I want them (Americans) to get away from stereotypes.
I appreciate Rick's philosophy of becoming a "temporary European" and living in their shoes for a while. That's a noble objective, a way of understanding Europeans and of gaining perspective on our own American culture.
The problem I see in this piece and in many of his other writings, is his own comfort with stereotypes and overgeneralizations when he describes Americans; life in America is guided by ethnocentricity, fear of differences, excessive self-pride, speed and greed:
There is a fear of the unknown — of another language, other customs,
and different money. And I believe there is a fear of upsetting your
cultural self-assuredness…of learning that other people don’t have the
“American Dream” and they can be happy without it.
IME American travelers in Europe might be naive about European ways, but generally speaking, they are neither fearful nor prideful. They are usually in Europe because they are in fact curious and want to learn more about European life and history. I've never talked with another traveler in Europe who was afraid his beloved America would be outshined by Europe. Those kinds of folks do exist, but they don't sign up for Rick's tours or book flights to Europe. They stay home. If they do get dragged out of the country, by their spouses for example, then sure, they have a miserable time and whine about all the differences. Germans vacationing in the Mediterranean get this rap a lot. Every country has them, and travel doesn't transform them.
When the interviewer Mr. Wagner comments, "You don’t sound like the typical American," Rick, after stereotyping Americans himself, gives him a tiny scolding:
What does a typical American sound like? What does a typical German
sound like? We should be careful about generalizing.
Okaayyy.
