Anyone who wonders where the term "ugly American" comes from need not look any further than this poll.
I'm not sure this is really appropriate.
The perception of many Americans is that regardless of what we do, when we do it, where we do it, we are hammered in the international forum of public opinion.
When the Taliban were in power in Afghanistan, who provided the most food aid??
Who has provided the most aid to North Korea over the last 8 years when they were continually violating international agreements??
Who kept the Soviet Union from starving to death in the 70's & 80's through grain sales??
What country do the NY Mets play baseball in??
The answer is the same to all of these questions.
Ya' know, IMHO, one of the biggest issues that other countries have with us is that we actually DO things, or TRY to make something happen.
Foreigner's scream at us, beat us to a pulp in the press.
Then they go out & buy Levis, eat at McDonalds, listen to American music & watch American movies.
The french protest McDonalds & try to stop the construction of Euro Disney. My take is that if french culture cannot withstand the influence of a cartoon mouse or a clown peddleing hamburgers, then maybe it's not all it's cracked up to be.
Germany protests us while never acknowledging the presence of hundreds of thousands AMERICAN military on the frontier to deter the aggression of the Soviet Union. BTW, you are welcome.
We, as Americans, regardless of how imperfect we are, how inconsistent & flawed we are, at least TRY to solve problems. The rest of the world (with the noted exception of those aiding us in this cause, however imperfect it may be) sits idly on their hands and hopes that problems disappear by themselves.
They don't.
They resent us because we TRY, because we CAN, and because, when it is appropriate, we LEAD (regardless of what they think).
