Why Are Americans So Loud?

I was on the "tube" returning to the office after a business day trip to Walton-on-Thames, when I heard the question. Actually I didn't hear it clearly at first, the voice of my colleague being drowned out by the roar of the subway and the sweet oh-so English female voice informing me that I was on a "Bakerloo Line train". I loved the sound of that phrase, spoken by that lovely voice in a sexy, almost lyrical way. It was the sort of voice any middle-aged American male might fall in love with, so I really didn't at all appreciate being interrupted. Once he broke the spell with his question, I became aware of another distraction. Shrill voices, loud words, and unencumbered laughter were drowning out both the sounds of the train and my favorite recording. I started to look in the direction of the boisterousness when my friend repeated his question.

"Why are Americans always so loud?"

Without answering, I saw a small, raucous group of teenage girls standing in the aisle near the double door entry, undoubtedly the source of the noise. Judging from their state university sweats, expensive running shoes, and CD players on the belts, I noticed that my friend was correct, they were indeed Americans.

I turned to him, my very traditional and reserved English colleague, and attempted an answer, "I don't know, but we really are loud, aren't we?"

"Absolutely. It's very noticeable, especially when in close quarters such as this. I just don't understand why."

I didn't have an answer for him, but it did set me to thinking. I mulled it over during the remainder of the Underground journey to our office, and later during the evening commute to my house in St. John's Wood. He was quite right, of course. I had noticed, though it didn't make a big impression on me, that Americans often stand out in Europe. I first thought that it might be their rudeness, but I soon rejected that notion. Americans are frequently rude to be sure, sometimes seemingly going out of their way, but many locals do so as well. One just has to keep count of the times one is jostled by a Brit, accompanied by a hurried and most insincere 'Sorry' to be convinced of that fact.

I think I got closer to the truth when I theorized that they complain too much. Americans take it as a given fact that their way of life is superior to the rest of the world, and most are not shy about reminding their European hosts of this opinion. They bitch about this and that: the showers are crummy, the streets dirty, the restaurants too crowded, the houses too small, and on and on. Theirs is an endless prattle about how superior things are done, made, constructed, fabricated in the States. Moreover these things are usually said in complete candor, with complete disregard for their effect. To hear many Americans in Europe, you wonder why they just didn't stay in America, if things are so good there, and so bad here.

The reader may protest that not all Americans behave in this way, and the ones that do are just inconsiderate louts. Every country has such folks. I agree, to a point. But as I continued to observe them, I became aware of something else, something deeper, something in their attitude that linked them. It could be seen in the knowing smirk and sly wink communicating to their companions that here was another example where we Americans are superior. Snobbishness, perhaps, but to them, I'm sure, it would be described as pride. To me, however, and to their hosts, I'm convinced it is often read as arrogance.

This arrogance is not just seen in the rude and condescending way Americans often act in foreign countries. It is common within own borders as well. Indeed, the attitude may be endemic to our society. In sports and entertainment, intimidation is the name of the game these days. Politics seldom rises above mudslinging. Discussions have become shouting matches. Our daily interactions with one another are more marked by 'telling like it is' rather than consideration for others. Even our president utters "Bring it on!" And for all that, we are prouder than ever.

This is not to suggest that pride in America is bad, or that the belief in our superiority is incorrect. It is, I believe, self-evident. We have the strongest military and the highest standard of living in the world. We have a commanding lead in almost every category of human endeavor. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, if we are arrogant, we have much to be arrogant about.

But is this the face we wish to present to the world? Do we really want to project this 'in-your-face' attitude? The chest thumping and bragging? The flag-waving "God Bless the USA", sung with the unreasoning confidence that God, of course, is a member of our team? Is this to what we aspire?

This, I believe, is the fundamental emotional reason for the dislike of the United States we so often observe, even from our friends and allies. It is why they often seem to glory in our mistakes and our misfortunes. It is not that they hate us. Indeed, in countless conversations with non-Americans I came away with the conviction that we are still the hope of the world. In us they see a possible end to oppression. In us they see success, something to aspire, and to imitate. What they resent is our arrogance, our unreasoning belief in our superiority, and our self-defeating compulsion to rub it in their faces.

So in response to the question 'Why are Americans always so loud?', I ask another: Do we really need to be?