People Hate America? An In-Depth

¶ … People Hate America?

An in-Depth and Philosophical Analysis of Chapters Three and Four

America and the World as America

In Chapter Three of Why do people hate America? The authors discuss the way that the rest of the world often views America as trying to take over. Most Americans do not see this, but individuals in other countries do. They often say that the current president of the United States is trying to be President of the World. Obviously, this is not something that can or should be accomplished, because all countries are different. Each country, therefore, needs to have its own government, rules, and regulations.

When America tries to send its culture to other countries too strongly, much resentment is created. It can make the people in those countries feel as though America thinks that they are not good enough, and that they must be changed. Naturally, most Americans do not have this belief. Many Americans do not even really pay any attention to people in other countries, what they are doing, and what kinds of beliefs they have. When American tourists and the American government spend too much time insisting that their culture is the best, other countries can become resentful.

One of the main points that the authors are trying to get across in this chapter is that not everyone wants to be just like America. Often it seems that way to Americans, and it is usually portrayed that way in many books and movies, but the truth is not always what it seems. People in most other civilized countries are quite happy with what they have, and turning other countries in 'little Americas' would be very detrimental to the global makeup of society. There must be differences, and even disagreements, for the world to operate. This does not mean that the wars and fighting are a good idea, but only that it is part of life and society. Making every country just like America is not healthy and would not necessarily change the problems that are seen today.

While the authors have a valid argument, they do not always give that much background information or source information for some of the things that they say. In other words, it is difficult to know whether there information comes from statistical sources or only from their own opinion. It is clear, however, that they are accurate in their opinion that America often tries to take over, and that many other countries resent that. Americans overall would be a lot more accepted throughout the world if they kept their culture in America and did not try to make other countries feel as though they were inferior.

When American companies move into other countries, and when American tourists go to other countries on vacation and get angry because the people there do not speak English, they make America overall look bad and domineering. Then, when other Americans that mean no harm go to these other countries they are sometimes not treated well, and they come home with a bad impression of where they chose to visit. It just reinforces the 'America is better' stereotype that is simply not accurate. While America has many good qualities, all countries have good and bad points, and because of this they all should be allowed to operate the way that they see fit, provided that they are not harming others, without 'help' from America.

Chapter Four: American Hamburgers and Other Viruses

In Chapter Four, the authors continue their discussion of how America is 'moving in' on other countries and trying to change them so that they are more like America. Most American people are not actually doing this, however. Instead, it is mostly the corporations and large companies that are found throughout America. They work their way into other countries as well, and then they 'Americanize' them. While some countries tolerate this, and there are developing countries that are grateful for what America has done for them, most countries do not want others coming in and trying to change their way of life. The reason that they do things the way they do is because it works for them.

One of the most pervasive American companies when it comes to trying to change other countries is McDonalds. They move into any and every country that has the economic base to support them, and they build their restaurants everywhere. Most Americans love McDonalds, but the company is part of the American culture, and not all other cultures feel the same way about the restaurant or its hamburgers. The restaurant is more of a novelty in other countries, as opposed to a staple in the diet. The McDonalds corporation, however, seems to feel as though all countries should love it as much as America does. Because it is pushy, other countries get the impression that all of America is the same way, and that the country really has no idea of what goes on in the rest of the world.

In that, there is some truth. Unless an American chooses to pay a satellite TV service for channels such as EuroNews, he or she often does not know that much about what goes on in the rest of the world. The American news media often does not report that much information from other countries, and the information that is offered has an American slant to it. In addition, there are other large companies that are moving from America into other countries and causing problems. Wal-Mart is one such corporation. This company is extremely pervasive in America, but moving into other countries has not always been that effective.