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Countries that have preoccupied Americans the most since 1900

pudding.cool

41–50 of 200 posts

Re: Countries that have preoccupied Americans the most since 1900

#41
post #4

Fun idea but as someone from a country that has changed shape and occupation quite a bit last century (we also changed flags quite a bit) I find it a bit low on meat. It is conflating words or names with countries while doing a oh-so typical "let's drop lots of data into algorithms and visualize the result" dataviz for grabbing internet attention.

maybe it would be fun as an interactive map of locations instead

Re: Countries that have preoccupied Americans the most since 1900

#42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You'll know the names of the states. How many other foreign countries do you know the subdivisions of I prefer to compare the USA with Europe as a whole, its member countries as states. In that light, I wager many Americans would know quite a few. Norway, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Ireland surely would make the majority? Maybe even Belgium. Are we still allowed to say UK? Americans love to chast…

What percentage of Americans could confidently name one state of India or one province of China? Our education system somewhat talks about Europe, but most of the world is basically ignored.

Can students outside the US name Indian states or Chinese provinces? I assumed that was a general "west not thinking about the east enough" problem.

Re: Countries that have preoccupied Americans the most since 1900

#43

What's interesting is if you did this for just about any other country, there would be a wall of star spangled banners. If you ever travel outside the US, you inevitably hear about what the US is doing, what they're discussing, who the important people are, etc. The reverse is not true: - Everyone outside the US knows the top US politicians. You even know what issues they are discussing, like gun control and healthca…

There are two parts to this. One is (cold war) propaganda where there is a somewhat vague feeling that the USA has to a greater or lesser extent a set of shared (western) values and aligning ourselves next to them is probably in our own long term interest given the uncertainty that a world dominated by Russia and now China, or, gasp, religion (yes, I know) might bring. The second is aspirational - generations of Europeans and probably other countries too have looked to the USA (and Canada, Australia, etc.) as a way of improving their lot through emigration.

For all it's flaws, I loved my time in the USA and appreciate the people and a lot of what it stands for. Despite of all the imperial crap that comes out of Washington D.C. the USA still represents a sense of hope for a lot of people.

America still has a lot to offer the world. It's role in the world is greater than Holywood or the government. Merry Xmas.

Re: Countries that have preoccupied Americans the most since 1900

#44
post #25

What's interesting is if you did this for just about any other country, there would be a wall of star spangled banners. If you ever travel outside the US, you inevitably hear about what the US is doing, what they're discussing, who the important people are, etc. The reverse is not true: - Everyone outside the US knows the top US politicians. You even know what issues they are discussing, like gun control and healthca…

One little thing my American expat friends always find strange: maps are centered "wrong". As in the US is located at the top left and Asia is on the right. I'm quite sure this is the world standard map, but apparently many grew up only with one that has the states centered.

There isn't a standard map I'd say. Wherever you go, the "home continent" is typically centered. I was (naively) surprised the first time I went to USA long time ago and saw maps that had the Americas in the middle - but thinking about it, it made sense.

Re: Countries that have preoccupied Americans the most since 1900

#45
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You'll know the names of the states. How many other foreign countries do you know the subdivisions of I prefer to compare the USA with Europe as a whole, its member countries as states. In that light, I wager many Americans would know quite a few. Norway, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Ireland surely would make the majority? Maybe even Belgium. Are we still allowed to say UK? Americans love to chast…

Do be hard on yourselves, because the rest of the world isn't so proudly uneducated.

Is there any real difference between those who think the US is uniquely terrible in every way and those who think it is uniquely great in every way?

Re: Countries that have preoccupied Americans the most since 1900

#46
post #25

What's interesting is if you did this for just about any other country, there would be a wall of star spangled banners. If you ever travel outside the US, you inevitably hear about what the US is doing, what they're discussing, who the important people are, etc. The reverse is not true: - Everyone outside the US knows the top US politicians. You even know what issues they are discussing, like gun control and healthca…

One little thing my American expat friends always find strange: maps are centered "wrong". As in the US is located at the top left and Asia is on the right. I'm quite sure this is the world standard map, but apparently many grew up only with one that has the states centered.

In Australia, I've seen maps with North America in the top right.

Re: Countries that have preoccupied Americans the most since 1900

#47

What's interesting is if you did this for just about any other country, there would be a wall of star spangled banners. If you ever travel outside the US, you inevitably hear about what the US is doing, what they're discussing, who the important people are, etc. The reverse is not true: - Everyone outside the US knows the top US politicians. You even know what issues they are discussing, like gun control and healthca…

This is not entirely accurate, except in those same countries that appear in the US's collective conscious (e.g. Russia, China). The news in my country, for example, does not have the luxury of focusing a lot on other countries -- we have enough things to deal with domestically. Although India and China do come up a lot because it is believed that we're at the center of a tug of war between those two nations.

Re: Countries that have preoccupied Americans the most since 1900

#48
post #47

What's interesting is if you did this for just about any other country, there would be a wall of star spangled banners. If you ever travel outside the US, you inevitably hear about what the US is doing, what they're discussing, who the important people are, etc. The reverse is not true: - Everyone outside the US knows the top US politicians. You even know what issues they are discussing, like gun control and healthca…

This is not entirely accurate, except in those same countries that appear in the US's collective conscious (e.g. Russia, China). The news in my country, for example, does not have the luxury of focusing a lot on other countries -- we have enough things to deal with domestically. Although India and China do come up a lot because it is believed that we're at the center of a tug of war between those two nations.

I don’t think I could name any provinces in China, but I’m sure many Chinese know about New York and California.

Re: Countries that have preoccupied Americans the most since 1900

#49

Why was Germany not more prominent during WWII (but apparently during WWI)?

According to a well informed reddit comment on /r/dataisbeautiful the main focus was on supporting the determined and brave British rather than defeating the Germans.

Re: Countries that have preoccupied Americans the most since 1900

#50
post #31

What's interesting is if you did this for just about any other country, there would be a wall of star spangled banners. If you ever travel outside the US, you inevitably hear about what the US is doing, what they're discussing, who the important people are, etc. The reverse is not true: - Everyone outside the US knows the top US politicians. You even know what issues they are discussing, like gun control and healthca…

I agree that there is certainly a US focus in the world, but you could frankly replace “US” with any G8 member or China, and everything you’ve listed would be true for me. It would also be true for all our Scandinavian neighbours. I’m part of what you could fairly call the cultural elite of my country, and as such I’m not representative for every Dane, but knowing what goes on in important countries, is frankly part…

As an Australian I know the names of quite a few Chinese cities but I think I know a whole lot less about the country because of the language barrier and the fact that most of the websites I use are blocked in china so I don't meet the people online much.
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