Thank you for your answer, Diva.
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Originally Posted by Car Diva  The inhabitants are part of a collective family one way or another. When there is a natural disaster we all pitch in,
when we are called to be inconvenienced at domestic airports because of terrorists, we comply sometimes grudgingly, but we do. |
This I get, it sounds very familiar to me...
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Originally Posted by Car Diva Our President is not only one of the inhabitants but the Commander in Chief! The Big Kahuna , The MAN!
This is regardless of policies, actions, words, etc . |
...whereas this part sounds really strange. I would understand it if your nation was facing a major crisis or something (as was the case with 9/11).
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Originally Posted by Car Diva It might seem I am overreacting, but having lived abroad and branded as a stupid, ignorant,
unsophisticated and ungraceful American ( never mind I hold a degree Physics and have a Masters in Fine Arts) left its mark. |
Ah, the world of cultural differences. Now I'm not going to pretend to know what sort of behaviour you faced, but in my personal experience many such cases result from misunderstanding. I know an American woman who spent a year here and we often discussed the differences in what constitutes normal social interaction in our two cultures and the way she felt she had been treated by us Finns. She described several incidents where she said she could have been quite offended by someone's behaviour, where to me it seemed like the other person was trying to avoid confrontation or embarrassment. And it's not like I haven't been left confused by people's reaction to things I've done while abroad, either. That said, the preconception of the 'stupid American' is very well alive throughout the world, and is at least partly undeserved.
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Originally Posted by Car Diva I also kindly received house-guests from other countries who did nothing more than bash President Bush
DURING THEIR WHOLE STAY, morning, evening and night, I can't really stay quiet anymore. |
This I would see as bad behaviour; there's two things I would not discuss when I'm a guest in someone's home (unless brought up by the hosts) and they are religion and politics.
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Originally Posted by Car Diva You see, if someone bashes my president, they unintentionally ( or not) bash my land,
and because I have this sense of pride for my country , as many Americans have, it touches me. |
This is where we differ. I have a sense of pride for my country as well, but it doesn't mean I'm not willing to accept (harsh) criticism towards our president, foreign policy or even internal affairs - given that there is some grounds to it.