Americans are often criticized when they go abroad for being ignorant of other languages, cultures, and geography.
While some see it as a sign of arrogance, it’s also a symptom of America’s physical isolation from the rest of the globe and its political and cultural dominance over the past century.
To put it simply: You probably don’t need to speak another language when almost everyone else speaks yours.
However, as a younger nation preoccupied with itself, America has yet to develop the self-awareness that older countries have had for centuries. Blinded by a misplaced sense of superiority, many Americans don’t realize that some of the things we do are bizarre to people abroad.
