Why are people so pre-occupied with America

It's not just here. The US dominates global culture.

It provides good distraction for the Chinese who are up to much worse human rights abuses

In addition to the points made above, you’d better keep up to speed on a country that can basically park an air base of your coast and bomb your country into the stone age, or simply air drop an entire division onto your heads at minimum notice. While China is certainly gearing up to replace the US in that regard, they’re nowhere near that capability yet, and also have nowhere near the cultural or social impact on the western world that the US have.

I like America, but unlike many here I am able to distinguish that Ireland and the USA are not the same country. I cannot understand why anyone here would have any reason to dislike Trump for instance as he as done nothing to us or why anyone here would get carried away by this BLM rubbish all because an African American criminal got killed by a cop. Nothing to do with us.

Kylta wrote: »

I personally have no interest in America, but an awful of irish people seem to have an interest in America and I curious to as why?

There's lot of Irish in America.
They speak English, therefore we absorb their popular culture in books, film, toys, hobbies, music and TV. The US in the late 20th century was seen as 'the place where it happened'.
US politics was always seen as important in Ireland, Irish politicians in the past would have tried to involve the US as an honest broker in the Troubles in N Ireland.
We have a lot of major US companies based here.

However, I don't think US influence on Ireland has grown since say the days of Reagan in the above spheres.
The internet has brought the world closer together, if you follow US websites, you are exposed to a lot more of their content than when it was 'mediated' through Irish outlets.
Another thing that has changed is the amount of space devoted to US politics in Irish news and media. I could be wrong on this but, for example, I don't remember US primary elections getting the amount of coverage they get now on RTE. We now seem to be exposed to the minutiae of US national politics, as if they are stories of major importance to Ireland, usually with a very pro-Democrat liberal agenda.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

It's not just here. The US dominates global culture.

For now.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

Primaries have grown in importance over recent decades. Candidates used to be picked in a much quieter fashion closer to the convention.
I've heard Americans make the same complaint about now being bombarded with election news over the course of years. It's not a change unique to Ireland.

You could be right on the profile of primaries in the US, but what seems curious to me is that its higher profile also jumped across the Atlantic to us.
The coverage it gets in mainstream Irish news seems totally out of proportion to its actual impact on our lives.
Compare the amount of (non Brexit related) coverage of EU institutions which actually make far more decisions that impact us than the US federal government.

You could say US politics has a celebrity factor as much as a politics factor.
Maybe the people crafting the news today grew up watching the West Wing.
Maybe it's an outlet for those people to express their opinions on US politics.

Google, Facebook, Microsoft to name but a few, working for US companies, emigration by Irish people to the states, television, film, books, and that is just the start.


It would be more surprising if they was no interest in it.

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Well the Chinese sure won't be taking over unless they decide to speak English as first language and no one else is going to be as dominant on a global scale.

You realise language can be translated?

It's kind of funny when Western countries were falling over each other and pretty much stealing PPE from each other all manufactured by...guess who?

odyssey06 wrote: »

Certainly we consume a significant amount of American content, but I think vast majority overstates it.
We also consume a huge amount of Chinese & UK products & EU products (especially cars, food, wine, cosmetics).
Just the UK soaps alone would mean the vast majority of TV we watch in this country isn't American. And that's just for starters.

I don't think using google and gmail means that the USA is in my face.
If you use Facebook or Twitter you may not even be following any American content on it.

We don't consume much media that doesn't come from the US, UK or possibly Australia. We use a lot of Chinese products, but Irish people would have very, very little exposure to Chinese culture.

mr_fegelien wrote: »

It's funny that many Irish people consume American media (Netflix, American TV Shows) yet so few watch CNN International. Technically it's actually the UK version but still American based.
Am I the few people who watch CNN International? I'm technically not Irish as I was born in East Africa and lived in the States for some time.

I think people would watch Sky News more, probably largely because it was one of the channels on the old analogue lineup with NTL \ UPC \ Virgin Media.
Or BBC News 24 now.

CNN wouldn't register really.

tonycascarino wrote: »

I cannot understand why anyone here would have any reason to dislike Trump for instance as he as done nothing to us

Agree to some degree but what the POTUS does can have a massive effect on Ireland.

The 2008 crash fúcked this country up yet it was American made. Dell pulled manufacturing out of Ireland and we lost 5% of all exports.

The GOP for some weird reason tend to treat environmental policies with total disdain. A constant game of the Dems implementing regulations and the GOP rolling them back. Of all the things leveled against him, many of them flimsy, Trumps environmental policies are indefensible and fairly abhorrent.

And look Bush's mental foreign policy (and his Dads which was excellent) and see how it can impact the world.

Etc etc.