Does this picture some up World view of U.S.

[Ilulissat]

oh my gosh, that is so funny!

[doc1]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

Oh, it's the usual shrill, self-flagellating nonsense ginned up by the NPR totebag crowd.

Here's the thing. ALL countries are provincial in their own way. Ever visit a foreign country? Unless you read whatever acts as the national newspaper (Such as the New York Times in America or the London Times in the UK), then you'll find that the headlines are almost completely about what happens on the local scene and in their national politics.

What's more, engage run-of-the-mill people from other countries in conversations about the United States, and you'll be amazed how ignorant that are about our country, too. I live in the South, and encountered people in New Zealand, Africa, and Europe who thought it was someplace out of High Noon, without benefit of running water, electricity.

Or, there was the time I was invited to visit a new acquaintance's house in Scotland. In the den, all these Scots were all sitting around, feverishly chainsmoking, as they watched the movie Twister on the telly. When they found out I was American, they peppered me with questions based on the movie. "Oh, Chris, how do get around all day having to dodge all those tornaaaadoes all the time?" As if twisters were just part of my daily commute into work.

To foreigners, our cities filled with either rich plutocrats who helicopter around from one high rise to another or vicious black gangs who will shoot for the slightest of pretense. 85% of the US lives in either New York or LA. The remain 15% live in flyover land, spend their entire days attending church, and spend their entire nights looking for a black man to lynch. And, as soon as you drive five miles into the South, a truck full of rednecks will fill your car with buckshot and run you off the road.

So ignorance goes both ways.

Very well put.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by Odie

In yank defense, we only have Mexico and Canada attached to us...that doesn't leave a lot of difficult cultures to experience. Most Americans can not afford a trip across the pond to experience Europe, Asia or Africa. I know I can't. It's a lot easier to take a train or plane to 5 or more different countries in a week. I am jealous.

I'm jealous too, and that's a good point.

Originally Posted by cpg35223

Oh, it's the usual shrill, self-flagellating nonsense ginned up by the NPR totebag crowd.

Well, I don't think it's nonsense. To quote Homer Simpson, it's funny--because it's true.
I've seen the first pic before, but never the Ronald Reagan one. "Our Oil." Heh--they got that one right, for sure.

Here's the thing. ALL countries are provincial in their own way.
So ignorance goes both ways.

Well, of course--to some degree.
It always depends on who you're talking to, I suppose.
I've met a lot of people in different foreign countries. I'm not sure if whether or not they were "run of the mill" people. Some of them really impressed me with their English, their knowledge of United States geography, and several had visited here.
I enjoyed talking to them about their country, because that's where I was.
The foreign people I have met here in the States impressed me even more, because they spoke my language a lot better than I spoke theirs.

[motorcyclemano]

If only we could bring Reagan back!