This is the fact, and I can say this because I am American: Americans should be more cultured than they already are. Period. Of course, not all Americans are like this, but the majority of Americans don't travel to other countries very much, not nearly as much as the Europeans. However, there is a reason for this.
America is the third largest country on earth, size wise. In the time it takes me to travel from Italy to Spain by car, it would barely get me across Texas and New Mexico. Americans don't travel as much because it's very expensive and we are half a world apart. Europeans are afforded the opportunity to see new cultures in the span of a single day. It would take us an entire week to visit a new culture from America. I enjoy Europe much more than America, mainly because I have a European mindset...I don't care about Wal-Mart, fast food, or 24 hour convenience stores. I don't mind that gasoline is outrageous here in Italy; I'll ride the train.
However, European countries aren't so different from America. Italy, for example, is just as arrogant, stubborn, and conceited as we are. Not everyone, but a good lot of them are. The only difference between the two is that we are much, much bigger as Americans. Racism runs rampant in Italy...even more so than in America. Crime is up. Berlusconi is a moron, as is Bush. If you travel abroad, you'll know if you're in the presence of Italians, just as you would with Americans. They are just as loud and rude as we are. Not all of them of course, but a lot of them. Instead of looking for hamburgers to eat in a different country, they ask for pasta. The biggest difference, however, is that Americans get out on their own a LOT sooner than Italians. It is not uncommon to see a 30 year old Italian still living with his mother...and the Italian women hate it. They get out on their own more than the men, and they view Italian guys usually as being glued to their parents. They wish for his mother to pop her tit out of his mouth and make him do something on his own without holding his hand. Not all of them, again, but a good lot of them. We as Americans are no better or worse than Europeans, and the same can be said about Europeans. But, as I said, Europeans tend to be a bit more cultured and worldly, but that's not due to some monumental feat achieved by them, they just happened to be born in a part of the world with those opportunities, just as we Americans were born in a part of the world of an economic, social, and military superpower and have these privileges afforded to us.
You people, Euro and American alike, who claim to be so above everyone else simply because your parents birthed you where you happen to live are FUCKING MORONS. That's like winning the lottery or having some rich uncle die and leave his fortune to you. You have this pride that YOU YOURSELF did so much in your life to be the kind of nationality you are, when all that happened was your parents had sex and had you. We Americans tend to say "we" a lot. Such as, "We saved your ass in WW2." Did YOU save their ass in WW2, or did your fucking grandfather? Last time I checked, you were smoking pot in high school and trying to get laid all your life. Didn't sacrifice too much for the greater good, did you?
And you, Euros, your arrogance astounds me, even surpassing Americans. I'm not generalizing, just as I'm not generalizing us as Americans. But you Euros really, REALLY need to get off your high horse and get off the bandwagon of Ameri-bashing. We know you don't support the war and hate Bush. We feel exactly the same. Let it go, already. Also, Americans need to stop taking credit for things that you didn't do, but someone generations before you did. I don't see Italians going to other countries saying, "We conquered you centuries ago, so bow down before us now!" Euros, don't belittle Americans for coming across as brash and arrogant when your own arrogance is crippling.
I like living in Europe, and I want to stay here. I don't look down on someone for wanting to go to America, maybe they have different goals and ideals than I do. I was born and raised in America, and I've found a place I like better, that's all. But both Europe and America are equally fucked up in both the same and in different ways.