For US citizens (the kind you describe, that will never go out) the world contains also lot of "evil countries", China, Mexico, ... Those countries are constant

For US citizens (the kind you describe, that will never go out) the world contains also lot of "evil countries", China, Mexico, ... Those countries are constantly on TV, so even if he cannot point at them on a map, they exist as part of "the world" Making it a world issue may dilute the problem in their eyes and make it look like a world affair instead of a purely local policy. The US is at war against drug, terror, ... The US is under the threats of the axis of evil. The US citizen live in a world (not-US) where he is denied flying, where his mails are spied, ... That's the common TV language. Seeing how little it takes to influence people thinking (eg: global warming is mocked because its name suggest temperature will be rising globally), this constant bashing must have an effect in the apathy of the US citizen against the slow erosion of their rights.