This isn’t an exhaustive cultural treatise. Not at all. Rather, it’s just a reflection of a situation that seemed revealing.

I met a European couple recently on the trails around Sedona. They were nice. Polite. Most are.

However, they, like so many Europeans, felt perfectly obliged to tell me how the American political and economic landscape should be, based on their knowledge of how they think it is.

This ticks me off.

I wouldn’t go to Germany and tell Germans how their political and economic affairs should be based on the representations of such things I glean from the American press. That would be idiotic.

Even if I were to study Germany intensely, and watch all their news broadcasts, and read their newspapers, and listen to their podcasts, and do whatever else that may give me a better understanding of the inner culture of a land 5,000 miles away, I still wouldn’t presume myself sufficiently knowledgeable to tell Germans how their land and culture should be.

Yes, I would learn a lot through study. Yes, my opinions may become valid to many Germans, and maybe they would be the best opinions for the circumstances.

Nonetheless, I’d have some humility about myself. I’d proceed cautiously with questions and modify my statements based upon the person I’m talking to.

I wouldn’t proceed to call them names, and tell them their socialism sucks, and that their culture reflects deep brainwashing that must be remedied by the things I declare to be unequivocally right for their land.

Even if I did think certain things to be unequivocally good for them, I wouldn’t liberally blast out my opinions the way Germans, French, English and other Europeans unabashedly can do about American culture and politics.

I’ve experienced this a lot. I don’t think this tendency is particular only to a small number of individuals.

Indeed, this certainly isn’t all of them. Actually, it isn’t most of those whom I encounter America. Again most encounters are perfectly polite and politics free. I quite enjoy conversing with Europeans.

But, again, I’ve experienced this enough to recognize a pattern within them that I think is the result of something quite unideal.

It seems to me that they are blasted in their countries with shows and news from ours. It seems that they think this is an accurate rendition of our culture, and they thus presume to speak accurately about America.

It’s as if they presume they aren’t getting a highly slanted view of the United States of America. It’s like they presume propaganda doesn’t exist in their lands, and, indeed, that is exactly what some have told me.

Again, I’m not exactly sure what messages are sent to them in their lands through their media. Nonetheless, it seems unbelievably foolish to think that propaganda does not exist in their lands, especially if they think they’re too intelligent to be manipulated by propaganda in the first place.

The fact that so many Europeans I’ve met express such similar opinions conforming to mainstream narratives I vehemently disagree with is a powerful testament to the fact that propaganda does exist in their lands, and that not all are not smart enough to be above it.

No propaganda in Germany, France and England where statecraft and propaganda reached the highest levels of art? Puleez.

I’m certainly willing to politely offer my very different opinions on the United States of America to them. I have many times before, and the fact that I’ve so often seen that “deer in the headlights” look followed by the retort “conspiracy theory” kinda affirms everything I’m saying.

In closing, I’m not saying this because animosity fosters with me. It doesn’t.

I just think it’s cool that the First Amendment is still a powerful force today, and Europeans would benefit from more free speech in their lands.

As it seems to me.