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Studying abroad confirms American stereotypes
Thurs., Aug. 23, 2012
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DID YOU KNOW? EACH YEAR, $3.6 MILLION WORTH OF U.S FLAGS ARE IMPORTED FROM CHINA
Ben Harris Staff Reporter
What is patriotism?
By Melissa Beauchamp Senior Reporter
Studying abroad might flood students with the culture of other countries, but it also confirms the stereotypes of their native homeland proving America is, well, America. Decker junior Kristen Hirsch said her time studying abroad in Australia affirmed her preconceived notions of popular American stereotypes, with “fat” being one of them. “The large-sized pop in Australia is probably equivalent to a small in the U.S.,” she said. “We just don’t have healthy options to even choose from (in the U.S).” White Hall senior Beth Eaton said she thought she would gain weight eating Italian food for five months while studying abroad, but the opposite happened. “I rode my bike everywhere and didn’t lie around and watch TV,” she said. Eaton said to her, “America” means apple pie and baseball in the physical sense, but it also represents the American dream. Americans’ obsession with achieving the American dream causes society to forget about the important things people in Italy value, such as family-time. “They value experiences and how they spend their time much more than money or moving up in the company,” she said. “America is so up-tight.” People in Italy asked plenty of questions and were eager to learn about the American lifestyle, Eaton said. “Everyone has the idea of America in their head, no matter where they’re from,” she said. With the negative stereotypes Americans possess, there is still a fascination with the American society, she said. “Everyone wants to talk about football, cheerleaders and the college sororitylife,” Eaton said. “It’s all about how we are portrayed in Hollywood.” Spending time in Italy was a huge culture shock, according to Eaton. Instead of being on the computer or in front of the TV, she was going to museums, jazz clubs and meeting new people while absorbing the culture. Hirsch said for her, “America” represents a leader in entertainment. Australians share the same idols and celebrities as Americans, and they strive to be “just like the Americans” with the pop-culture and fashion. “Everyone is gung-ho about sports here,” she said. While many Americans don’t know their next-door neighbors, Hirsch said Australians are much more friendly and laid back. A STUDY ABROAD | 2C
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DID YOU KNOW? APPLE STARTED IN A BEDROOM BY STEVE JOBS AND STEVE WOZNIAK IN LOS ALTOS, CA.
DID YOU KNOW? THE 1965 MUSTANG WAS FORD’S MOST SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH SINCE THE MODEL A
DID YOU KNOW? LEVIS WERE ORIGINALLY CREATED FOR MINERS AND OTHER LABORING MEN IN THE 1800’S
DID YOU KNOW? BASEBALL ORIGINATED FROM A BRITISH GAME CALLED ROUNDERS, A BAT-AND-BALL GAME POPULAR AMONG IRISH AND BRITISH SCHOOLCHILDREN PHOTOS BY VICTORIA ZEGLER/PHOTO EDITOR
A mer i ca What defines the United States? By Ryan Fitzmaurice | Staff Reporter
We associate many things with America: apple pie, hot dogs, blockbuster films, jorts, overweight people eating oversized food, Walmart greeters, Call Of Duty, rock ‘n’ roll, over-chlorinated swimming pools, bearded men in overalls chewing tobacco, football, democracy and Budweiser beer. In fact we’ve come to associate almost everything with America. It seems as soon as something becomes a fad, we can’t help but paint it in red, white and blue. In our ever-increasing usage of the term, have we lost sight of the meaning of “American?” Did it ever have a meaning to begin with? Lane Demas, a history assistant professor who has an academic focus on America’s cultural history, said it is necessary for the unity of a culture to associate certain things as part of your country. “Labeling certain objects ‘American’ helps create, unify and sustain the nation,” Demas said. “Such things contribute to nationalism everywhere, but particularly in the United States, which
throughout its history has had far less ethnic, religious and cultural cohesion compared to other nations, particularly European countries.” Even though Demas is fine with labeling items as American, he admitted some of our associations are not entirely accurate. “You could argue that it wasn’t until the 20th century that Americans considered apple pie uniquely ‘American’ – before then it was Dutch, English, or Swedish,” he said. Saline senior Chloe Gleichman said almost everything associated with America is somewhat inaccurate. “Something interesting about our culture is that we are a mix of many cultures,” Gleichman said. “So things that are described as Ameri-
