The American World View How Americans See Themselves

The American World View How Americans See Themselves and the World

How Americans See the World Geographical factor (coast vs. central parts) Danger factor (Afghanistan, North Korea, Iraq) Interest (ex. , China, Iraq) Cultural heritage (ethnic identity)

How many Americans own passports? An article from the Economist magazine states 34% of Americans over the age of 18 own passports. According to other sources the figure is less than 22 -20%. (2)

Media Influence on the American Perception of Reality Television, radio, print ads, and other forms of media all remain crucial to the dissemination of knowledge and ideals which continue to inform people's views about the world. (3)

Almost 4 in 10 Americans say they personally have an unfavorable view of Muslim countries (4) Almost 4 in 10 Americans say they personally have an unfavorable view of Muslim countries.

How Americans see themselves Who is American?

How Americans see themselves Who is American? American identity is changing all the time White, black, brown (ex, black president) Cultural diversity Flexibility Mobility Bearer of American values (liberty, equality, freedom of speech, religion, etc) Individualism (gun ownership, health-care)

Individualism: Positive or Negative Ideology? Individualism in America is hardly ever thought of as even having negative aspects to it. For Americans, individualism is part of what it means to be an American. Tocqueville described individualism as a new social philosophy that "disposes each member of the community to sever himself from the mass of his fellows and to draw apart with his family and friends. " It was a deliberate withdrawal from the responsibilities of citizenship. (5)

America as Superpower In a recent article in The Nation entitled “American Apocalypse, ” author and professor Robert Jay Lifton writes: “As the world's greatest military power replaces the complexities of the world with its own imagined stripped-down, us-versus-them version of it, our distorted national self becomes the world. ” (6)

America as Superpower “Superpower syndrome is fundamentally based on fantasy. That is, it's the fantasy that one can control the outcome of world events. ” Robert Jay Lifton (6)

Barna Report (2006) How Americans Perceive Themselves (7) Self-Identity Most adults hold a generally favorable impression of themselves. * “a good citizen” (97%) * “friendly” (94%) * “generous” (90%) * “feel at peace” (83%) * “clear about the meaning and purpose of your life” (81%) * “making a positive difference in the world” (80%)

Barna Report (2006) How Americans Perceive Themselves (7) Attitudes * “very open to moral views that differ from yours” (75%) * they “like to be in control” (66%) * they are “very convinced that I am right about things in life” (52%)

Barna Report (2006) How Americans Perceive Themselves (7) Views about the World Americans carry some anxiety about the state of the world. * they are “well-informed about current events, ” (81%) * they are “concerned about the nation’s moral condition” (86%) * they are “concerned about terrorist attacks” (63%)

American Exceptionalism American exceptionalism refers to theory that the United States occupies a special niche among the nations of the world in terms of its national credo, historical evolution, political and religious institutions and unique origins. (8)

Generic Varieties of American Exceptionalism 1. Supernaturalist explanations which emphasize the causal potency of God in selecting America to serve as an example for the rest of the world. 2. Genetic interpretations which emphasize racial traits, ethnicity, or gender 3. Environmental explanations such as geography, climate, availability of natural resources, social structure, and type of political economy (8)

Conclusion Exceptionalism is the basis of American perception of themselves and the world. The danger of exceptionalism is that it leads to arrogance just when you need modesty. The fact that the USA is a superpower determines the self-perception of Americans. They believe

References 1. http: //www. beaumonde. net/weblog/images/according-to-americans. jpg 2. http: //lizzyhu. spaces. live. com/blog/cns!A 32 EB 4 F 807 A 00 BAF!1823. entry 3. http: //www. associatedcontent. com/article/122606/media_influence_on_the_american_percepti on. html 4. http: //www. muslimwestfacts. com/mwf/118997/Americans-Say-Muslims-Negative-View. aspx 5. http: //atheism. about. com/b/2006/07/14/individualism-in-america-a-positive-or-negativeideology. htm 6. http: //www. informationclearinghouse. info/article 5531. htm 7. http: //leejagers. wordpress. com/2006/08/14/barna-report-show-americans-perceivethemselves/ 8. http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/American_exceptionalism