Monday, October 11, 2010

Very American in a Good Way

A friend of mine now lives in Germany. We were in graduate school together in New Jersey in the nineties. Recently, she wrote about her boss in Germany who characterized her as "very American in a good way." His statement intrigued me.

I remember a skit by Rowan Atkinson. He was the "sign language" interpreter for the deaf in a comedic news report. (Sorry -- tried to find a video and failed.) During the newscast, the reporter referred to "the Americans" whom Atkinson -- an Englishman -- interpreted, in "sign language," as a man shoving an entire sandwich into his mouth in one attempt.

During George W. Bush's tenure as our fearless leader, the surveys seemed to represent an increasingly low opinion of our country where Europeans were concerned. I think things are improving under Mr. Obama. But the reality is, I always have felt Europeans sort of look at us like the bad kid in the class that you sometimes begrudgingly like; the one you respect for his commitment to being unique but who is a pain in the butt, nonetheless.

But what did the German guy mean? I have an idea, based on what I know of my friend, what he meant by his compliment to her. She's incredibly smart, quick-witted, self-reliant, completely original in everything from her thinking to her fashion sense and she's full of energy and passion for the things that interest her. I'd like to think that this is what he meant. I think that we as Americans value that stuff and aspire toward those qualities.

Why did he seem to need to make a distinction -- what would it mean to be American in a bad way? Well, it just so happens my friend is also very nice. If you substitute obnoxious for nice, I think you get the "bad way". So, give someone all of my friend's characteristics but make him obnoxious, and I think you get the European impression of most Americans. There's a hinge on every word: "smart" becomes "smart-assed"; "quick-witted" becomes "snarky"; "self-reliant" becomes "self-centered"; "original" becomes "uncooperative"; and "energetic" and "passionate" become "overbearing".

I have a fear that our good qualities come across to most of Europe as sort of "in your face". Maybe they don't really dislike us -- maybe they just don't like the amplified version they get of us, whether it is our fault or not.

WHADDAYOU THINK? Do any Americans out there have experiences with European impressions? Do any Europeans want to weigh in on their opinion of us Americans?

(HAT TIP: Lori )


  1. Look at it from the human perspective. Every society is prone to misjudgment and exaggeration of anything that is, in all senses, different. Most Americans find the French as spiteful toward Americans whether due to comedic media or gossip from person to person. In some ways they are, but they must think we feel the same about them, as we mostly do. One French I know is one of the nicest people and often insists the stereotype of "American hating French" is just that, a false stereotype. So at this point I feel the social tension between countries is not a dislike, but a dislike of falsified dislike.

    I hope I made some sort of sense.

    Your beloved devotee, Troendle

  2. My limited experience with Europeans tells me that,for the most part,they really like Americans. What the rest of the world does not like is the American government and they are able to seperate the two. Americans seem to have a hard time doing that. I think what Europeans like most about Americans is what we love most about young people.

  3. Well put. Government, media, etc, presents such a narrow window. If anyone looks at us through that narrow window, we are in trouble. Glad to hear you have seen deeper perception.

  4. I saw a comedian recently who said he figured out why the rest of the world hated us...he made this analogy: New Jersey is to America as America is to the rest of the world.

  5. That's great, Sara -- I guess that sums it up!