Of course, the U.S. has our own distinct culture (which is a mesh of all the influences from all over the world), but we also recognize and respect other cultures as having merit. You are right that most Americans (even minorities who might be disenchanted with our country) are patriots. When in America, America always comes first, that’s true. However, that’s not being disparaging toward other nations. Tourists are more than welcome and are treated with respect. As far as immigrants are concerned, they are accepted and welcome as long as they work hard and respect our culture as being the dominant culture. Anyone from any background who moves to America can come here and have an equal opportunity to succeed, as long as they understand, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” People who try to bend America to the will of their culture, as we see happening in Europe, are NOT welcome here, and we make that more than clear. This is why I think that immigrants tend to be more successful in America. They know that they are more than entitled to hold on to their traditions and culture, but they accept the fact that U.S. laws and culture come first; this is non-negotiable.

I don’t think that Europe or Japan are more tolerant for foreign cultures than the U.S. Europe is growing together now, but only on an economic level, not on a cultural level at all. Immigrants from all over Europe and their descendants, regardless of their citizenship status, are always treated like outsiders not as worthy as white Europeans. This is a known fact. Tourists are rarely greeted warmly in Europe. In Japan, outsiders are treated with some reservations, but the Japanese people warm up to us and treat us with respect. They still treat any non-Japanese, regardless of citizenship status, as an outsider and somehow less than them.

America for the most part is nothing like that; anyone regardless of background is American if they are a U.S. citizen. We treat outsiders with respect, but they are still outsiders if they aren’t American citizens. It doesn’t make them less than us though, it’s just the reality.

In Germany, I saw a Gypsy mother who was holding her little child and begging for money as well as a Gypsy family who was walking in the street barefoot on a cold day. In the U.S., where I spent a year and visited many cities, I did not see any mother holding her child and begging for money or any barefoot family walking in the street, even if I had seen many poor people there. I am wondering if German people respect non-western people or those who are from developing countries.