Reading these posts I see there is no shortage for arguments concerning foreign affairs. Personally, I don't think the article was all that great. A lot of good observations were brought up, but in the end, that is all they are. Having one person speak on behalf of an entire country regarding cultural upbringing, traditions, and social perspective is ridiculous. I guess that is why the article posted was just a random person's blog entry instead of in a prestigious journal. Many of the "facts" presented were skewed which causes more bias than needed. At the same time, I would say many of the author's observations hold some merit of truth. These same observations could be applied to other countries besides the United States. It is hard to discern whether the author is actually trying to address certain flaws about the U.S. or pointing out those flaws with the attempt to "fit in" or "gain approval" from other cultures. Of course, this is just my opinion from the "sheltered" life that I supposedly live in.

Also, I think the word ignorance is sometimes mistaken for stupidity. Stupidity being the lack of intelligence/reason while ignorance refers to simply being unaware of something which I think was the case with the Hookah incident stated above. However, As the saying goes: "ignorance is bliss" -->(Not knowing is better than knowing and worrying).