This topic is particularly dear to me, as I remember telling all of my friends “You’ll see, I’ll make it to America some day, I’ll marry this American guy and I’ll move and make my life there.”
It is funny looking back to these memories, because that is exactly what I did. I don’t know why I wanted to make it here that bad, and I certainly had no clue that I was going to end up in Chicago, and how I was going to make it there, I just knew I wanted something different that my town in Southern France couldn’t provide me.
Now that I have been here for a while, I see things differently and I have had time to take some perspective. I no longer look at everything with bright shiny eyes and an open mouth, and I understand better the differences between life here and back at home.
But this post isn’t about me. I just wanted to set the background of my observations since I’ve been a fan of America, and since the first time I flew across the Atlantic in 2007. In particular one aspect that fascinates me, and sometimes annoys me.
It can be summed up in one sentence: America is the country of eternal optimism!
I’m aware that over the past few years, with the economy being what it is, some may argue that the optimism seems to have deserted the land of the Self-Made Man, but I disagree. There might be some movements of protest such as “Occupy” in particular, but they always come with this unwavering feeling that “Things will get better!” no matter how dark the times are.
This feeling isn’t necessarily shared in the Old Continent. In similar circumstances, where Europeans tend to complain and analyze, dissect and criticize, Americans just start acting in one way or another in regards to the crisis.
And there are many examples of this mentality in the media, everyday. I will mention for example this gigantic marketing campaign Kony 2012, by the NGO Invisible Children that invaded social media this past March – I salute, by the way, the brilliant marketing strategy behind it – and was tailored for the American public.
With such a global reaction, people found themselves quickly divided in 2 sides: The Enthusiasts, and the Skeptics. The skeptical people – that includes people from America, Europe and Africa – criticized the naive version of the story told, and the incentive given by the campaign to expand American military presence in Central Africa, to which The Enthusiasts, majorly in America, replied “Well at least we are doing something about it!”
It is this mere quality that is America’s core strength and its worst weakness. This is why America is admired and despised at the same time. It is refreshing that they have kept their pioneer spirit, but to the “Euro blasé” this outlook may appear naive, misinformed and at times blatantly obnoxious. It explains the USA positions in diplomacy, and the cultural trends in the country, that are criticized worldwide.
Some people have declared that the US might not stay on top of the world for long if they don’t change that attitude, but that has in no way shaken the Americans’ immovable optimism. By the way, here’s their reply: “Bring it on!”
Laura Burlot 