I simply cannot wait to see how the U.S. election is covered overseas. Blah, blah, blah, I spent a little bit of time living abroad, blah blah blah I’m privileged and grew up under a thatched roof blah blah blah, and it never ceased to amaze me that wow, holy crow! No one tells us on our local Stateside channels, but there are other countries out there in conflict and defining strife and living through genocide while Americans eat corn dogs and get Brazilian waxes!
It’s embarrassing that we often don’t notice the rest of the world because we’re studying our own pedicures, and yes, it should be. The minute you leave the confines of the US, and I do not mean those defined by Taco Bell – or the small town you govern in Alaska – you realize that there is a world out there that does not live and die by Paris Hilton or the oral sex given to its leaders. There is decisionmaking and policy beyond our collective grasp, simply because most of us aren’t paying attention. It takes a tsunami, a wave of indescribable magnitude that washes away Oprah’s decorator’s vacationing boyfriend, for us to look up from our stack of IHOP pancakes. When it boils down to it we’re less aware than the rest of the advanced world.
I don’t mean to minimize our trials and travails, but in a way I do. Because in an era in which we’re always supposed to be proud to be an American, I’m not always proud of Americans, and this is nowhere more pronounced than it is when I’m in Europe. It never fails that I run into a fellow American who sees fit to yell at a native European, because you know this! Like the deaf, if you just yell louder, they’ll get it. They aren’t the brightest, and you’re there to learn them good. Just like when ordering KFC on the other side of the tracks.
UGH.
I’m not exempt from blame. My parents were always a little bit disappointed that I do not live and die by BBC News, choosing instead Talk Soup and the Hills, because as young voters everywhere know, Brody Jenner did not support a Road to Nowhere nor LC’s head when they were having pre-marital intercourse. Part of this vacation will be being reminded that Yes, Virginia, there are more important things than your blog. That even this election season, with all the hoopla and the moose stew, we aren’t the center of the universe. And if we are, we shouldn’t be.
So my hope is that I’ll sit in Italian hotels and see our election as a blip. That the BBC will cover that plane crash in Russia or a Liverpool win with more zest than they do the song and bedazzled dance that is our bitter election. Unless, of course, the clip stars Tina Fey.
18 Comments
Who can be watchin’ real news with those Casey Anthony breaking news interruptions every five seconds…
And yes, it is very often embarassing to be an American.
Bravo once again with your articulate prose! I’m going to forward this to friends, I totally agree and could not have said it any better!
Yes. A thousand times yes. Enjoy your perspective shift.
It is rather embarrassing how self-centered America is. We’re so…self-important. Ugh.
Does it count that I listen to NPR?
The only difference I saw in news coverage was that instead of boring baseball highlights they showed boring soccer highlights.
And England totally wimped out on the July 4th fireworks. What a lousy display.
Every country inhabitants are “self centric” such is the nature of nationalism and patriotism. Yes it seems like its worse here but that’s because you live here and there are a lot of us and a lot of land to cover. Every country and their inhabitants are self centered; that’s its job. It bothers me a bit when people don’t realize this. Its just as bad if not worse other places. Poverty; racism, sexism, etc. We have it so easy here. I love Europe but being European will not solve our problems.
I do believe that our media outlets are failing miserably but no more or no less than any other. Even CNN is owned by BBC, you would think that it would influence programing a bit but it doesn’t.
I have found that even if you hop the border into Canada, you learn so much more about what is going on in the world than you do here. It’s also really amazing when you get a different perspective on American politics and events from other countries’ news organizations.
Also, there is a lot of cricket out there. Cricket and soccer. Oh, those wacky Euros.
When I worked on a cruise ship in Europe, the daily news was basically that of whatever port we happened to be in. You really had to seek it out to get news about other countries and the USA. I didn’t, and it was very interesting coming back to the “real world” afterwords.
I hope you have so much to do, you never even have to turn on the telly.
Oral sex? Pre-marital intercourse? This blog is going down hill fast. Anyway, I bet nobody does those things in Italy, the wankers!
A Proud American
The US doesn’t have news channels anymore.
All we have now our various forms of talk shows. *sigh*
“It takes a tsunami, a wave of indescribable magnitude that washes away Oprah’s decorator’s vacationing boyfriend, for us to look up from our stack of IHOP pancakes.”
Dayum, girl. You’re good.
a) Tina Fay = perfect Sarah Palin.
b) I hope you don’t have to see ANY political ads when you’re on vacation!
Dammit. I typed a long, eloquent comment, and somehow deleted the whole thing. Dammit.
Having lived in a few countries, I can assure you that they are no more cultured than your neighbors. Primarily, our news is interesting to most of the world for the same reason that news about Donald Trump and Paris Hilton is interesting to us…what are those rich bastards doing over there? And we find out that they are doing the same thing we’re doing, but with more expensive toys. That’s it. We’re all the same. We eat, we sleep, we have sex with the intern (well, I don’t, but I’ve heard).
Did you know we are having an election up here in Canada right now too? Seriously. Our leaders debate (and we have 5 people in that debate, because we have 5 parties with seats in Parliament) is on the same night as the US VP candidate debates. And I’ve already heard Canadians say that they will watch the US one over the Canadian one. *sigh*
Amen- very well put. Do you think our European counterparts really give a fuck about where Sarah Palin got her glasses? I loved living in France in part because..they don’t hate Americans, they just don’t understand why the eff we voted for Bush!
This is the first US election I’ve ever really been interested in and I’m gobbling it up because it’s gotten so ridiculous and OTT.
My high school best friend lives in the UK and lately I’ve been getting a lot of “WTF?” emails from her, and I have to admit that I don’t understand much of it either.
Stay in Greece as long as you can.