Most people know about America from the news broadcasters and from Hollywood.
And if thats all you know about America, you don’t know anything about us.
I can remember living abroad and catching the occasional CNN International broadcast, and I would almost literally get the hives. Watching the news when you’re living in the US, you know to take it with a grain of salt, whatever the scandal or horrific demented crime of the moment, you know there is context; you know that is only the tiniest percent of what the country is. But when you are overseas, and you watch CNN’s (or any other) non-stop recitation of horrors you will be left with the certainty that your country has most assuredly gone grotesquely mad in your absense.
Then think back over the last thirty years. How many movies have been cranked out in which the bad guys are rogue CIA, rogue green berets, rogue Viet Nam vets, running drugs, hit men for hire, psychotic mass murderers, wife beaters, guilt ridden, drug-addicted, consciences torn by the evil they’ve done in their past, or consciences so seared by the evil they’ve done for Uncle Sam that crime seems like playtime by comparison.
For most foreigners, thats all the America they will ever know. If thats all I knew about America I’d hate us too.
In 1964, my young nephew, who was born & raised in England (brother was serving 2 consectuive 4 year USAF tours there) screamed and cried and begged my parents not to leave for home, when they visited.
No; not the usual doesn’t want granpa & grandma to leave him.
No; it was “don’t go to America! The Indians will kill and scalp you!”
Between British news & entertainment, and American westerns, even he had a very distorted view of our reality.
To counter that misperception, I suddenly found myself sharing my bedroom when they returned home with him.
YEP...a co-worker of my husbands was on assignment in South America.....locals asked him....how many guns do you have? He said “None.” They couldn’t believe it....they thought ALL American’s had MANY guns....and carried them with them everywhere....