The latest survey from the Pew Global Attitudes Project reports that the image of the U.S. abroad is still largely negative.
"The conflict in Iraq remains widely and
deeply unpopular and in no country, including the U.S., does a majority
of the public think the war that resulted in Saddam Hussein’s ouster
made the world safer," says a summary of the report published by the Pew Charitable Trust.
"In most countries surveyed, Americans are
viewed as 'inventive' and 'hardworking.' However they are also seen by
many in both Western and predominately Muslim countries as 'violent'
and 'greedy'— a judgment in which many Americans concur," according to the survey.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
May God Bless Us All
Mazie
Mazie
We are hardworking...they have that right. Some are greedy not everyone
Ummm I am not sure if we are really hard working. I have sort of beat this subject a bit but if you look where our clothing, our electronics, our food,etc come from you will find that a lot of workers get paid nothing so that we can have our needs and wants. It doesn't seem like we are hard working when we exploit millions of people. Not to mention we are the fattest nation in the world and have the highest computer/TV rate per capita.
Honestly i think we are kind of lazy and just told that we are hard working.
Angelo Haidaris
Greedy is a part of every country. But, America is just an apparent one.
America was founded on violence and greed.
Problem: colonists didn't want to pay taxes.
Answer: have a war.
Problem: Americans wanted more land
Answer: Kick out the Indians
Problem: Americans wanted even more land
Answer: Take over parts of mexico.
Problem: Americans wanted Panama Canal
Answer: Threaten Nicuragua.
I don't like it, but it is the American way, if you want something, take it by force.
It doesn't help that most of the media doesn't like right-wing leaders. Polls are usually made to say what the people taking the poll want them to say. Sometimes the right thing to do is no the most popular thing to do.
Bash our country as much as you want, we are envied by most other nations.
Agh, that sucks. I want to move to Spain someday, so I'm trying to come up with a sufficient follow up to "I'm from America". It seems a little long-winded to say "I'm from America but I despise my government, and I apologize for the violent ethnocentrism of my people" to someone you just met.
"we are envied by most other nations" - it is this sort of arrogance that actually means you are loathed by a lot of people in a lot of other countries of the world.
Greed is apart of every country but it seems to be more prevalent in America. I don't think this is because Americans are just greedy selfish people, I think it is that we have the resources to be greedy (not to mention that we are constantly encourage to consume through advertising), I think it is more human nature to be greedy.
And we are greedy with force as norami points outs. No other nation is nearly as bad when it comes to using force to get what we want.
Angelo Haidaris
"No other nation is nearly as bad when it comes to using force to get what we want."
Maybe currently. But we were not the first to exert force on weaker nations to get what we wanted.
1. Spain -- Christopher Columbus wiped out entire tribes of native people (including ALL native Haitians) looking for gold and increased the slave trade by enslaving the people who didn't die from the diseases the Spanish brought or committed suicide due to the poor conditions.
2. England -- The English forcefully enslaved many in Africa and left a legacy of greed and hate in South Africa, a place still not balanced in how it deals with its natives.
3. The Catholic Church (compilation of Europeans) -- Told unknowing followers that fighting in the Crusades would give them a free pass into eternal heaven.
4. Mongolia - Under Genghis Khan, the Mongols established the largest world empire by brutally conquering those who did not join him.
And we won't be the last.
The way we attempt to influence these days is more economic and financial battles with other countries than with the sword (of course aside from invading Iraq to protect our oil interests).
"I don't think this is because Americans are just greedy selfish people, I think it is that we have the resources to be greedy..."
I think you hit the nail on the head here. We are the nation where even our poor are better off than the middle class in other nations. What we expect as a necessity of life in the US (indoor plumbing, electricity, cars, television, etc.) is a luxury in other countries. We really do have it pretty good here in America -- we just have to get out priorities straight and act like the moral, upstanding fighter for freedom and democracy that we claim to be.