I live in the global community of Second Life. I see and hear and meet and read about so many different people, so many different backgrounds and lifestyles. A reccuring theme has been the anti-American sentiment in some quarters and its counterpart the flag waving defence of their country.
I’ve been thinking a lot about perceptions and how we sound exotic to each other, as mentioned in an earlier post. I mentioned of course that we’ve grown up on a diet of American TV and Film so much so that it is ingrained in our psyche that our heroes are American. And this has developed my thoughts on the matter of country bashing that I read. I think that the rest of the world perhaps expects too much of of the USA. That we have built up an unachievable ideal that it must match. That the country like its Hollywood heroes should be shiney toothed, determined hunks, standing for justice and good.
I developed this analogy further in that the USA is our child, in many ways Europe gave birth to her. We expected her to achieve so much. She grew up just like us, and deep down we were saddened. So perhaps we should look at ourselves in the mirror, examine our own ideals and expectations, perhaps then we can point the finger – I very much doubt we would.
It reminds me of poem by Philip Larkin, “This Be The Verse”
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another’s throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don’t have any kids yourself.
So I may disagree with some things the government carries out in the name of citizens of the USA. I may disagree with people who happen to be American. Do I hate the USA? Why should I? It’s just the same as my country or your country, except we probably had an empire and wiped out scores of indigenous people.
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Thank you for your thoughts on this subject. I hope you don’t mind sharing mine.
The model of the U.S.A. and the powers it holds are in no way comparable to the fragmented parts of Europe that bicker for centuries about world-domination and human intolerance only. In that respect the ‘child’ outgrew it’s parent(s) to an extend that the parent(s) should fear their very own extinction by the technologies the child produces. I also see the child still pursuing more idealism the parents ever achieved to equal men amongst themselves.
It’s not just fingerpointing or bashing. I still want that child to bear children. But it became strong and angry with consumption of everyone only in mind.
Agreed… The ‘bashing’ on the USA or glorification is often pretty general and abused to hide personal failure, but one might also be disappointed in the great opportunities for global balance that are being missed in pursuit of decadence. Strikes me I have that same sentiment about Second Life (TM) as well.
Oh well.. =/