Exactly, I'm just having a meandering dialogue, not trying to have a debate. I don't mean to bother you. The root of what I'm getting at is just modern America

Exactly, I'm just having a meandering dialogue, not trying to have a debate. I don't mean to bother you. The root of what I'm getting at is just modern America has a diffuse and immature national culture. There's nothing like 1,000 years of dynasties, the legacy of Greece or Rome and their Gods, etc. The culture folk have is usually from a subculture or region, and even those may be ephemeral/inconsistent due to how often we move around cities for employment. On top of that, as someone else mentioned, much of our culture gets immediately re-exported and blends into a worldwide "default" kind of state. Japanese baseball and whiskey and jeans. They no longer invoke a feeling of "being American". The parts that don't get exported are often things we don't want to actively associate with. Combine all that with the lack of time a national identity has even had to foment. Compared to, say, the French, who will make signs like "Je suis circonflexe". So many Americans are (in my opinion and experience) extra susceptible to seeing nations with a legacy and living traditions and national identity and feeling we are missing out. Would love to hear your opinions!