Americans pride themselves in being American. While other countries use liters and Celsius, we persist with gallons and Fahrenheit. What others call french fries we, for the sake of claiming fried potatoes as our own, call Freedom Fries. And then there’s what the rest of the world calls football ““ we call that soccer. Instead of playing soccer, we take an irregularly shaped ball and play our version of football that practically nobody else in the world knows about.
And that’s well and good.
These quirks are not necessarily meant as an assertion of superiority ““ just an expression of difference from the rest of the world. America, after all, exists to be different. From its immigrant roots, it has fostered a culture of diversity unlike any other.
With its geography, it has, for the most part, enjoyed a level of self-sustainability and insulation from the rest of the world. From its political and economic power, it has granted a sense of stability that most of its citizens misconstrue as a reason not to care about what’s happening outside the country.
This is where American ethnocentrism starts to become problematic. Too often, the myth of American isolation has bred a sense of apathy among this nation’s citizens that prevents a better understanding of the world and, consequently, an ability to create sound decisions as members of the global community.
If Americans are to exercise responsible citizenship through their role in pushing for good governmental policy, it is imperative that they keep up with what’s happening outside their borders. From the lesson learned in World War II: America cannot stand idly by while the rest of the world crumbles.
For example, the current financial crisis has shown just how intricately interwoven America’s economic sector is with the rest of the world’s, particularly Europe’s. One market crashes, and the other follows suit. Like it or not, America is part of the world, and it is bound to suffer as the rest of the world suffers.
In 2006, the National Geographic-Roper Survey of Geographic Literacy revealed startling results about young Americans. Six in 10 Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 could not locate Iraq on a map of the Middle East, despite the fact that an active American military campaign is ongoing ““ one that constantly dominated the news up until the economic crisis. Seventy-five percent also failed to identify Indonesia as predominantly Muslim, even though it is the world’s largest Muslim country; America’s current relationship with the Muslim world is anything but ideal.
The American youth exhibits the same lack of knowledge when it comes to Israel, often a divisive topic among Americans: 75 percent could not locate it on the map. With Israeli borders constantly being the site of heated conflict, one would think that an understanding of this region entails a rough knowledge of its geography.
While industrial outsourcing to India is crucial news to most Americans, particularly those who point to it as a major cause for the high unemployment rate in the U.S., 48 percent of young Americans believe that the majority of India’s population is Muslim. In fact, the majority is Hindu. Incredible, considering that much of India’s tension with its neighbor, Pakistan, is rooted in this religious difference.
It is mind-blowing to comprehend. How are these Americans expected to form responsible opinions about crucial world issues when they don’t even know about the most basic things? One can argue that as long as the leaders of this nation know enough about these issues, then they’re home free.
Not really, though. Some of America’s leaders have proven to be just as unwitting.
Sen. John McCain, leading up to the presidential election, visited the Middle East in an effort to showcase his knowledge and experience with the region. During a visit to Jordan, McCain said, several times, that he was concerned that Iran was training al-Qaida extremists in Iraq. In fact, Iran is a predominantly Shiite Muslim country, and al-Qaida is a Sunni insurgent group. These two facts render his statements virtually nonsensical.
Imagine that: McCain, just a few months ago running for the highest office in the land, not being able to distinguish between Shiite and Sunni, a basic, albeit crucial piece of information about the Middle East. How can people who lack knowledge about important world issues be expected to form sound foreign policy to protect the United States?
While both government and citizens fall short in knowing more about the world, the shortcomings of the citizenry is the more pressing matter. If the average citizen knew more about global issues, they could theoretically make better decisions about whom to elect to represent them in office. Responsible citizenry breeds responsible governments.
For example, citizens who know more about current issues are better equipped to elect qualified leaders based on their platforms for addressing these problems. As members of the community, each American is given the task of knowing more about issues that really matter to them and that matter to the world at large.
Americans must not forget that while they are citizens of the United States, they are also citizens of the world. The label of “leader of the Free World” that America bestows upon itself is still strikingly premature. Perhaps America should better understand the “Free World” before making such an assertion.
E-mail Ong at rong@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.