How polite are Americans?

This morning as I was driving to work I heard something on my favourite morning show that I was dying to call in and explain to them, since they seemed so surprised by the results of a Politeness Survey conducted worldwide.

Apparently, Americans believe that they are being seen by other countries as impolite and rude. They believe that the world hates Americans because they're so impolite. Yet in a worldwide survey seems that Americans are actually the most polite in the world. So that was a surprise to the commentators in this morning show.

So how was the survey conducted? They'd go into restaurants in different cities around the world and see how often people held the doors for others. Or they'd drop papers on the ground and see how often someone came to pick them up and help.

I'm thinking - ok, does that really surprise Americans that they've turned out to be the most polite in the world in such a survey???

I actually fell in love with Americans while I was in Israel because they were so polite! In comparison to Israelis it was a refreshing change to deal with polite young men. I was absolutely floored by the Americans behaviour. I've never had anyone keep the door open for me until I met an American.

This begs the question, so why do Americans get the impression that the world hates them, if they're so polite?

Ah, this is where I wanted to call the radio station and explain it - there's a huge difference between ACTIONS and WORDS. Americans are no doubt the most polite in the world when it comes to actions. Chivalry lives. They know what is the right thing to DO. But when time comes to speak up, they use their democracy and freedom of speech to say things that come across as rude and impolite to people of other nationalities where democracy does not hold freedom of speech at the highest level.

Obviously, no survey can be conducted on the civility of people when they express opinions. But that's exactly why the world judges America so harshly. It's about the words chosen by politicians, the media, American celebrities and yes, American tourists.

Freedom of Speech is something that only Americans value so highly. In Israel for example, where we have a social democracy, freedom of speech has a limit. If you're using it for spreading hatred and encouraging violence - you'll be jailed (and rightfully so!!!!). Having lived both in Israel and in the U.S. I completely disagree with the American Freedom of Speech (note to self: don't tell the immigration officer when he interviews me).

Maybe Indians won't hold the door open, maybe Middle Eastern people aren't as polite in their actions. But if anyone has been lucky enough to live in those countries and meet the people, I'm willing to bet that the impression has always been positive about how warming they are when welcoming strangers to their homes (something I have never seen in America).

There's a different dictionary of definitions for politeness in every nation. It doesn't make sense to conduct a world-wide survey based on the American definition of it.

If Americans are worried about how they are perceived by the world, they should try and learn the definitions of other nations to fully understand what other nations consider rude and impolite. I'm not proposing that Americans change their way of life, I'm just suggesting they open their minds to understanding what other nations believe.