Cultural Relativism and Why Americans Avoid It At All Costs

A frequent theme in my political arguments on Out of Body Politics is that Americans are not, in fact, the greatest society in the history of mankind, or even on earth at the present time.  My reasoning behind this statement stems from my belief (and the results of several published studies on the matter) that, while you can compare certain circumstances and determine which culture is best for your own personal wellbeing, you cannot simply dismiss out of hand the successes of other cultures simply because you disagree with the findings.

It is difficult for me to put into words how frustrating it can be to explain this concept to people who insist that America is the best nation in the world, regardless of whether or not someone somewhere is doing something better.  It is even more difficult for me to not blow my top whenever those very same people talk about how specific aspects of American culture are failing in comparison to other nations.

Take for example the following examples:

A friend of mine consistently argues that America is the greatest nation in the world, and how certain actions (conveniently always 'perpetrated' by Democratic officials) lessen our nation's prestige and image across the globe.

He also argues that America's school system is failing, and we should be taking a page out of other nations' handbooks in approaching education.  Additionally, he argues that we have the highest corporate tax rate out of any country, and we should model our tax structure on other countries whose systems better favor "job creators."

Apparently, he doesn't see the disconnect between espousing our cultural supremacy while simultaneously arguing that we should model our culture after other nations whom he has just classified as being inferior to America.

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This isn't something that is isolated to Conservatives, however; Liberals often pine for the greener pastures of societies where the culture has bred specific policies and social norms into their societies and laws, without first acknowledging that America is unlikely to ever become their ideal nation.  I am, of course, guilty of this, myself.

I personally don't think America's all that great - in fact, I think it's a pretty shitty country filled with idiots.  But then, while I believe that to be the truth (and certain educational studies and results tend to point me in that direction), I fail to take into account that every nation is filled with idiots.  It doesn't make them any better or worse than any other country, and it certainly doesn't make America the worst country in the world.

What is terrifying, for me, is how blissfully unaware Americans tend to be about situations outside of this country.  Almost every educated nation in the world teaches their students to have even the most cursory knowledge about other countries - citizens in Iran, when asked "On the Street" questions by reporters about American government and current events, frequently provide more correct answers than their American counterparts.  The same holds true for nearly every major nation, perhaps with the exception of China thanks to the strict controls placed on their media.

In our insistence that we are the best at everything, we continually make the same global mistake that we've always made - assuming everyone else agrees with us.  It comes as a shock to many Americans that other nations consider us to be a laughing stock, in terms of politics; tell those same people that, despite Faux News' and the GOP's assurances that the world thinks less of the U.S. because of Barrack Obama, the vast majority of the world prefers having a Democrat in the White House and has a higher opinion thanks in large part to Obama's efforts in foreign relations (drone attacks notwithstanding), and they're likely to say you're lying.

My fears would be assuaged if, when presented with actual information based on facts, Americans would reexamine their positions; but, by and large, we do not.  

I fall victim to this, myself, when it comes to gun violence.  Despite all evidence to the contrary (in America), I believe that gun control, if implemented properly, can reduce gun violence; realistically, American politicians don't have the gumption or the backbone to author gun legislation that can actually affect change because American cultural simply won't tolerate it.

And so, here, I have fallen prey to my own failure to use Cultural Relativism in my estimation of America.  While I frequently acknowledge that I don't think America's all that great, I mistakenly assume that American culture is willing or able to anything to stem violent behavior, crime, or gun violence in this nation.

My bad.