- 04:09pm
Oct 10, 2001

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Est-ce que l'un d'entre vous s'est posé la qu'est tion de savoir si les evenements du 11 septembre etaient une fatalité?

- 12:42pm Oct 11,
2001

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Urbain, pour moi, l'image des Etats Unis a un peu changé à cause du 11 septembre. L'intouchable a été touché. Mais fatalité, non. Je crois que la politique des Etats Unis maintenant vise à réparer cette image...
Une question aux américains : "Vous avez une image plutôt bonne de votre pays, est-ce que cette image vous a été transmise (peut-être par école, etc..) ou ça vient de vos esprits?"

- 11:05am Oct
12, 2001

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Han Lun, you ask if our good image of our country is given to us in school or is internal: I would say that we in the US do put a lot of stock in our patriotism. We are raised to love our country and support it and think of it as great. At the same time, we know the value of criticism and our rights to critique our government's actions. When we think of "The United States," we don't think of George Bush or any particular policies, we think of a great, strong democracy, of brave pioneers and thoughtful founding fathers. That doesn't stop us (or at least me) from ranting freely when our government or famous people do something stupid. I think the difference in our associations comes from the fact that we don't respond to current images of the US, but to a general, mostly theoretical picture.

- 04:33pm Oct
14, 2001

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I see both puritanism and ultraliberalism on the word associations from INT. Would anyone care to elaborate on the apparent contradiction? Perhaps they refer to different aspects of American society?

- 10:28pm Oct
14, 2001

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Binita, "ultra-liberalism" here does not refer to "liberalism" in the American sense of that word. In a European context, "liberalism" refers just to economic liberty. In the original puritan communities (Calvinists of Geneva), financial success is supposed to have been one of the signs that someone was "blessed", and so, I'm not sure whether economic liberalism posed a problem for their moral systems. In an American context, the two don't appear to be incompatible, in general terms.

- 10:44pm Oct
14, 2001

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Hi Han,

I agree with Sarah -- Americans tend to identify with a utopian conception of their country and its role in world affairs -- what it is and has been "in principle" rather than "practice". That is why so many are confused and startled when they learn painful truths about the consequences of American foreign policy, or travel abroad and notice how differently people live and think elsewhere (and that, in Scandinavian countries for example, the standard of living is technically higher). The "state religion" -- the idealized conception of America -- is something we learn in school, in American history courses (which are crammed with untruths and half-truths), and of course the popular media and the news. For many Americans, it is nearly unthinkable that there could be another place on earth that is more comfortable to live in, or that is more sophisticated in almost any regard. One of the greatest misconceptions is that ours is a model "democracy," which is laughable in a country where the most powerful institutions (corporations) are not democratically organized, and where only very well-endowed and heavily-sponsored candidates have any possibility of getting elected. There are many myths like this one, that are ingrained within us from an early age. Another widespread misconception is that America is one of the freest countries in the world. (We live in a state where it is impossible to purchase wine on Sundays! Can you imagine that? Quelle horreur!)

- 12:14am Oct
16, 2001

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I noticed that a few of the INT students commented about imperalism and the strengh of the United States. I am wondering if someone could describe how you learned about United States history. Are there particular aspects of United States History that is emphasized in your courses and texts?

- 11:16am
Oct 16, 2001

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"I am wondering if someone
could describe how you learned about United States history."

Dans nos cours d'histoire à l'école.

- 03:43pm Oct
22, 2001

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Salut Jeffrey !
Il est vrai que l'enseignement français est relativement refermé sur la France, et que comparé à l'enseignement d'autres pays européens, nous n'apprenons globalement que l'histoire de la France et éventuellement les faits qui y sont reliés. Ma famille est polonaise, et quand je vois le niveau de l'enseignement là bas, je suis parfois surpris : ils connaissent parfois mieux l'histoire de France que moi !

En ce qui concerne les Etats Unis, la France a toujours eu, ou du moins depuis le XX eme siècle, une certain recul face aux Etats Unis et leurs interventions extérieures (cf la "politique de grandeur" de De Gaulle qui a conduit entre autres au retrait de l'OTAN [NATO] pur s'opposer à l'hégémonie américaine au sein de cette institution). Toutefois, par l'étude du XX eme siècle, nous nous trouvons souvent en face de faits historiques où apparait la patte de différents services américains (Viet Nahm, Chili, Cuba, Afghanistan, etc....) qui nous permettent de voir comment agissent les Etats Unis au point de vue géostratégique. Enfin, l'école n'est sans doute pas le seul endroit où s'informer (autres lectures,etc...).