Why Americans Feel Superior

Americans look around the planet and see themselves as the last remaining super power, the nation with the most wealth, the most extensive military. They see themselves as a model, a country that everyone should both respect and emulate. In fact Americans have come to the point where they take offense when anyone in the international theater disagrees with their ideas, contradicts their position or simply has a different idea of how to approach something. Each day we are becoming more and more a nation characterized not by idealism but rather by arrogance. It is exactly this arrogance that can keep us from achieving the real international leadership to which we feel called. The first step back from this dangerous precipice is to recognize why Americans feel superior.

1. Geography. Because Americans live in their own hemisphere which they have dominated since the Monroe Doctrine in the early 19th century, they have had the liberty to live a very isolated existence. They have as a result not just physically, but also emotionally , distanced themselves from the rest of the world.

The shock of 9/11 gave a clear picture of how separate we have long felt we were from the rest of the world's problems. The horrible events of that day were magnified in our mind because they were so unprecedented. We have believed ourselves to be impenetrable. Our history for the most part bears this out. Not since the bombing of Pearl Harbor has America really felt the shock experienced on 9/11. We have lived in a fairy tale where the rest of the world is constantly the target of violence, but America, because it is geographically isolated, will remain untouched.

One reason why Americans feel superior is because our geography has so long protected us from reality. There are other powers on this earth that can do us harm. Unless we experience our own vulnerability we will continue to be insensitive to the daily suffering of people around the world

2. American Superiority in Battle. World Wars I and Ii gave Americans the feeling that there was no foe capable of besting us. Our success in turning the tide and playing a decisive roll in the winning of those wars gave us a sense military strength beyond that of any other nation. We have believed for generations that when we step into a battle we automatically change the context of that battle. We see ourselves as the decisive force capable of winning the day. Somewhere along the way our very real military power began to be seen as always having the right answer to every problem. Internationally that attitude of arrogance has cost us friends and allies.

Having more military power and equating that might with knowledge is a major reason why Americans feel superior.

3. Wealth. We are such a wealthy nation and so much of our own domestic pecking order has become based on wealth, that we have begun to see our wealth, too, as being equivalent to knowledge. In our international relations we too often proceed as if having unprecedented wealth makes us ipso facto the intellectual super star of the international community. Wealth can be impressive and flashy, but even in small circles wealth never guarantees that you are correct.

Americans have heard for so long about how wealthy we are. We have wrapped ourselves in our material possessions. We consistently want more, of everything. All that seems to satisfy us is feeding our insatiable desire for more things. As we pursue more and more we seem to care little about the condition of the rest of the planet. We feel that we are not obliged to be concerned about the fate of humanity as long as we have what we want, now.

Our wealth and our unbridled lust for more wealth is part of why American feel superior.

4. By our bootstraps. Americans have taught each succeeding generation that the way Americans have become great is through their own efforts. Americans have worked hard, they say, for everything they have. Americans want to believe that the way to wealth is the old fashioned way. Americans are great, the story goes, because they have pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps. No one helped Americans. They just toughed it out and worked hard, that's how Americans became the leaders of the free world and the most powerful nation of all times.

The only problem with that vision is that it lacks truth. American economic power has from the beginning had little to do with bootstraps and a lot to do with riding the backs of slaves, immigrants and third world nations. Americans still struggle to see themselves through the prism of truth and insist on the myth of the boot straps.

This belief in their own hard work and ignorance of the reality of how America's wealth is acquired is a major reason why Americans feel superior.

5. An English language education. There is a real irony in the fact that many Americans are working so hard to make certain that all Americans learn to speak and use English regularly. The irony lies in the fact that it is exactly this linguistic isolation that is part of the reason why Americans feel superior.

Everything Americans see on television, listen to on radio or read in magazines and newspapers is in English. We are only interested in what we are the center of. We know appallingly little about anyone else's culture, religion , sports, or daily life. We assume that because we don't know about something that it is automatically inferior to what we do comprehend .

Americans miss out on so much culture that is written in other languages. We seldom experience the music, art or drama of other cultures. If it's not in English we aren't interested. One huge reason why Americans feel superior is because we are so totally ignorant of what else is out there.

President Bush asked and answered the question "Why do terrorists hate us so much?" His answer was because they hate democracy. Could they also perhaps not like us because of the arrogance we display? Knowing the reasons why we have become a people who feel superior to others may help us to move back towards the nation we truly want to be.