Everyday Canvas

Misunderstood Country

Prompt: Your Country
What do you think is most misunderstood thing about your home country by other people in the world: its culture, education, wealth, friendliness of people, or anything else you can think of?

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I don't think there's any one thing that is the most misunderstood about the USA, but many things. I'll start with a personal story.

Several years ago, I sent a photo of myself in my kitchen to a friend living in another country overseas. She wrote back, saying, "Your kitchen looks like any kitchen we have back here. I was imagining a much more modern one with electronic everything." Well, she was imagining all right. My kitchen has all the appliances and what I need; plus it's like any other kitchen in this country. Surely, some billionaire may have a kitchen like she imagined, but here, most of us aren't billionaires, and even a good number of the billionaires' kitchens probably wouldn't reach up to the heights of her imagination.

Yet, this is only one example, but it illustrates the fact why the USA is a most misunderstood country due to its size, diversity, and influence. Granted it is complex and the lifestyles here extend from one end of the spectrum to the other with some living in drab conditions and a few others in utmost luxury.

On the plus side, USA is a hub of innovation, scientific research, and space exploration. it has also been a key player in global dealings, humanitarian aid, and diplomacy. It is a given that such a country can be viewed by the world as an aggressive global power. Whether this power is able to exert any influence over the globe is up for discussion.

Yes, USA is a capitalist country and individualistic, but it has a free market economy and --I hope-- a strong belief in personal freedoms. If this weren't true, despite our population of 30 million, would we have people from other countries at our borders trying to get in, one way or another, to become US citizens?

Still, I think the USA's strength comes from its diverse population and culture. As Felix Mendelssohn said, "The essence of the beautiful is unity in variety."




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