can are often not.” Many people would agree democracy is undeniably American, but Gleichman said even if it was, it isn’t anymore. “We’ve lost the semblance of freedom,” Gleichman said. “The government is working for the industries and not the people.” But what about something undeniably American, like the American flag? Not quite. “I often laugh during the Fourth of July, because you see people with American flags everywhere, and nearly all of those flags were made in China,” she said. Midland sophomore Mandi Shook found a different meaning in the word American. “We use America to describe what we’re passionate about,” Shook said. Our practice of labeling everything and anything American is a part of our identity, Shook says; an identity that we should take pride in. “America is like a melting pot,” Shook said, “We’ve taken all of these things from other cultures and we’ve made them our own.” Even when it comes to our
negative stereotypes, Shook said their association is, in a way, needed. “We can’t fully embrace what we’re passionate about without recognizing the negative stereotypes,” she said. “Americans are also passionate about fried chicken and Walmart and I feel they are American. I feel they are a part of our culture.” Maybe we have gone overboard with labeling things American. Does it matter though? Don’t we have the right to label anything we want to American? Isn’t that what being a country is all about: defining ourselves, and taking pride in ourselves? And if it takes an over-emphasis on jorts to carry that process out, then hell, let’s all wear jorts. But Demas might say it best. “Perhaps, then, the best definition of ‘American’ is the description of this very process itself. What is more American than adapting customs, objects and rituals from a number of different cultures and creating something unique from blending them?” studentlife@cm-life.com
When I first set out to write this piece, I started thinking about and researching specific national stereotypes in order to dissect and perhaps even debunk them. American stereotypes were the focus. I wanted to know what the world thought of us, and, more importantly, what we thought of ourselves. Not surprisingly, it turned out to be no easy task. In fact, it proved impossible. Situated deep in the American collective consciousness are motives and ambitions so diverse, so complex, that it would take lifetimes to fully understand them all. But the thing that seems to unite us all is our sense of unity. In a word: Patriotism. A good American is, above all else, patriotic. It is a thing that transcends petty partisan politics at its best and at its worst ignites in us an explosion of zealotry that cannot be stopped. To talk about patriotism in the abstract is cliché and easy: He is patriotic. She is patriotic. We are patriotic and love our country to pieces. To talk about it on the grounds of reality is a little more difficult. To do so one must ask the question: What is patriotic? That leads to an even greater, more important question: What is not patriotic? A Briton named Chesterton addressed the question in his essay “The Defence of Patriotism.” He criticized the state of British patriotism, stating that most people’s love for their country is similar to a child’s love of jam, which is an emotion less like love and more like a jovial affection. He argues that one who proclaims love for the country but is uninterested in the country’s ethics is mislead. It is the same in this country. Simply hanging an American flag on your porch does not make you a patriot; neither does putting a magnet on your car that reads “Support Our Troops.” Patriotism is not about whether you vote for Obama, because he is for the middle class, or for Romney, because he wants to give tax breaks to those he deems job creators. Your country demands more from you. Voting mightbe a tenet of good citizenship, but it certainly does not make you a patriot. Anyone who claims to be influenced in their voting decision by anything other than selfish factors is a liar, and anyone who expects their leaders to solely bear the burden of fixing problems in their community is a fool. Patriotism is about asking difficult questions and being prepared to deal with unwanted results. It is about accepting harsh criticism of government and policies and seeing them as suggestions rather than attacks. It is about friendly conversation, civil disagreement and compromise. But, most importantly, patriotism is about normal citizens stepping up and becoming leaders when something is aching to be done. Gripes and groans about career politicians and bureaucrats from average citizens are more common than the red-faced pundits who whine on television, but the same people complaining are the ones who expect these incompetents to fix the problems in their communities. In short, they look to their leaders rather than themselves. That’s not patriotic.