As promised (if I remember correctly) I said I was going to post the paper. Although it is somewhat short, and (to me atleast) is sub par, here it is:
How The Rest of the World Views the United States
INTRODUCTION
Since the end of World War II, the United States has played a major role in the events that occur throughout the world. As the distance from the end of the worlds greatest military conflict grew, and the promise of Communism began to fall, it would seem that the popularity of the United States would never fail. But in our post-9/11 world, the opinion of the United States varies greatly from place to place, person to person.
In search of some answers, I attempted to work with some first-hand research. This, I logged onto a community forum called GTPlanet. Most users tend to be males, usually less than age 30, and come from all over the world to talk about a wide assortment of topics ranging from videogames, automotive news, mechanical information, auto racing, and among other thing, politics. Answers came in from across the globe, but the overwhelming majority came from mostly English-speaking countries like Canada, Great Britain, and Australia.
WHAT DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU THINK OF AMERICANS?
In a world of mass-media and near-instant connection to anyone anywhere in the world, its no wonder that the idea of an American can greatly be decided by what is on television. The media and their portrayal of Americans in the news and in regular television programming play a large part in how the world may view the United States. A look at the television stations of the BBC reveals that many American television series are broadcast in the United Kingdom, including American Dad, Family Guy, Arrested Development, and The Simpsons, along with other classic American shows like Starsky and Hutch, Friends, etc.
When asked about what comes to mind when he thinks of Americans, a 29 year old man from Yorkshire simply known as Famine summed up the thoughts of others:
At worst I'd say that the average American citizen - as the perception is presented to me - isn't too well informed of world matters, is a little overweight, owns more than one gun, enjoys NASCAR and drives a car which gets no better than 20mpg.
The notion of NASCAR and gun ownership is a topic brought up quite often with foreigners, although car guys are quicker to point out the problems with NASCAR in a world dominated by FIA-sanctioned racing. Both fall in line with the notion that Americans are often viewed as unintelligent rednecks, a stereotype that has been around since the days of the American revolution in the late eighteenth century.
Television is indeed a powerful tool in the construction of opinion in the world market of ideas. Often the American media, particularly of Hollywoods film industry, is accused of corrupting the youth of the world and pumping them full of American ideas and other kinds of mind-numbing American stupidity. American companies have been quick to buy up news sources around the world, such as Rupert Murdocks News Corp. which owns SkyNet (UK) and Fox News (US), two of the largest news sources in the western world. Both have been known to be somewhat pro-Bush, and that can be debated, but nevertheless has an impact on the viewers who watch the networks.
The other view of oversized, otherwise obese Americans is another common thought that comes to mind when foreigners think of Americans. Although completely true, it is another stereotype that is often trumped up by the media not only in America, but throughout the world. This often ties into the problems with American excess in wealth, food, and consumption in general that often sets us apart from the rest of the world that is generally a bit more conservative when it comes to eating habits and regular exercise. But, as a recent study had shown, the European obesity is on the rise as well. According to the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity, childhood obesity rates in the European Union are expected to rise from about 25 percent to near 38 percent by the year 2010. The report also cites that obesity rates will probably climb in the Middle East and Asia as well.
To change the perspectives on Americans, not much can be done. Americans are what we are, and according to Paul Starobin in Misfit America, much of the American sense of identity is rooted in our Jacksonian roots from the early 1800s. Starobin reasons that these roots can explain the American commitment to gun ownership and other second amendment rights, what he calls a kick-ass attitude towards foreign policy, and the notion that so many Americans still proudly wave the Confederate flag across the country. These are simply things we cannot change, as they are built into our psyche.
IS IT THE PEOPLE, OR IS IT THE GOVERNMENT?
In the post World War II era that has dominated society since 1945, the United States has played a major role in many governments around the world. If not directly, American participation in the World Trade Organization, World Bank, United Nations, as well as the push for American Capitalism through the new world of globalization that has greatly effected everyone in the modern world. The American indirect involvement in so many nations continues to be a sticky subject for so many people across the world. Added to that, our current President, George W. Bush continues to be one of the most controversial figures on the world stage, and often takes much of the criticism of Americans and the American government from people around the world.
