1.7 trillion dollars in debt to 4 other countries. How is that being rich?
His next responce : " I didnt know that, well , Americas military is great! You gotta LOVE THAT"
My responce : " So you judge a countries greatness by thier ability to bully, infultrate and kill? Amazing"
He said: " Well, at least working in this country is better then anywhere else"
My responce : " So, in England, Germany, or France where men get equal time off for the birth of thier baby as thier wife does ( paid) , At least a months worth of time a year for vacation/free time and only having on average 4 scheduled work days in a week means working in america is better? What about Canada? Where you dont HAVE to have a healt plan taken out of your pay check every month or work for several months BEFORE you are even elidgable to FIND OUT if you can afford it?

he is now pissed at me. Laughing

But those are the hollow answers people give when you ' offend america' .. strange isnt it?

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Re: American Hyper-sensitivity

kickycan wrote:

Why so sensitive? It's like you just said something about their mother or something. Is the country perfect in the eyes of these people? I don't get it.

What da dealio?

This goes along with something else I overheard today. As you may or may not know the European Space Agency landed a craft on one of the moons of Saturn today. One of my co-wprkers commeneted that this was evidence that the US is "slipping" and that it shows that we no longer have a commanding lead in technology.

What's the biggie here? We weren't the 1st country to land a craft on Saturn and this is somehow the downfall of our country? I don't get this idea that we are somehow supposed to be #1 at every possible thing out there.

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Well, Shewolfnm, would you like to know what I think is great about America?????

Diversity - you are soooo multi-cultural (so are we - but not so much)

Curiosity. (yes, Americans are terribly insular - but you are also endlessly curious)

Openness - except for those who aren't! You test and poke and prod and navel gaze and show your sores for all the world to see. Some of you welcome new ideas, and insights, and criticisms, and so on....

Diversity again - from the madness of the fundamentalist red-necks, to the dizziest heights of intellectual derring-do. From the grossest Philistinism, to wonderful sensitivity and psychological, intellectual and artistic sensitivity and adventurousness.

ENERGY!!!!!

You talk all the time!!!!!

Your art and literature and music.

More to come.....

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Oh i agree Dl. Totally..
Espically with the diversity.
I dont know of any other country where one person can walk through a city and see places like " lChina town, or Little Italy" and actually have these places not only a few blocks from each other but be so full of thier respectful cultures you would SWARE you left america.
There is ALOT to love about this country. And just as much to hate as Im sure is with all other countries.
In the wake of the war, infulatration.. what ever you want to call it, there are too many people screaming patriotisim while not doing a damn thing about it. Hollow patriotisim is awful And living in the middle of it is nerve racking to say the least.
Example :
Here in america it has become a FAD for people to buy these little magnets to put on thier car that say " support our troops"
Well.. that is fine and dandy .. but noone is doing anything TO support troops. And in putting these things on thier cars they are in a sence becoming VERY arrogant and actually have the nerve to tell others they should SUPPORT our troops..
Buying a magnet, placing it on your car and calling yourself a TRUE AMERICAN is bull ****. Buying that magnet did nothing for any troop. Just made the person who holds the patent richer, theplace you bought it from just enjoyed the jump in sales . How is that helping? See what I am getting at?
That is the attitude that is plagueing this country, and making me fume in my BOOTS! Laughing

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LOl! Diversity means lots of your stuff is crap (just like lots of it is gold!!!!!) and it is - just like everyone else's.
But - I still wuv you all.

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Very VERY true.

im american.. i would NEVER EVER waste my money on an american made car for example.
I am also a bit wierd though, I research where my furniture companies, clothing companies etc come from and well.. ( i will be shot for this by tomorrow) but, if they are american i usually dont buy it Laughing

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I haven't bought an american car for decades, but on the other hand, I appreciate american design sense, at least on the local level, what I know about, and have high hopes for resurgence of american (and everywhere's) real craft. I once had a dream of doing a tv series on craft, not only home type craft, as in handweaving, but small manufacturing craft.

But now, various forces swirl so that what we buy in local stores is not all so local. Some of that is good, some not so.

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Re: American Hyper-sensitivity

kickycan wrote:

I have noticed that whenever anyone says something negative about the USA, there is always some hyper-sensitive loon who indignantly pipes up with something like, "It's still the greatest country in the world!", or "Why don't you try living in Syria, you ingrate!".

Why so sensitive? It's like you just said something about their mother or something. Is the country perfect in the eyes of these people? I don't get it.

As others have pointed out, I don't think this is specifically an American trait. Most people are patriotic to a certain degree; it comes down to self-identification.

However, I do take your point, I've come across this dogmatic mentality in Australia as well. Whilst patriotism has it's positives, I think when it comes to being forced to join uncritically in simultaneous shows to mass grief and triumphal nationalism; this unquestioning mass loyalty does need to be questioned, especially when minority views are being suppressed because of it. Also, some people confuse the fact that if we "whinge" about govt. policies in a country, apparently, we're unpatriotic. And as a defense mechanism, adopt a "love-it-or-leave-it" rationality to avoid critically engaging in what is actually being said.

