Comments on: Are Americans Stupid?

By: Ian

Ian — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:41:41 +0000

I think US citizens tend to be culturally ignorant not stupid. Our intentions as people are generally very good. I can’t speak for our government as I really can’t tell exactly what is going on in the confusion of propaganda, lobbyists, pork, and my lack of interest, which I understand is probably what US citizens are stereotyped as. But some of the criticisms here are pretty obviously over generalizations, and as have been said by others, could be said, to a lesser or greater degree about any other countries inhabitants. In the end we are all pretty similar, just because our cultural expectations and knowledge, or lack there of, can be annoying to each other doesn’t mean that we are any less similar or related genetically for that matter.

Not to say we don’t all discriminated because of our frustration and lack of understanding of each other, but it sure is annoying to be stereotyped.

I don’t understand why this is so bad, for lack of a better word:
“In a European tour I was on a few years back the Americans in the bus wanted to know how much the tip should be to the bus driver & tour guide ??” -Robert Scott

I might have had to have been there.

By: Robert Scott

Robert Scott — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:38:26 +0000

I am an Australian and have met the so called ugly American in Asia & Europe. I have also been to the USA as well and have met the same on their own soil, so to speak.

The myth that American is the greatest country in the world abounds among its inhabitance. The American education system is partly to blame for this lack of knowledge of the outside world but you would think now with the net, Americans would be coming a little wiser ? Ah apparently not so. In a European tour I was on a few years back the Americans in the bus wanted to know how much the tip should be to the bus driver & tour guide ?? The behavior of these 50 years plus people reminded me of children who had to be told what to do before they could make a decision.

We Australians don’t take ourselves too seriously and can laugh at our shortcomings. Sadly most Americans have not ever been able to do this and really can’t handle criticism as some of these posts show.

By: Ed

Ed — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:31:33 +0000

Really funny to read this! I am from the Netherlands and I’ve visited several other countries in Europe and I have been to the States for the last 3 years. Although I like to be in the States (Florida, in my case), I wouldn’t call the average American stupid, but I do figure that a lot of Americans know jack about what’s going on outside of the US and even IN the US. I believe a lot of Americans are so in love with their country and somehow having this strange conception of democracy and liberty that they just don’t bother looking across the border and think they kinda rule the world. Apart from this, the Americans live a totally different way compared to the “average European”.

Europeans, by the way, are all different. Sweden, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece and all those countries are really different cultures. The EU is far from being united as one, even though there’s 1 currency.

By: Patricia Lewis

Patricia Lewis — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:30:45 +0000

*disclaimer to the above: Being an American and used to taking shortcuts, I cut and pasted my own comment from one post to another dealing with this subject. But, I neglected to edit out the reference to the Texan. The Texan in this post is not the one I was referring to when I made my snarky comment.

By: Patricia Lewis

Patricia Lewis — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:12:51 +0000

I’ve traveled extensively and of course, it is a learning experience. Now, I’m no longer recognizable as an American until someone hears me speak. I’ve learned to say (in the language of the country I’m visiting), “I’m sorry, I don’t speak your language, do you speak English?” I’ve found it is quite helpful and of course, most Europeans speak English and are happy to do so, if they feel as if I’m being respectful and humble. Many Europeans forget how large the United States is (5431 km from Maine to California, and 3060 km from Florida to Maine) and of course in all that huge amount of landmass, English is spoken everywhere. Unlike Europeans, we are not traveling through other countries, we are all American and speak the same language with only regional accents to differentiate our language. Had we been surrounded by a variety of countries and languages like Europeans, we would have learned to speak another language AND to navigate other cultures with more understanding, sensitivity and insight. So, with the exception of that embarrassing Texan’s comment above, I hope you will cut us Americans some slack. Going to Europe is often a once in a lifetime trip for many middle class Americans, and as I pointed out, it takes experience to become a seasoned, respectful and culturally sensitive traveler. Don’t be so judgmental.

By: Phil

Phil — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 18:40:53 +0000

I have to enquire how in any sense of the word you can call Singapore a democracy. While it calls itself a democracy, in actuality it is closer to a benign dictatorship or one party state.

Some aspects of the political process, civil liberties, and political and human rights are lacking, especially where criticising the ruling PAP is concerned.

“Singapore’s use of criminal defamation to censor criticism of the government, most recently in the case of the British author Alan Shadrake [2010], reflects a continued disregard for the basic rights of freedom of expression and intellectual inquiry, Freedom House said today.” http://www.freedomhouse.org

Singapore is neat, clean and safe, but this comes at a price.

By: Ashram

Ashram — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:27:26 +0000

Americans are not stupid. That’s an absurd notion and obviously at odds with reality. You can find ignorant people all over the world and perhaps a lot of them are Americans. But I’ve known and worked with many smart and culturally aware americans. I find them extremely friendly and very warm hearted. Yes, sometimes they display a lack of awareness about the world outside of the US, but I do not believe I would call that stupid.

The question, seeming calling for a yes or no answer, is itself too simplistic. This should be obvious to everyone.

By: Mical

Mical — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 18:12:17 +0000

I agree 100%, Americans ARE stupid and getting dumber by the minute! I am an American and am almost embarrassed to admit it. America has turned into one large ant farm where a minimal amount of folks use their brains. They depend on “someone else” to care, to worry about or do something. It’s all about greed, selfishness, & dis-respect of others. It’s that “holier than thou” attitude and false sense of self righteousness that blind sided Americans when the credit market bottom fell out. Then they blame the financial institutions. The financial institutions took advantage of the irresponsible Americans who were too blind & ignorant to apply common sense to their
personal affairs. Most Americans can’t set up a budget let alone balance their own checkbooks. Doubt me? Just take a drive though your own home town and observe the brainless wandering aimlessly through the malls & mega stores gathering worthless items to go home and relish upon.

God HELP America

By: third person perspective

third person perspective — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:52:43 +0000

When traveling abroad should I keep my nationality a secret and if people ask me where im from should i state canada instead of the us? (accents are similar)

By: William

William — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 05:07:21 +0000

Since I am an above average teenage American I want to say this not all Americans are stupid we do have above average Americans too, but we have idiots in Washington’s congress that make poor choices like invading Iraq when it wasn’t their fault it was Osama bin Laden who was hiding in Afghanistan that we should have search for and captured. Or letting big corporations like Mcdonalds advertise and make our kids obese and fat for sakes of money. Or our failing education system which cant compete with the rest of Europe or the world. With our stupid healthcare that most people cant afford and our homeless population which we dont give them extra help, and that is what makes a stupid dumb typical american.