US a very individualistic, xenophobic nation: Activist

The United States is an individualistic and “xenophobic” country, with a growing segment of the population being very distrustful of US government policies, an American activist in Maryland says.

“The US is a very nationalistic, individualistic, and often xenophobic nation,” Myles Hoenig told Press TV on Saturday, adding that Washington “promotes the idea that the US is unique and a model for the world.”

“President Obama uses the term 'exceptionalism', which often refers to the perceived right to do whatever we think is in our interests, whether it’s legal or not, with an expectation that the world would fall in line with our positions and views,” Hoenig said.

He said the US government is largely responsible for the declining sense of patriotism among the American people, who are now less likely to feel proud as an American.

Fewer people in the United States consider themselves to be proud to be an American compared to a decade ago, according to a new survey.

While most people - 54 percent - consider themselves "extremely proud" to be American, that number is down from a peak of 70 percent in 2003, a new Gallup poll indicates.

“Being that the majority of Americans are ignorant of foreign news, it doesn’t take much for the media and corporate powers to create a false sense of endangerment, which promotes strong nationalism and patriotism. However, there is a strong and growing segment of the population that is very distrustful of our policies,” Hoenig said.

“These people are on the left and right of the political spectrum. The left sees manufactured crises and the right sees an over-extended reach of federal government. This erodes an overall sense of patriotism which is likely reflected in these polls,” he observed.

AHT/HRJ