one misunderstanding
Americans don’t trust government. Never have. We are a cynical lot, suspicious of governments’ motives. This is because in our history, our “founding fathers” had good reason to distrust government and so made a government that would only get its power from the people it served. In the US, people authorize their government to govern. (Imagine Small Bush holding power indefinitely.)
Americans like the underdog. Always have. This is because in our history we were once the underdogs. (There is also probably some Christian biblical reference to overcoming the odds to conquer evil.) This cultural norm also permeates American business, where startups are encouraged and innovation thrives.
So we naturally challenge and question authority. It’s been a part of our history since our government existed. In business, new ideas and innovations continuously question the status quo and replace the old. This is the American way. Conflict is necessary baby.
All of this is a part of the American national identity, comparatively speaking, but this is not the way of other nations and people. There are many dramatic and subtle differences between the US and China, for example. These differences will continue to be expressed and seen as isolated crises but actually they are based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the cultural differences between us.
If Chinese people suspect that criticism of them or their anything will ever truly and entirely end, they are being naive. If you are the most populous nation on the planet at a time in history when global information is instantaneous, you are going to hear from someone somewhere about something that is something of a “crisis” to you. The world’s cultures are diverse and freaky. For anyone to believe that 6 and a half billion people could all have the same ideas and thinking all over the world is fantastically naive and genuinely hilarious.
If you’re an American, that won’t offend you at all.