by Katerina Nikolas

Created on: January 07, 2010   Last Updated: June 01, 2011

Vice President Dan Quayle thought potato was spelt potatoe, potential Vice President Sarah Palin thought Africa was a country rather than a continent, and as rebels took to the rampage in Libya, Fox News gave pride of place on a map of the world to Libya, placed where Iraq is actually is. Is it any wonder that Americans can often be pervceived as being stupid when foreigners observe them? Of course they are no more nor no less stupid than other nationalities, excepting the runners up to the Presidentail office. However Americans are often in the limelight more than people of other countries so we have more time to observe them.

One reason though that Americans tend to make themselves look stupid is by their lack of awareness of things beyond their own boundaries. With little emphasis placed on world geography , plus the attitude of if it isn't American who cares, it isn't too surprising that many of them think Paris is a country and Italy is the name of a fast food chain. World history falls into second place too, after American history, which is why they aren't too sure that the Inquisition meant more than just questions in the McCarthy era, and that the Mafia didn't actually originate in a Chicago car park.

Americans also believe that saturating the world with its fast food culture is a good thing, as for them it means they'll be able to eat a decent American meal if abroad, not realising that the mass spread of the sugar and burger habit is actually having a negative effect on nations which previously enjoyed well balance diets. Of course, Americans abroad feel comforted by the sight of these neon signs of America greeting them on foreign streets, where they may well feel out of place, having presumed that everyone world wide understood English. But like the British before them the Americans simply overcome this little obstacle by shouting loudly in English, thinking for sure it will make them understood.

The other things which Americans do abroad which make them appear stupid to foreigners, is to tour Europe in a week, name dropping as they go. As some countries appear to be smaller than some of the larger American states, they proudly announce, in an effort to impress, that they did England yesterday and tomorrow they will do Spain, little realising that both countries have slightly more to offer. The rich history passes them by as they weren't aware of it in the first place, having overlooked studying it in preference to becoming cheer leaders or jocks. On the up side they are welcomed by many as being great tippers, even though they can appear as stupid customers, demanding American things which aren't generally found in foreign parts, such as twenty four kinds of coffee in a Greek cafenion, or peanut butter in Paris.  

At the end of the day though, it is the general insularity of a nation which often declares itself the best in the world, which causes others to see Americans as stupid. Once they take the time to calm down and stop rushing through foreign parts, shouting at the natives, one can take the time to see that in reality they fall into the same category as many others, which is a mixed bag on the stupidity front.

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