The nature of the American education system or arrogant culturalised personalities?

January 31, 2025
I have so far gathered 183 pages of testimonies from the Quora platform on The Ugly American.       Question: The nature of the American education system or arrogant culturalised personalities? Maybe both!       Example. A report from a British Merchant Navy radio officer in the days of Morse code and thermionic […]

I have so far gathered 183 pages of testimonies from the Quora platform on The Ugly American.

 

 

 

Question:

The nature of the American education system or arrogant culturalised personalities? Maybe both!

 

 

 

Example.

A report from a British Merchant Navy radio officer in the days of Morse code and thermionic valves:

 

 

 

Who was the most ignorant American you have ever met?

 

 

 

Checking into an Hotel in Mobile (A port city, you notice) I attempted to use my passport as the necessary photo ID they wanted (British driving licences of the time were the size of a broadsheet newspaper, and had no photograph), the receptionist

Asked “What is this little book?”. When told it was a passport, asked “What’s a passport?” (Like I say, a major port city)once she found the photo page (its at the back) asked “How do I know this is you?” (How does she know with a US driving licence?)

refused to accept it, as the credit card name was ‘name surname’ and the passport is ‘surname, name’ so “this can’t be the same person’
I had to ask to be checked in by the manager, who was equally baffled by a passport, and my two initial letters for my two middle names. He told me “It’s against the law to have two middle names”

I went and found another hotel. I did not believe the first would have been a safe place if it caught fire.

 

 

 

From WIkipedia:

 

 

 

The Ugly American is a 1958 political novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer that depicts the failures of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Southeast Asia.

The book caused a sensation in diplomatic circles and had major political implications. The Peace Corps was established during the Kennedy administration partly as a result of the book. The bestseller has remained continuously in print and is one of the most influential American political novels. It has been called an “iconic Cold War text.”

 

 

 

 

Sources:

 

Novel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ugly_American

 

Film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ugly_American_(film)

 

Television: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ugly_American_(film)

 

Music: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ugly_American_(album)

 

 

 

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Neville Buch (Pronounced Book) Ph.D. is a certified member of the Professional Historians Association (Queensland). Since 2010 he has operated a sole trade business in history consultancy. He was a Q ANZAC 100 Fellow 2014-2015 at the State Library of Queensland. Dr Buch was the PHA (Qld) e-Bulletin, the monthly state association’s electronic publication, and was a member of its Management Committee. He is the Managing Director of the Brisbane Southside History Network.

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