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Re: American Hyper-sensitivity

VooDoo wrote:

kickycan wrote:
I have noticed that whenever anyone says something negative about the USA, there is always some hyper-sensitive loon who indignantly pipes up with something like, "It's still the greatest country in the world!", or "Why don't you try living in Syria, you ingrate!".

Why so sensitive? It's like you just said something about their mother or something. Is the country perfect in the eyes of these people? I don't get it.

As others have pointed out, I don't think this is specifically an American trait. Most people are patriotic to a certain degree; it comes down to self-identification.

However, I do take your point, I've come across this dogmatic mentality in Australia as well. Whilst patriotism has it's positives, I think when it comes to being forced to join uncritically in simultaneous shows to mass grief and triumphal nationalism; this unquestioning mass loyalty does need to be questioned, especially when minority views are being suppressed because of it. Also, some people confuse the fact that if we "whinge" about govt. policies in a country, apparently, we're unpatriotic. And as a defense mechanism, adopt a "love-it-or-leave-it" rationality to avoid critically engaging in what is actually being said.

Interesting, Voodoo.

Have you experienced, in Oz "being forced to join uncritically in simultaneous shows to mass grief and triumphal nationalism"?????

And again, have you seen this in Australia in recent years? - "if we "whinge" about govt. policies in a country, apparently, we're unpatriotic. And as a defense mechanism, adopt a "love-it-or-leave-it" rationality"?

I haven't in the last 20 odd years - but I have always assumed it is there - cos I DO see those awful displays of hyper-patriotism at things like cricket and such. I find the US far more hyper-patrriotic in feel - but my chosen milieu (you know, friends and such) is very intolerant of such stuff - and I wonder if it there, but I do not see it.

I can remember - as a kid - when the provincialism and horrible, ignorant self-satisfaction (the other side of the coin to the "cultural cringe" stuff) meant that any criticism of the place was resented fiercely - at the same as outside views were eagerly sought, (which makes national psyche sense, though illogical on the face of it).

I think we are a little more secure now - though we have the "little-country syndrome" of talking up our importance on the world stage!

What do you think?

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dlowan, yes I had the cricket in mind when I wrote that post! Wink

Though to answer your questions, in recent years, I have had many experiences that reinforce what I previously wrote. Specific examples include instances when I have tried to speak out against our involvement in the Iraq war, against the mandatory detention of refugees, against having two-tiered education and health systems, advocating reconciliation, equality in marriage laws, fair demarcation of boundary lines with East Timor, signing the Kyoto protocol, protecting workers etc.. And promptly told on many occasions to leave the country. *sigh* I can only conclude that in times of conflict (and sporting events Wink

), opinion leaders and the media band together to create a unified national opinion. I've always believed that there is continuing growing timidity in the media to critique some aspects of the current govt (with govt control of the Senate, one wonders if this will deteriorate further if cross ownership media legislation is passed).

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Wow!!!!

That is awful! I KNEW I was living in a fool's paradise!!!

But - most Australians don't agree with Iraq, the polls show - the Timor thing is a national disgrace - don't TALK about the Senate - and the MEDIA!!!!!

May I ask where you experienced this?

I knew i should be listening to bad talk back radio......

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No no definitely not, my advice is to steer clear of those the likes of Jonesy and Lawsey! Your sanity will thank you. (Oddly enough, I rarely take my own advice and have been known, on occasion, to get my jollies out of reading Piers Ackerman's Sunday column Laughing

)

With regards to where I experienced such hostility, it pretty much happened everywhere (in many a public fora) but mainly during the election campaigning period. I'm not really surprised at some of the reactions because those who are content with the status quo usually keep quiet and it is not until you challenge vocally, are you faced with such vitriolic responses. (On another slightly tangential note, many intelligent people are incredibly frustrated by the way this country is being run and by the lack of opportunities for them to exercise their intelligence in Australia.)

The war in Iraq is an interesting one; you're right with the polls indicating that we do not support any involvement but interestingly, the Howard govt. was re-elected with a clear victory in both Houses. I'm still ruminating on that one.

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Indeed - ruminating here - have you seen Msolga's elction threads in the Australia Forum?

Heehee - I am protected from Jonesy etc by living in Adelaide. I was kiddin' - still, it would be a salutory experience if my blood pressure would stand it!

Piers Ackerman is, BTW, an Adelaide boy - cut his fangs on the wretched Advertiser here.

I was very amused to find him in a Kinky Friedman book!!!!

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Kicky, why not just move to Russia already....oh wait, they're a democracy now. Umm....Fiji maybe, temperate climate, beautiful beaches, sexy girls, you could do worse. Italy is nice too. To conlclude this finely thought out treatise, I have no idea why Americans are so sensitive. Perhaps it's the faint smell of an empire in decline.

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American Hyper-sensitivity

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