Things Americans believe
Before criticizing biases of others, we should acknowledge our own
by Geov Parrish

...Americans are remarkably ill-informed about the rest of the world, period. We cannot find countries on a map unless we've invaded them, and sometimes not even then.

These are the myths we comfort ourselves with, to demonize an "other" we don't well understand. It is the same process, and at times every bit as sensational and absurd, as what the Arab street often believes about Israel and America. Or what the Chinese or Koreans believe about Japan, or what Indians and Pakistanis believe of each other. Nationalists believe, by definition, that theirs is a uniquely virtuous people. And, by extension, that others don't measure up. Certainly Americans fall into that belief as often as anyone else.

...maybe, just maybe, rather than snickering at someone else's blinders, we could be working at removing our own.

Full story here.