The writer …………

There are signs of the arrogance of power in the way Americans act when they go to foreign countries. Foreigners frequently comment on the contrast between the behaviour of Americans at home and abroad: in their own country, people say, they are hospitable and considerate, but as soon as they get outside their own borders, something seems to get into them and wherever they are, they become noisy and demanding and they strut around as if they owned the place. One reason Americans may act as though they “own the place” is that in many places they very nearly do: American companies may dominate large segments of a country's economy; American products are advertised on billboards and displayed in shop windows; American soldiers may be stationed in the country, and even if they are not, the population are probably well aware that their survival depends on the wisdom with which America uses her immense military power. I think that when any American goes abroad, he carries an unconscious knowledge of all this power with him and it affects his behaviour.