The 'Ugly American'
We love to travel, but how do other countries see us? Even more of an issue is how do we not stand out as the "Ugly American" or even as an American in foreign countries we are visiting?
Recently MSN's Travel Editors published an article talking about the "Ugly American" and it is now a debate topic on the MSN message boards. Many of us don't see (and some don't care) about how the world views American tourists. Over the past decade views of American tourists have worsened around the world, mostly due to our government's actions, but also due to the collective cultural identity that we have established over the course of world history. When we go overseas we represent the United States in some way, and while the outspoken American is valued here in the States, it may not be so around the world.
It seems that we have somehow obtained the collective personality of being crass, boastful, arrogant, and disrespectful of the local culture. While some people are like that, not everyone is, but a few bad apples ruin the bushel.
An organization named Business for Diplomatic Action was has published the World Citizen's Guide as a tool to suggest proper behavior when traveling abroad. Some might think there is no need for such a guide, and that Americans should be able to act any way they please, but the BDA seems to feel as the economy and business go global, it is imperative to take a look at how the rest of the world views us, and take a long, hard look at how we act when visiting another country. It's like being in someone's home. You don't want to go into someone's home and insult them, do you? By the same token, don't go into another's home country and insult the culture! It's called the Golden Rule - Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
Some of the tips they offer on their website include:
Recently MSN's Travel Editors published an article talking about the "Ugly American" and it is now a debate topic on the MSN message boards. Many of us don't see (and some don't care) about how the world views American tourists. Over the past decade views of American tourists have worsened around the world, mostly due to our government's actions, but also due to the collective cultural identity that we have established over the course of world history. When we go overseas we represent the United States in some way, and while the outspoken American is valued here in the States, it may not be so around the world.
It seems that we have somehow obtained the collective personality of being crass, boastful, arrogant, and disrespectful of the local culture. While some people are like that, not everyone is, but a few bad apples ruin the bushel.
An organization named Business for Diplomatic Action was has published the World Citizen's Guide as a tool to suggest proper behavior when traveling abroad. Some might think there is no need for such a guide, and that Americans should be able to act any way they please, but the BDA seems to feel as the economy and business go global, it is imperative to take a look at how the rest of the world views us, and take a long, hard look at how we act when visiting another country. It's like being in someone's home. You don't want to go into someone's home and insult them, do you? By the same token, don't go into another's home country and insult the culture! It's called the Golden Rule - Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
Some of the tips they offer on their website include:
- Be humble. No one like a braggart, and in many countries it's considered rude to boast, so keep the fact that you have money or power to a minimum.
- Keep from lecturing. If it's not a compliment, or even necessary, don't say anything. No one likes a know-it-all. Who knows? You might learn something!
- Keep your voice down. Being loud is considered rude in a lot of countries, especially those with a particularly reverent kind of people or religion.
- Keep your words clean! There are a lot of places where even casual profanity is frowned upon, or even implicitly unacceptable. Keep the profanity to your hotel room, or save it for your private moments, but don't go offending the local populace, even accidentally.
- Appearance is everything. In many countries throughout the world there are standards of dress. For example, while here in the U.S. it's perfectly allowable for women to go around in shorts and a tank top, there are other countries that will find that kind of attire disrespectful to their culture or their beliefs.
Labels: American, foreign travel, tourist
