People hear place names, they don't know where they are, they're not ever going to go there on holiday, and they're not a direct threat, because if they were close neighbours, you'd know about them already.
Nobody knows that much about countries which don't directly affect their lives. It's all in one ear and out the other. People have enough to worry about paying their mortgages and keeping their kids school grades up to worry about what their goverment is doing in far flung places.
But america doesn't have any close neighbours, and so it tends to forget, more than most places, that any other part of the world exists or is important.
I *need* to know how to tell the assorted British accents apart. I need to know some stuff about France, and Sweden, and Holland, because I have friends in those places. Even then, what I know doesn't extend much past knowing a few town names, how to recognise the local accent, and what food I'm likely to find there.
Something I've noticed about Americans when dealing with them in person is that they're quick to make jokes at the expense of others, but don't deal well when jokes are made at their expense. They're quick to lash out defensively, and have to have an opinion on everything, whether they know anything about it or not. I suppose in the scheme of things America is a teenage country. It thinks it knows everything, and that it's the greatest thing ever.
Mosn european countries are a bit older, jaded and cynical, and well aware that they don't know everything - but not particularly bothered by their ignorance because they've got to pay the rent. |
