Little Worlds

Last night my university rented out a club for all the exchange students to meet, greet and party. There are roughly 250 other international students at Koc and this night proved a great opportunity to meet with students from Holland, Italy, Sweden, Pakistan Germany and Canada. Overseeing the event were about 50 or so Turkish mentors- Koc students that are helping the international students with their transition. As Koc University is one of the premier and most well-funded universities in Turkey, it attracts the upper echelons of the academic world and the Turkish students here are not only driven, but understand the privilege to study at such a place. Because of this they are very sharp and are fascinating to have cultural conversations with.

Outside of the club, I shared a word with Metahan- a brilliant marketing student with a fiery passion for deep discussion. We hit it off and within a few minutes found ourselves entangled in a messy web of political and cultural observations. I asked Metahan what he thought about Americans. I told him to be brutally honest and as blatant as possible. He replied, "There is a conception in Turkey that Americans are ignorant and stupid. They are so concerned with themselves and their own little world that they shun the rest of the world."  Although hearing these words stung, I knew he was right. And sure enough, as I toured around and tipsily inquired about Turkish views of Americans, I found this stereotype to be an unfortunate motif. What troubled me even more was the extensive knowledge these Turkish students had about American news and politics. They knew exactly what is happening with upcoming election and even commented on Mit Romney's past at Bain Capital and his involvement in the Winter Olympics in Utah.

Through the discussions I was able to pull away a couple reasons as to why many Turks view Americans as self-absorbed, ignorant and stupid.

America is its own little world

I always knew that America ranked among the most powerful nations in the world. We rule the entertainment, news, fashion and media industries. We create products, businesses and ideas that reshape the world. But what happens when we as a nation are entirely self-sufficient is that we have no reason to look outside of ourselves. And although we rely on many countries like China, Japan, and India for imports and services, only a small fringe of the population does direct business with these other nations. Many Americans simply utilize these goods and services while paying little or no mind to where they came from or at what expense. Although efficient, this system makes America out to be the circle of kids on the playground holding hands and facing inwards, paying no mind to the other kids shouting at them from behind. Our news and media give us the tools to connect with the rest of the world (I do think the Syrian conflict has been a great example of quality American reporting and one that has caught the attention of many in the U.S.) but there needs to be an intentional effort to follow this news and understand its implications. But even with the Syrian conflict, it is sad how it takes thousands of deaths for people to identify a problem. And currently, all we can do is cover the conflict as intervention seems to be out of the picture right now considering the American political scene. And what incentive is there for the America people to follow the news outside of their country if it bears no immediate effect on them? It takes a certain degree of selflessness and a desire to look outside of one's own immediate circumstances. And this is a trait that we, as a nation, have yet to muster.

America only wants imperialism 

The Turkish also view America as an imperialist country that only intervenes if it benefits them in someway. A great example of this is in the fast food chains like McDonalds and Burger King which are luxurious dining establishments in Turkey with three floors each and rooftop dining areas. These businesses extend their influence as far as possible and hold dear to the thankfully unrealized fact that their food here is not viewed as processed shit. Individual American citizens have the same mentality. They will only visit places where they believe there is opportunity for them whether it be a vacation or business. And fundamentally there is nothing wrong with this. The human tendency is for us to exert our influence as much as possible until something stops us. It's the basic principle of inertia. But we cannot be offended when we are viewed as self-absorbed or ignorant when from every other perspective but our own, it is obvious that we are greedy capitalists with insatiable dominative tendencies.

Now whether these are universal views of America or they are contained to a distinct minority, they are important to consider. America is an incredible land of opportunity with some of the most brilliant scholars, innovative businessmen and philanthropic titans. But unless we as a nation halt every once in a while to understand the implications of our influence, we will always wonder why foreign countries resent us.