by Mac a'Bhaird

Created on: September 26, 2009

There's a bit of irony in the notion that you never hear about 'The Ugly Belgians', or 'The Ugly Australians' or any other country, but the infamous title belongs to the inhabitants of the Red, White and the Blue. It is also true that twice, Americans went overseas as liberators and heroes; photos easily come to mind of the streets lined with flag waving throngs of people, women throwing themselves at the troops, or Sophia Loren swinging her hips singing, 'Tu vu fa l'americano', vintage 1960.... hmmmm, what went wrong? When did this happy honeymoon of American popularity turn sour?

For starters, America is a land of large proportions; large cars, large houses, large portions of food, and, yes, large people. Europeans, Asians, and Latinos from the Mexican border to the tip of Argentina, although they have an affinity for 'things American', when this largesse is brought to their own country, they distain it.

Add on top of that the travel boom of the '70's, on through the new millennium to the present day, Yankee Doodle has been able to pack his or her mega suitcases (that's plural, hard blatant evidence of largesse) and plunge into a cultural pool like diving into cold water, expecting to be pampered like they are back home. The fact of the matter is, foreigners like our dough, but if they have to pamper us to get it, we lose respect. That might work on a cruise where we're expected to look and act like sea lions getting a sun tan, but when Americans mix with ordinary people, and are oblivious of cultural particularities, they stand out like a sore thumb.

And we've stereotyped them ourselves; the CEO of a major corporation gawking about wearing his mustard colored Bermuda shorts with ghostly white legs that are out of proportion with his belly, bedecked with a panama hat, demanding that his meal be cooked like he gets it cooked it back home. He'll get away with berating a waiter in his own country because we have to live with him, but he'll smear our image abroad. That's the Ugly American. They want his dough, and then they want him to go.

Even though visitors from other countries to the States can act just as obnoxious as Americans are accused of acting abroad, another thing to consider, there are hundreds of other countries, and only one United States. We are the Super Power; the home of Hollywood, Broadway, McDonalds and Starbucks. The world has a true 'love, hate' relationship with America.

Two liberations notwithstanding, it isn't a secret that US foreign policy hasn't won any popularity contests for a long time. The term 'The Ugly American' is not going to be easily removed. I suppose it might help if we all lose a few pounds before we head overseas.

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