Well I guess I've got something. Back in August when Psy's Gangnam Style
music video was posted (don't worry, I'm not blogging about that), I observed a
classic example of America's knowledge of and relations with other countries. A
rather offensive comment about the video was posted, including some racist and
broadly generalized remarks about human and animal rights issues in China.
However, the song and video were produced by Psy, who is South Korean. This
sparked a very substantial flame war (which are common on YouTube, but usually not on this topic or at this scale) about how its people like this user who make other countries hate America. Honestly, I agree with this. The unfortunate fact of the human condition is that the most ignorant, rebellious, and
outlandish members of a society often speak louder (or are more widely
publicized) than the vast majority of normal people, and this is what creates
negative racial stereotypes (such as the generalization that all Muslims are
terrorists, or that Americans are all obese). The other unfortunate fact is
that the most difficult enemy to fight is ignorance. You can spread knowledge
about the modern cultures in foreign countries, but people can still elect to
ignore it and continue doing exactly what they were doing before. I suppose the
only way to combat misinformation is information, but that's full of problems in
itself.
In conclusion, I think people need to make an effort to learn more about
other countries in the present tense (and not just in America). In general, the
world would be a better place if people had all of their facts straight.
You can view the original post in all it's awesomeness at : http://improvisedblogtitle.blogspot.com/2012/10/some-deep-thoughts-on-human-condition.html#!/2012/10/some-deep-thoughts-on-human-condition.html