… Is actually soft.
I am referring to the concept of “soft power”, by the way. And no, I am not sorry for that shitty introduction.
I keep seeing and hearing comments made by zealously patriotic Americans about how their beloved country is respected by the world because of its hard power.
It is true to a certain extent. If you are one of those non-Americans who easily fall for American exceptionalism and who love jerking off to images of real life violence which America is responsible for while simultaneously getting unprotected, rough butt sex from America, you would drool over its hard power.
But, most non-Americans aren’t like that. When their governments do bow down to the US, they do so out of not wanting to get screwed on the world stage and NOT out of genuine respect.
Basically, projections of hard power, more of than not, are a form of bullying. Bullying with dire global consequences.
But, do you know what people all over the world love? American culture.
Experts of international relations have been arguing how affinity to foreign cultures will lead us to have more positive views of their countries of origin.
And because of my own life experiences (which I have to assert as entirely mine), this is something I am not surprised about.
Despite their constant criticism (bashing) of the USA, many of my fellow non-Americans (in this case, they are mostly Indonesians) can’t get themselves to wish literal death upon the country.
And they all have one thing in common: they openly enjoy American culture.
Apart from buying foods from American fast food restaurants and cafes, they go to cinemas mostly for Hollywood flicks, pay for cable TV to Hollywood TV shows and pay to attend concerts of American musicians.
How about the propaganda present in Hollywood films?
From what I notice, even some of the most dimwitted folks I know can easily acknowledge the propagandistic content of their sources of entertainment.
They know that they don’t easily fall for the infamously shameless American propaganda and they also feel Americans can entertain the world like no others. That’s why they are relatively unperturbed about it.
Me personally? A bulk of my favourite entertainers and artists are Americans; without them, I would have nothing but contempt for the United States of America.
Oh, and I should say ordinary Americans also contribute to their country’s positive image.
The last time I was surrounded by Americans, it was almost two decades ago when I visited the US as a young boy. I don’t remember interacting much with the locals.
But, if one sees the anecdotes posted by many non-Americans online, they frequently perceive the Americans as friendly, easy-going, open-minded, educated and charitable people and often seen as the antitheses of the US government (somewhat debatable).
The more negative anecdotes are often the results of interacting with the stereotypically jingoistic, war-mongering, fear-mongering, bubble-dwelling and proudly anti-intellectual Americans.
You know, Americans like Donald “Make America Great Again” Trump.
Americans who think their Godawful, alpha-wannabe attitudes will gain them genuine respect from the world.
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The Stammering Dunce 