You know, you always say that bit about Americans believing America to be the greatest nation on the planet. And to be fair, I’ve heard that political rhetoric my whole life. It became ubiquitous after WWII. However, my high school team often said the same thing, mostly at pep rallies. But then Friday night came. Sometimes we did well, sometimes not so much. So nobody actually believed we were the best ever. Or that, even if we had a good season, that would guarantee the same next season. Yet we all said it, every pep rally, to support the team. No more, no less.
So when I hear this political rhetoric, I don’t get too bent out of shape about it. I don’t believe it and it’s not an absolute anyways. Best at what? Best when? Best how? I don’t know of anyone who believes this propaganda carte blanche. Oh, I’m sure there are some. Some people believe the earth is flat. But those are both fringe beliefs, it’s nowhere near the norm. In reality, most people will turn around a day or two after saying how America is the best and say how much America sucks or how the country is going to the dogs.
So why do so many of my International neighbors get so bent out of shape over this? Most, if not all, of you also have your expressions of pride, support, and love for your homelands. As you should. And your criticisms. As you should. I don’t get bent out of shape when I hear Russians say Russia is the best nation. Or China. Or UK. Or Mexico. Or Canada. Or any nation. And I do hear it, often enough. I’m always kind of glad, to be honest. It often means people are happy enough where they are and doing well enough. And no, that’s not because I’m anti-immigrant. It’s because I’d like to see equity, peace, and stability across the globe. I’m a humanist.
Perspective people. What you see on TV is highly selective and not representative to the population at large. There’s 330 million + people in the US. Beliefs are going to vary widely.