Via WhitePeopleTwitter, where the discussion is mostly about Americans dissing states other than the one they live in.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Mark Twain
i live on an island. we have a saying: "if you can't get it on the island, you probably don't need it.".
ReplyDeletep.s. we do have three bridges, but it's not like they take you 'somewhere'. you still have to go a distance to get to 'somewhere'.
I-)
So...that tweet is completely wrong, since most Americans apparently do leave their home state, and do travel outside the country?
ReplyDeleteI’ve been to numerous states and countries, and have married an immigrant and visited their extended family in Brazil, and I’m still happy to say the America is the best country in the world for what I think is important. Your criteria may differ, but this seems like the kind of sweeping generalization that you accuse Americans of doing.
I understand your objection, IronHorse, but I continue to believe that MOST Americans who claim that this is "the best country in the world" have no basis for comparison, no gold standard to use, no frame of reference for that claim. Best at what? War? Health? Education? Quality of life? Happiness? Chants of "Murica" or "USA USA USA" are unadulterated jingoism. IM(not-H)O.
DeleteIsn't Brazil in America ?
DeleteScratches head.
Checks atlas.
I been to numerous countries in the north and south hemispheres, ended up here in New Zealand, married an immigrant (but don't see how that matters) and have visited her extended family in Australia, and I'm still happy to say that New Zealand is the best country in the world for what I think is important.
DeleteYour criteria may differ, but my sweeping generalisation is that Mark twain's words ring true.
My visit to America left me with the conviction that a country that needs its police to carry death ray guns on their hips is not somewhere I want to live.
And I didn't even mention about the people there electing an orange clown as president.
I think that the patriotism you're maligning is key to building the community trust you see in the kind of countries you might see as "better" than the US. We don't have the advantage of a small, homogenized population with a common cultural background like, say, the Nordic countries, so we rely on our common ideology shaped by the founding and the Constitution.
DeleteThe importance of philosophy and ideology in the American identity is one of the things that makes America great in my mind. The US still enjoys a robust flow of immigrants from all over the world who, despite the social welfare systems of Europe, choose to move here for our personal freedoms and the potential for economic success. If you see someone chanting USA!, then maybe that freedom to be who you wish to be is what they're celebrating? You could try asking them instead of looking at surveys.
As for Brazil being in America, you'll have to bring that up with the Brazilians who called me Americano :)
Immigrant here. Visited 38 states in the 19 years I've been here. And the District of Columbia. And Puerto Rico (a US property). And the US Virgin Islands (a US territory). And two states in Mexico and two provinces in Canada. My goal is to visit all 50 states and I'll take any territories I end up in). I have to admit it's getting harder and harder as unvisited states get further and further away from me.
ReplyDeleteMark Twain was right.
As for the point that most Americans have left the state they were born in, I'd point out that a lot of large cities in America are very close or on state borders (Boston, Providence, NYC, Philly, DC, Chicago, Charlotte, Jacksonville, New Orleans, St Louis, Kansas City, Memphis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Milwaukee, Omaha, Las Vegas, Portland (either one) and San Diego in an odd way). So to define provincialism, perhaps it would be better to ask if Americans have ever left the states they lived in plus the surrounding states. That would also capture people living in small states like Delaware and New England. Or you can ask people if they've ever traveled more than 500 miles from their home.
Finally, America is a great country. But that does not preclude other countries from also being great. America also has ongoing issues. Like all other countries.
The idea of unique American exceptionalism is very American. True, the Brits and French can be snobs as well, but at least they're aware that other countries exist.
The Europeans have much fewer barriers than the Americans to international travel, and that does not appear to have immunized them against "prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness".
ReplyDeleteTwain was right in his own time. But today, unless we travel by sailboat or walk, travel is also fatal to the biosphere. Air travel and beef consumption are two obvious GHG disasters we'd drop immediately if we were serious about averting climate mayhem. The fact that virtually no one, who can afford these things, eschews them, tells us all we need to know. Driving a Tesla is about all 99.9% of "rich world" humans will do voluntarily. Until Covid, affluent "environmentalists" still bragged about their air travel: Fatal cognative dissonance. We insist on/hope for a technological deus ex machina, because real, deep sacrifice is unthinkable. This will sound sanctimonious and judgmental to most ears, which I take as more evidence of our current state.
ReplyDeleteI consider myself well-read. I don't need to go to Saudi Arabia to have concern for its people...yet detest the ancient barbarism that exists there.
ReplyDeleteThere is a reason so many people want to immigrate to America and, upon arriving, never wish to move back home.
There is a bit of snobbery, I would think, in the notion of "if only you traveled the world, you would know America is [take your pick] evil, corrupt, not very good, inferior to other countries."
I have never left the USA, but have taken some long road trips across America. For one thing, I just prefer to stay within the borders of a country where I share many cultural distinctives,all while understanding my rights, etc.
I have learned i could spend a lifetime in my small town and not know nearly everything, let alone in our beautiful nation...even less the world. Besides, as the melting pot, much of the world comes to us.
Most Americans believe their country is the best in the world. I wonder how many have travelled internationally? And I don't mean Canada or Mexico. Not a high percentage I would wager. I've been to 45 countries. I was married to a New Zealander and have visited there many times. Great country, as are many others. I don't think the US is the best because of too many problems that seem intractable. But in a way the US is made up of 50 countries and there are good and bad. I think travel does make one respectful and appreciative of other cultures. I highly recommend travelling as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteI often say that there are two types of people in the world: those who look at something unfamiliar and say, 'That's weird!', and those who look at something unfamiliar and say, 'Huh, that's different from what I'm used to.' I do not feel that travel is necessary to acknowledge that there are different forms of 'normal,' and that not everything that is different is necessarily 'bad,' 'weird,' 'exotic,' 'inferior,' or 'suspicious.' Travel helps, but an upbringing that emphasizes open-mindedness and empathy for others can also do this.
ReplyDeleteFor work, I have lived all over the country, from rural areas in deep Cajun country in Louisiana to the heart of Los Angeles. There are people of both types everywhere, regardless of travel history, socioeconomic status, etc.
I agree very much with the idea that travel can help us be more open-minded, but it is not a given, and I don't think that staying in one spot your whole life will doom you to a life of closed-mindedness.