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 Editorials | Opinions | September 2007 
A Glimpse of the Big Picture...
 Bob Buckel - Azle News
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Are Americans self-centered and arrogant? Do we think the world revolves around us? Do we expect everyone to get along with us – speak our language, buy our stuff, watch our movies, laugh at our jokes – whether we even try to get along with them or not?
Is the Pope German? Sí and yesiree.
Just calling ourselves “Americans” is a bit arrogant. Canada and Mexico share this continent. There’s also Central America and South America. Aren’t they “Americans” too? Our exchange daughter from Brazil a few years ago sure thought so.
Don’t get me wrong – I like Americans, or Uessians or whatever it is we should be calling ourselves. Some of my best friends are Uso-Americans.
[Side note: During the Cold War, it always bothered me that “USA” and “USSR” had similar initials.]
If you ever go abroad (which not enough of us do) you quickly get a glimpse of the perspective the rest of the world has of us Americans. In my very limited experience, although they tend to like us as individuals and usually treat us well, they’re not that fond of Americans as a concept.
My first such experience came as a junior in high school, when my Spanish class took a spring break trip to Mexico. Although our train from Nuevo Laredo ran 18 hours late, it was a great gift to be able to glimpse this wonderful, rich culture at that age.
My concept of “Mexicans” was shaped by growing up in West Texas. I had many Hispanic friends, but the term “Mexican” was considered derogatory. It didn’t apply to most of my Hispanic friends anyway because their ancestors had been here longer than mine.
[When I went to work in the pressroom, my first boss was a guy named Chebby Gonzales who had fought in the D-Day invasion. You don’t get anymore American than that.]
But seeing the skyscrapers, parks, boulevards, museums and art galleries of bustling Mexico City was an eye-opener. Their architecture rivals anything New York City has, and Mexico City dwarfs New York in population. The ultra-modern Olympic Village and stadium sit next to ruins that are thousands of years old. The cathedral on their square was finished in the 1600s.
What really impressed me was the people: polite children in uniform walking to school, taxi drivers yelling, bankers in tailored suits, people driving Mercedeses and living in houses designed by architects. These people were Mexicans – and they were proud of that. They weren’t “Americans” and they didn’t envy me. They were fine.
My country was not the center of their universe.
Today, with war, international terrorism, trade and illegal immigration the hot topics in the news, it’s helpful to remind ourselves that while this is a great country, we’re not the envy of everyone. Although many people dream of coming here, many more do not. Other countries have as much pride in their history and culture as we do. They love their country just like we love ours.
In the family of nations, we are not the Daddy – we’re more like the younger brother who just won the lottery, got drafted #1 and signed a shoe contract. Our hormones are out of control, we wear too much bling and spend too much time in front of the mirror. We’re big, rich, strong, and scary, with a lot to learn but little interest in studying.
It might reassure the others if they thought we knew them a little better, or at least wanted to.
Bob Buckel is publisher of the Azle News |
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