Time for a Sanity Check

World-3I just ran across a “political map” entitled “The World According to the United States of America.”

If you are an American, I think this map might serve as an interesting test of how secure you are in your beliefs and in your self-esteem. If you are a citizen of another country, this map may show something else entirely.

Before reading further, I would like you to click on the image so you can examine the enlarged version. After you have read all of the captions, take note of your emotions.

In an effort to find the original source of this map, I Googled the phrase, The World According to the United States of America. It appears that this map has been around for more than a year. I was unable to track it down to an original source, but I discovered a wide range of reactions to this map.

About thirty percent took this map seriously as unwarranted America bashing.

Another forty percent took this map seriously as a well-deserved summation of America’s efforts at world domination.

About ten percent, including my old alma mater, the University of Massachusetts, treated this map as a subject deserving of study.

The remaining 20 percent, which included people from all countries, saw this as a subject for laughter. In my opinion, this satirical view of the way the US views the world is both humorous and, unfortunately for our self-esteem, not too far off the mark.

If you feel that this map unfairly categorizes americans as parochial retards, I’m sorry for you. It’s only a cartoon map and if you can even begin to consider that this clever scrawl can invalidate the accomplishments of millions of hard-working Americans, you have a serious self-image problem.

Lighten up, people. You will live longer!

When we can’t laugh at our national propensity for viewing the world from a homeboy viewpoint, we are in serious danger of losing it altogether.

I know that most Americans I have met, including myself, have much less geographical knowledge than the the few people I have met from other countries. It probably stems from the fact that we can drive for 10,000 miles and barely trace our borders. On other continents, you can cross several countries in a day.

If you think the author of this map was way off base, I suggest the following. Try and add additional national products to those which are humorously depicted on this map.

I welcome your comments.

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