In reply to:
I am not sure about this-- Japan has had very different attitudes to others than Great Britian.... and i don't know enough about Iceland or Cuba to speak about there attitudes.
I suppose the key is not whether the people live on a literal island but the degree of isolation from other parts of the world they experience. Britain is far nearer the Eurasian land mass than Japan and has been far more engaged with it. The United (I type Untied nearly every time and have to correct it) States has, as far as I can gather, been able to be much more isolated, since, for much of its history, the nearest countries of similar status were in Europe (Canada being more or less ignored and Mexico not very much respected).
For the rest of us, it is a fact of life that what America does affects us deeply in all sorts of ways, so of course we take an interest in what happens over there. No doubt misunderstandings and ignorance of American realities as opposed to the Hollywood picture thrives, but we can't help but have opinions on American domestic issues as well as foreign policy. So bear with us and correct us gently if we put our foot in it from time to time.
Bingley
