I can see how it would be hard to travel. I no longer call myself American.
It is because I think of us as citizens of the USA. To say I am American ignores that we are North American, and that there are other Americans too in Central and South America.
Since I read THE UGLY AMERICAN a very long time ago, I have learned to have great humility. I also think we need to be very upfront about the fact that we hate Trump and everything he stands for, to reassure them. Thanks for your words, Ben.
Growing up, I never thought twice about identifying myself as an American. But when traveling, I find that’s almost always not just frowned upon to do, but considered pretty selfish and ignorant. It’s such an ingrained habit that I need to watch myself.
Get over it. It was the same in the late Sixties and Seventies because of the illegal war of aggression in Vietnam. Some people even said they were from Canada. I never did, because I protested against the war from 1965 on, and it had nothing to do with me.
If I let this weigh me down, I wouldn’t still be traveling and loving nearly every minute of it. And if you protested in the 60s and 70s against the Vietnam war, it feels a little strange for you to leave such a rude comment on an article about the political overreaches of today, and how the world views them. Remember your roots. I’m not lying to people about being an American. I’m letting them know we’re not all simple extensions of our leadership.
I can see how it would be hard to travel. I no longer call myself American.
It is because I think of us as citizens of the USA. To say I am American ignores that we are North American, and that there are other Americans too in Central and South America.
Since I read THE UGLY AMERICAN a very long time ago, I have learned to have great humility. I also think we need to be very upfront about the fact that we hate Trump and everything he stands for, to reassure them. Thanks for your words, Ben.
Growing up, I never thought twice about identifying myself as an American. But when traveling, I find that’s almost always not just frowned upon to do, but considered pretty selfish and ignorant. It’s such an ingrained habit that I need to watch myself.
Thanks for reading and for the kind words, Linda!
Get over it. It was the same in the late Sixties and Seventies because of the illegal war of aggression in Vietnam. Some people even said they were from Canada. I never did, because I protested against the war from 1965 on, and it had nothing to do with me.
If I let this weigh me down, I wouldn’t still be traveling and loving nearly every minute of it. And if you protested in the 60s and 70s against the Vietnam war, it feels a little strange for you to leave such a rude comment on an article about the political overreaches of today, and how the world views them. Remember your roots. I’m not lying to people about being an American. I’m letting them know we’re not all simple extensions of our leadership.
Maybe you didn’t intend this comment as rude, and sorry if I construed it that way. It doesn’t seem our political leanings are very different.