The Blah Blah Blahs of Katie A's Mind: Ignorance does NOT = Patriotism

So this is a thought I blatantly stole from my friend (don't worry, he's been notified that I am a thought stealer) :

"You know what's weird? The people who are most sure and set in their beliefs that the US is the best nation are usually the ones who've never left the country."

Well put, gentleman friend.

Don't get me wrong, I love the States. I love Seattle, I love the diversity, I love the fact that we tip our waitresses (this note has already been mentioned in my Tole-DOH! blog) and I'm completely infatuated with Obama. Most of the time. And we have the best movies/TV shows/music around. (most of the rest of the world will agree with me on this last bit. Except maybe India and their Bollywood, but that's on a whole different level.)

But as someone who loves to travel and stay for periods of time in other countries (I mean more than spending a week in a resort in Mexico), I am completely bewildered by people who haven't spent much time out of the States who are convinced that our nation is so superior to others. Because I've noticed some places where we are seriously duhduhduh, and if people don't leave the US they don't even have the capacity to notice the duhduhduh-ness.

For example (the best one I have, brace yourselves): I watched the movie "Seven Pounds" with my host mom the other day. (Please note my host mom is like 30, she's totally amazing and great fun to live with.) I won't ruin the movie, but I will say that it has Will Smith and has a theme surrounding organ transplants.

And my host mom was having problems comprehending why on Earth the supporting character, played by Rosario Dawson (Lord knows what her name is, I was watching it in Spanish and struggling to keep up with the plot), who is in desperate need of a heart transplant, was so concerned with her finances when she already had so much to worry about re: her health. My host mom pointed out that this woman shouldn't have to be building a budget just to ensure her survival.

And you know what? That is a good point. Like a really good point. And it took me leaving the States to see that. When I left the States I was pretty moderate on the whole universal healthcare/ healthcare reform issue. (Please note: in my case, as in so many cases, "moderate" meant I had yet to form an actual opinion.) Now I'm kind of disappointed that the States is so far behind everyone else in adopting healthcare for all. (Coming out of the closet: I support universal healthcare.)

I don't necessarily see myself as a super worldly person but I like to think I appreciate other cultures for what they have to offer. And the way I see it is unless you at least travel to other countries, even if you can't be there for an extended period, and appreciate them for what they have to offer (and sometimes, in which ways they are superior), then you really have no room to talk about how much better the US is than everywhere else. I still like the US the best, but at least I have something to compare it to. Ignorance is NOT the same thing as patriotism.