Reading the posts on this thread made me strangely wistful. I guess because I wish I could say I was something other than American, wish I could feel like part of something as cool as Canada. I'm a little envious. The way things are in the world, the way things are in this country, it's damned embarrassing to say you're an American. I feel like even saying the words "I am an American" is like coming to the sandbox and pissing into it, laughing.
The whole image of Americans is arrogant, ignorant, fat consumers. As an introvert, I'm uncomfortable being part of the whole country. When I saw the headline of that European newspaper the day after the last election here, it said, "How can 53% of all Americans be so STUPID?" and I almost cried. When people here wanted to start calling French fries "Freedom Fries," I wrote a letter to the French embassy, apologizing. "We're not all morons, I swear!"
It's strange. I like people as individuals, and isn't a country just made up of individuals? Yet, as a united body, I loathe my fellow citizens. I'm not quite sure how to feel about this.