Often times, it is the action of the government that offsets the otherwise positive nature given off by the American citizens.
As one 25 year old Canadian put it, I think America has some great people as citizens, unfortunately, from my view point, the whole country is being run by stupid, greedy people who are more concerned on what happens to them and their family (usually, rich) then the rest of the country and its large middle income demographic. The I don't care what the world thinks, Ill do what I want attitude the states has (think softwood lumber dispute and Iraq situation) reminds me of the 14 year old girls on Maury Povich, and unfortunately, thats what the rest of the world sees when it thinks of the US. I love the patriotism the US has, but sometimes it feels a [little] out of control, and unfortunately, its going to come back in their face sooner or later (i.e. Vietnam/Iraq war).
Thus, Bushs You are with us, or against us policy comes into question. Europeans often cite the speech he gave in which he said so shortly after September 11, 2001 as one of the fallouts of American/European relations in the past few decades. As Mad At America points out, Europeans and other world citizens are still upset about Bushs withdraw from the Kyoto accords, landmine convention, biological-weapons convention, test-ban treaties for nuclear weapons, international courts, and among other things, the overall lack of participation in the Israeli/Palestinian peace process. Re-electing President Bush to his second term may have also caused problems with foreigners for Americans. How could Americans have re-elected such an unpopular President both domestically and internationally? Doing so may have cause a great loss in faith of citizens throughout the world in Americans, and the fallout of doing so may not bee seen for some time.
To place a large generalization over the entire situation is rather easy, however. Iraq continues to be the biggest problem for America in almost any country in the world. Europe is often noted as saying the war was for Oil. The article Mad at America cites the numbers (as of 2003) that 76% of Russians, 75% of French, 54% of Germans and 44% of British believe the war was for oil, while only 22% of Americans feel that way. While the opposition for the war in Iraq remains steady in Europe, it has grown substantially in the United States, almost parallel to the drop in Bushs approval ratings. A new poll published by ABC and The Washington Post in early April revealed that only 38% of Americans polled are still in support of President Bush, compared to another poll done by the same organization back in September in which 46% of Americans supported the President. World News Tonight had mentioned the fact that again, Iraq had been the sticking point with Americans who were polled, but the Bush Administration remains committed to Iraq, whether Europeans or Americans like it or not.
However, age seems to determine much of the opinion for Americans and their government in the rest of the world. According to the article, Americas Foreign Fans, experience with American foreign policy throughout its variations can play a huge role in ones opinion of the United States. The study notes that in Poland for instance, 59% of people between the ages of 30 and 44 regard the influence of the United States as mainly positive. Those Polish citizens may regard the United States in a positive manner because of our backing of the Polish underground during the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in the late 1980s. Although younger generations may not remember it as well as older ones, a still fairly large 45% of Polish citizens under the age of 30 regard the United States in a mainly positive manner.
Similarly, those who were surveyed in Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and Italy over the age of 60 share an overwhelming positive feeling towards the United States, 64%. As the author notes, much of the opinion can be due to the fact that the United States played such a major role in World War II. Comparatively speaking however, only 32% of people under the age of 30 in those nations regard the United States in a mainly positive way. Once again, the shadow of World War II looms over the heads of so many people across the world. With opinion based on the actions of nations that occurred 61 years ago, it is amazing how the age gap has separated the opinions of people so much.
The trend seems to be fairly constant throughout the world, but there are cases that not otherwise. The nation of India seems to be the exact opposite. Presumably as a result of globalization, the younger and more affluent Indian citizens regard the United States in a largely positive light. Nearly 70% of the wealthy and highly-educated younger generation of India regards the United States in a positive manner, but slowly the numbers decline as ages increase with age.
