Is It the USA vs the Rest Of the World?
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A Facebook chum in the USA has told me that the World Cup is hardly being mentioned over there. Some might say that, as the USA didn’t qualify, why should it be big news over there? Well, a lot of countries didn’t qualify but the World Cup is still major news to them. The truth is, I believe because a worryingly large percentage of Americans are insular.
There is ample evidence to the contrary of course. In my experience alone of meeting Americans, they are extraordinarily open and friendly.
Where a Brit will spend several days, at least, deciding on whether you should be allowed knowledge beyond their name, in my experience Americans, within about 60 seconds of meeting them, will have divulged their names, dates of birth, addresses, where they were born, which political party they support, how many children they have along with ages and dates of birth, not to mention inviting you to ‘come visit us anytime’.
I’m sure there are plenty of unfriendly Americans, it’s just that most of us have never met any. Those we meet invariably become our friends for life just by their natural effervescence and a general sense of well being.
It’s possible that, at least in Britain’s case, we still appreciate the help we received in WWII – albeit we had to pay a lot of money back for it. Never the less, we are taught history and are well aware of the sacrifices made by American military personnel in helping us combat Hitlers Nazis.
You might have turned up a bit late but you did, at least, turn up. Without you who knows whether I would be speaking German had I been born at all.?
Perhaps it’s just a case of the USA being a huge contradiction?
You put men on the moon. You started the movie industry on the path to greatness. You invented rock ‘n roll. You did a mostly decent enough job of ‘policing the world’ for a long time. You were the worlds first ‘superpower’ and yet, it is acknowledged that many of your young people haven’t a clue where anywhere actually is outside of the USA or even, sometimes, outside their own state.
A video I spotted on FB highlighted the strange discrepancy between the openness and enormous curiosity Americans seem to have with other people of other nations alongside an alarming inability of some to recognize there is a big world outside the USA.
In the video random Americans, all under 30 I would say, were asked who fought who in WWII.
One thought America was fighting Russia, another thought America was fighting Saddam, another mistook it for the first Gulf War and another had never heard of it. Yes, it was funny, in a way, but more worrying than funny really.
I’ve mentioned your ‘World Series’ of baseball before. Clearly, it isn’t. I think someone mentioned Canada might have had a team in it but, apart from that, it clearly isn’t a ‘World Series’. Calling it such contradicts the argument that America isn’t insular, even though many other things contradict the argument that it is. America, or, at least, many Americans, can be insular far too much for comfort and I struggle to fathom out quite why when to be so is equally clearly against their natural tendencies.
Most of you readers are American so can you tell me why The USA is such an open yet insular country? Can you tell me why Americans, in general, have an innate curiosity about people from other countries and befriend them openly and within, literally, seconds, yet often have no idea where the country is of the people they are so readily befriending?
I know this conundrum baffles a lot of people – because a lot of people have said it does.
Most of the people of the western world love America and Americans. Americans, when they are in western Europe, tend to love them right back and yet, it often seems that Americans are not always entirely sure who they are loving back or precisely where those people are from, at least in geographical terms.
After introducing a Lithuanian chum to an American chum – they got along just famously – my American chum asked me “where the heck is Little Mania?” He was under the impression it might be somewhere in Africa. He decided it must be near South Africa as ‘there are lots of white people there’. He nodded sagely at what he perceived was his wisdom.
“I vas frum Klaipeda” informed my Lithuanian chum.
“Did he say he’s got the clap?” asked the American with some alarm. (Actually, is ‘the clap’ a British colloquialism that he’s picked up over here or in general use there? I don’t know. Two nations united by a common language eh?)
I tried to explain but finally settled for getting the beers in. It was simpler that way.
So, dear readers, you tell me.
Is the USA insular? Are Americans insular? If so how can they be so open at the same time? Is the USA just a huge and beautiful contradiction?
It isn’t really a question of enormous importance in the general scheme of things. It is though, a great bafflement to many other people from many other nations.
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If you will notice, most of the world illiterates here in America tend to be under the age of 50 or be like Trump, those that avoided serving in the military. Prior to that when a larger part of the population actually served in in the military many more people knew more about the world. Not that I am or ever was a geographical genius, but my time in the Marines allowed me to get to know a lot about the world not only from my travels but being around older guys who had traveled a lot more and talking with them. Since we ended the draft Americans have gotten, as you call it, insular, I call it more tribal. People tend to be born, raised, live, and die within a 50 mile area. Everything they know about life and the world is right there. They rarely meet anyone outside those they grew up with and likely never learned to appreciate the talents or cultures of other people much less learned to work closely with them. Though I never went to Oregon, California, Iowa, or New York, or West Virginia. I did get to know some people from there very well. They may or may not have been representative of the population, but I learned a lot about the places. I did get to travel around the Caribbean a lot, as well as Labrador, Newfoundland, Iceland, and Norway. One short trip to Spain was really nice but overall it was learning about different people and places that was most interesting to me. I also remember that some guys were still stand offish to others until the Cuban Missile Crisis. There is nothing like the uncertainty of a persons future and having to depend on them in a possibly dangerous situation to bring people together. Sort of like funerals I guess.
I’ve a feeling the under 50 thing you said is about right mate. My FB American pal is saying the news is all about the Super Bowl and little about the World Cup.
You’re invited to my funeral 🙂
We watch the WC over here. Of course you don’t know that because you don’t live here.
Cool. Does it get much of a mention on the news?
Is America, or are Americans insular? The tens of millions that travel internationally are probably not. The majority of faculty, staff and graduate students at the many fine State Universities, are probably not. A mention also for the world class private or independent universities like Harvard, Yale, Princeton and other Ivy League schools, they are maybe a little broad-minded too. People that make the choice to live in, or have easy access to, the great cosmopolitan centers, like New York, Chicago or any number of west coast cities, have at their fingertips, great culture and art, concerts of any musical genre, world food and a live sporting event of your choice, if you can get a ticket.
Apart from the above mentioned, plus a few I should have mentioned. Yes, Americans tend to be a little insular.
My thoughts too and yet increasingly they are wrongly being perceived as so.
Odd.
The coverage is live and plenty of it. The games here are at 8am, 11am and 2pm, so evening viewing figures not expected. When Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Mexico and England play, over 4 million viewers watch. That’s not including people who use live streaming or watch in bars and restaurants. Soccer has replaced Ice Hockey as the fourth most viewed live sport below NFL and College football, NBA and College basketball and MLB. 24 million people play in US with over 4 million registered with the USFA. The women have won World Cups, just a matter of time until the men become a world power.
My only surprise is they aren’t already.
What do you think about this insular thing though?
Right now because of our leadership we are getting more and more nationalistic/insular by the day. Lot of people think the US is the end all and the very best at every single thing there has been or will ever be. I am not one of those people so you know.
I should think not! You didn’t qualify for the World Cup for starters 😂⚽
Only soccer games I watch are the ones my nephew plays in. He likes having family around cheering when he is playing.
Actually, Mexico are very good…someone should tell Trump the USA could win the World Cup if he let Mexicans in! 😂😂😂
Trump thinks the World Cup is something Obama won, so he wants one too :-). That being said The World Cup is getting coverage over here, but you have to remember our news, except local, is all about TRUMP, 24/7. Britain could sink into the sea and they might mention it but then it would be back to TRUMP, TRUMP, TRUMP.
Obsessions are dangerous! I know! I’ve been obsessed with Oldham Athletic football club for 54 years n look what its2 done to me!!! 😂😂😂😂