Job Discussion Forums

[biffinbridge]

You forget that we in Great Britain have been fighting Irish terrorists,catholic and protestant,for the best part of this century.It's ironic that most IRA funding comes from the American community.When are the Yanks gonna pile into Northern Ireland in this war on terrorism?More people have been maimed and killed during Ireland's tragic troubles,(which in fact started during tribal times),than died on that dreadful day 9/11.When are the Americans gonna pull the reins on Sharon,(a man accused of war crimes and responsible for the illegal invasion of the Lebanon in 82)?The problem with US foreign policy is that it doesn't apply its precedents consistently.That's why people are knocking the place.

[johnslat]

Dear biffinbridge,
There are, admittedly, a lot of what I ( and Michael Moore ) would consider to be " stupid people " ( and not just " White Men " ) in the USA. But then, from what I've seen, there are a lot of those kind of people everywhere ( and - full disclosure - I've been among them, on occasion ).
But let's recall that ( Michael Moore again - if you haven't read " Stupid White Men " yet, may I recommend it ) Dubya and Co. did literally steal the last presidential election. When you " knock a place " en masse, I'd say that you unjustly impugn large numbers ( perhaps even the majority )
of the citizens there. And, with reference to the USA's recent " foreign policy " in Iraq, specifically and in the Middle East generally, may I point out that the UK's government has been a prime supporter of much of this.
What you wrote about American backing of the IRA and Sharon is, unfortunately, very true. But can we always keep in mind that many residents of a nation do not agree with - in fact, often vehemently disagree with - what their supposed " leaders " are doing?
Regards,
John

[psychedelic]

Hi shmooj,
Why is it that someone would come up with such an inept question in the first place? The U.S. is the BIG TARGET..right? Nothing else better to do? One could just as easily say the same about many other country's. I've read that the Chinese are basically the same..they don't care much about what's going on in their country,government and probably the rest of the planet. Touche!

Have a good one!

[shmooj]

Psychadelic. Why? Beats me

You might want to read the last 8 pages though...

[dduck]

[biffinbridge]

I think the real reasons why America has become a target lie within the facts that America a.)Has become the world's policeman,(I might add through no fault of it's own... the Europeans esp. the French have been pretty weak here).b.)American commercial interests are seen as intrusive/invasive and finally because... c.)Her foreign policy is so inconsistent.(The Iran Contra thing,supplying arms to the Taliban to fight the Russians,her support of Israel,going into Panama to get Noriega,supporting Pinochet etc).

[shmooj]

I agree with biff here. I think there is a lot of confusion created by these differing policies. It remains to see what will happen in the next couple of years with a possible change of power in the US.

One thing I've thought of though is the irony that while the US does get a bad rap in many nations, its icons and lifestyle are desperately sought after cultural commodities in many others. This fascinates me. It's almost like people want to be American without having America.

But to bring the thread back to the original question that nameless person asked... one of the major reasons for lack of cultural/outside awareness of English speaking nations lies, I believe, in the very success of ENglish.

I seriously doubt whether it is possible to really come to know another culture without speaking the language of that culture. I have been blown away by how my intermediate level Japanese has opened up this country and its people to me in ways that I never imagined existed before I became reasonably fluent. It made me realise how ignorant I probably am of all those other countries I lived in and visited and thought I knew well though I never learned the language.

Being a native English speaker is considered prestigious for ease of travel and communication in other cultures where a number of people have also learned English. But this very ability handicaps us by removing the necessity to learn others' languages and thereby come to really know them.

[arioch36]

IT IS NOT DEMOCRACY

People in every country...on the whole, accept convenient truths/lies, give convenient truths/lies. Most people want what they know, what they are comfortable with. Certainly my in China students have a lack of knowledge of the world, and their own history. Is it really different in other countries that you teach in?



I think the true ignorance is people saying the negative things about a world leader or country because they don't personally like him, or his politics, or that country (or have envy). But they don't make the same statements about the leader they support or country they love. And this is the true cause of strife. Only looking at the mote in the other guy, and not the beam in your own.

It doesn't make any difference who is in "power" in the US. Clinton bombed Sudan because he was politically in trouble. Bush promised he would not allow America to become involved in nation building. WHat would Clinton done differently? Has Bush really done what he wanted? The president doesn't have the power you think. The nation sets the course, and the president follows. Incredibly true with Clinton, quite true with Bush.

[TaoyuanSteve]

Geographers have a term called distance decay that describes how people don't know much about places far away (or simply far off their mental maps). The further a place is from where a person lives, the less likely it is that they will know anything about it. I think we all know about places, and other things, that are important to our lives; and we don't know too much about that which has no relevence to us.

[Dave Kessel]

Geographers have a term called distance decay that describes how people don't know much about places far away (or simply far off their mental maps).

[lighthouse1971A]

[SueH]

I wondered why this thread had been resurrected...

Being a former stamp collector as a child of course I knew where St. P was - they had a really good line in recess printed stamps.

Last year I had some 20 yr old Chinese students who couldn't even find the US on a world map.....

[Albulbul]

Not just USAnians. Ask your average "educated" Brit - or any other nationality - where to locate somewhere on a world map.

Not just Brits. Alas, everywhere.

[dmb]

Speaking of resurrections. Welcome back Albulbul

[fat_chris]