Unfortunately for Americans, the lines between the government and the citizens have become greatly generalized over the past few years. With the newer threats of terrorism that fold the average citizen in with a member of the military as possible targets, the actions of one government, although not in reflection of the peoples wishes, can spell disaster in the end. But, things have been the same way for as long as anyone else has been on the planet. Its how the world and the governments work. German citizens may not have been to blame for World War II, nor Soviet citizens for the Cold War, but in the event of action, it was the civilians who would lose out in the end.
FROM THE MIDDLE-EAST:
One of the very last responses to my post was quite surprising. Posted Mohammad, a 21 year old student from Saudi Arabia, he offered a very different perspective on the identity of America and Americans as opposed to the Western-European derived peoples of Canada, Australia, etc.
I think Americans are all about America and they don't know whats else is going around in the world, I watch some news programs which are broadcasted live from the US like ABC News and CBS News, etc and I feel the media doesn't really care to show people in the US about whats going on the rest of the world. I feel that all Americans see Muslims and Arabic people, especially Saudis, as terrorists (I know they all don't but I feel that way) forgetting that we here have also been attacked by terrorists here, and a close friend of mine lost his brother in a terrorist attack.
I have American friends, [and] I don't hate Americans but I do hate Bush because he created allot of fear over here from his war against Iraq. Remember we share a border with Iraq, and we are afraid that he is going to decide to attack Iran next and [destabilize] the whole region even further
I find Mohammads views on the American media rather interesting. Oftentimes it is the Americans who say that we arent showing enough of the good that is happening in the Middle-East, while coming from someone who is there, we arent showing enough of the bad. The complaint of other people in other parts of the world is that Americans just do not know what is happening, and to hear it from someone other than a European or Canadian strikes me a bit differently.
Similarly, his problems with the portrayals of Middle-Easterners is also interesting. So often we do not think of every citizen of Iraq or Saudi Arabia as a terrorist, but if the Dubai Ports Deal taught us anything, it is that we arent free from associating a blanketed idea with the people of a particular region. Terrorism has hit home for so many people, and even he himself has experienced it, something that not every American can say.
CONCLUSION:
If anything is to be learned from all of this, it is that America is not as loved as so many of our citizens believe. An American ignorance, built upon by the sense of grandeur in the wake of World War II has left us behind in the minds of foreign people throughout the world. Our lack of understanding of not only American history on the world stage, but world history as a whole leads so many people to believe that we are an ignorant and rather stupid bunch of people who care only about themselves, and not the rest of the world.
As Jockey Wilson from the UK says, I've always liked Americans, some of the nicest people Ive ever met were Americans, they genuinely were hugely friendly and accommodating beyond what i thought humanly possible, and Im talking about just strangers Ive met...
Lets hope Americans can maintain that opinion in many peoples minds across the world, because in these changing times, having friends may be one of the most important parts of being an American on the world stage.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
"Misfit America." Atlantic Monthly 1993: 144-49. WilsonSelectPlus. FirstSearch. Woodhouse Library, Aquinas College. 14 Mar. 2006
http://0-newfirstsearch.oclc.org.woodhous.aquinas.edu/.
"America's Foreign Fans." The Wilson Quarterly 2005: 8-87. WilsonSelectPlus. FirstSearch. Woodhouse Library, Aquinas College. 14 Mar. 2006
http://0-newfirstsearch.oclc.org.woodhous.aquinas.edu/.
Eno, Brian. "The U.S. Needs to Open Up to the World." Falling Out With Uncle Sam. 12 Jan. 2003. TIME. 14 Mar. 2006
http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/2003/0120/cover/view_eno.html.
McCallister, J.F.O. "Mad At America." TIME Europe. 20 Jan. 2003. TIME. 14 Mar. 2006
http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/2003/0120/cover/story.html.
PollingReport.com. 10 Apr. 2006. PollingReport Inc, and polling/sponsoring organizations. 10 Apr. 2006
http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm.
How the Rest of the World Views the United States. 21 Mar. 2006. Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd., GTPlanet Networks. 10 Apr. 2006 <https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=78576>.
).
, loud and a little nieve in general about life outside of their own country or even state.
lol just kidding 
