By Panagiotis Moysoglou,
We all know about the United States of America. We have seen maps of the country, seen its flag with stripes, and all almost every day since we were born. Yet it seems that in all their glory the Americans might have forgotten about us, the rest of the world. At least this might be a stereotypical point of view. It will remain to be seen after this analysis concludes if the stereotype holds.
To get the full picture, it would be proper to introduce the geographical and historical facts about this country. The US as it sits on this earth, is like a continent in terms of size. Also, it boasts a diverse population of more than 300 million people as it quite literally stretches between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Yet, like a tail, it still holds a few extraterritorial possessions. A relic of either a glorious or an imperialist past that is yet to be put out. Lastly and most noteworthy of all it has managed to create a new nation, the American one, from migrants and former colonists, with countries and pasts of their own. Theoretically, it managed to do this with the promise that all shall be equal in all matters concerning life and to give new meaning, a second chance, to unfortunate souls. We shall see what that brings in the future.
The next topic on the list is a small historical background, for it is history that can show the bare and naked heart of a nation. As some of us know America declared independence on the 4th of July 1776 and got recognized as a sovereign state in 1783, after it won against the great British empire in a revolution. It has been 247 years since then. The us in that short amount of time has managed to climb the ranks and become successful, both in economics, military, and education, country. Yet in all those years it expanded. First to the West in the 19th century, the destiny of the American nation as they say, or ‘Manifest Destiny’ as the historical term. Then it was international as it fought wars all over the globe. Yet as the dust settles, we have arrived at the America of today.
Now the picture of this so-called American ignorance might be getting clearer. First, geography and information go hand in hand. It can be humanly difficult for us to sympathize with something that does not affect us personally or we do not see it. That can be the case for a problem a city over and it is very much the case when our country is two oceans away. As such no matter how, much America is involved in international affairs, it is objectively difficult for the average American to know everything.
Secondly, ignorance can be a product of the country’s achievements. Any population that has enjoyed the success of America might get a little lazy especially if it is paired with the ‘Manifest Destiny’ idea or the isolationist policies of the same century. All have created a nation so patriotic that believes in its destiny and rests on it. Such is the effect that the American population might know information concerning America and its interests, not even lifting its eyes to the rest of the world. Save only for sometimes in matters of humanity and when the world suffers, even if America played a part in that plight.
Yet there is another part that has created the America of today and a period in our history called the Cold War, that put the US and the USSR in a ‘cold standoff’ until the end of the century. It is a play between powers that created the pros and cons of the American nation that we know today. It pushed human innovation, with its myriad applications, education, science, and information to a sky-high level. It birthed an American Machine centered on the American mind, for it filtered every piece of information both domestic and international in the name of the nation. All was for the protection of the American interests, even to an extent of paranoia. It seems like the old saying by American President Lincoln “For the people, by the People, to the People” where “people” means “Americans”, for the US was and still is one of the centers of our world.
The final gear in this machine has come from the American nation itself. This wonderful country has in some way, or another always accepted immigrants and foreigners to work and live within its borders. The way those people were treated might have in some aspects changed, yet one crucial piece is still the same. Those new people or new Americans could always enjoy or bring their traditions and cultures into the fold of the American Nation, yet in the end, they would think of them as American. Some part of their original heritage would be gone and replaced with the American idea and spirit, for better or worse. It is this “Inclusion through Exclusion” that might be the key to the lock of ignorance. New Americans try to fit in and adopt everything American with or without realizing that they are forgetting a part of their original identity. A new life inside the US borders is born and everything outside of them might not even affect it.
The answer to the “problem of American ignorance” has been revealed. It is a coalition of American history, policies, “Manifest Destiny” the paranoia and closure of the Cold War, and of international factors that caused America to become what it is. There stands this great nation, where parts of its population only care about the small circle of events that affect them. In this superpower, this hegemony there are people that either do not want or cannot learn about the outside world. For in this, all, there is no in-between.
A survey from the Pew Research Centre along with several surveys done over the year can collaborate on this. Out of the randomly selected 3581 US citizens, 795 percent of them could recognize the leader of North Korea and 67% of them could recognize the symbol of the Euro. As far as international knowledge is concerned only 41% percent of them could recognize the flag of the country of India. Higher results were found with the Americans who had a better economic or educational factor. Also, the lack of American interest in the world can be found in the fact that 40% of Americans carry a passport, mostly to travel around the American continent, as provided by the BBC.
It is true that if we were to open our TVs or laptops there, we would see countless examples of this “American ignorance or stupidity”. Although it is surely certain that similar examples could be found in the European population, at times a stereotype or a trend might hide an ugly truth. Even when the maths and statistics were seen, the results were not that heartwarming, even though they showed a more complete picture of the situation. The only real and undeniable truth is that America is not perfect as is the world. Whatever ignorance might exist in that great American nation, no matter its percentage compared to the rest of the world should be eliminated if at all possible, for an improved American Nation and an extent the world that has come to depend in some ways on this superpower.
References
- What Do Americans Know About International Affairs? Pew Research Center.Available here
- Is it true only 10% of Americans have passports? BBC News. Available here
