For most of our history as a nation, Americans have been seen as innocents by much of the world. We’re lucky in circumstance perhaps, but rarely more than blissfully ignorant of our good fortune. In many ways, this quality is admired throughout the world. In other ways, we bewilder the world with our informality. Our casual approach to things seems to have at least three stages or manifestations: innocent/lovable, thoughtless/exasperating and, for lack of a better word, calculating.

The American impact on and image in the world expanded tremendously in the years following World War II. After the dust settled, we were the only ones left standing, and promptly set about rebuilding Europe and Asia. You want to be loved by others? Help them when they need it, in ways they understand. This is what we did in a professional but weirdly relaxed way. We didn’t stand on ceremony; we stood on practicality. Getting the job done was more important than the trappings that might surround the job. American informality at it’s best.

Fast forward through most of the last century and cherry pick opinions about Americans around the world. On the whole, we were well regarded for our deeds, while our manners were viewed as immature perhaps, but lovable - an acceptable tradeoff for our good-heartedness and willingness to share our wealth and good fortune with others.

Being oblivious can produce annoying behavior however. We can often act like the rest of the world is a variation on Disneyland; that everything out there is to entertain and amuse us when we travel. This manifests itself most obviously in how we dress. Drop me into a large European city, and tell me to pick out the American tourists. I’ve only been to London once, but it would have been a snap. I just need to spot an adult wearing any combination of baseball cap, shorts, shirts with logos or advertising, backpacks and digital camera/video/phone device. Bingo! There’s an American. It’s an invisible uniform here, and a dead giveaway anywhere else.

While I enjoyed seeing Big Ben and eating fish and chips on the streets of London, one of my most memorable experiences was in the restroom of a local pub. As I was facing the wall thinking my thoughts, a local bloke took his post next to me, looked me over and asked if I was German. I was so startled that I … well, we’ll just say I was startled. I happily corrected him, but thought about why he mistook me for a German. My wife and I finally decided it was how I was dressed. It was April, so I was wearing a turtleneck, some kind of slacks and my Rockports. I was out of uniform! I’d bet that any self respecting Brit would have pegged me for a Yank if I’d been wearing my Tigers cap, sweats, Nike kicks and oversized Gap T shirt. You know - the way we dress going to the mall.

The downside of informality can be even less endearing and more exasperating here at home. A while back I had to stop the Applebee’s greeter from acting like he was my pal because it just felt uncomfortable. Same with the gas station attendants at Costco. I’d like to just hang up on the customer service people from Everywhere when they start their exit script, but I was raised not to do that. I’m afraid we’re seeing informality turn the corner and become something thoughtless and even faked for business purposes.

There are plenty of examples of this misuse of casualness, its effect on others and how that effect is viewed and used for profit. It wasn’t that long ago that NBA players all wore suits when traveling – Mikey, Magic, Zeke, Bird, all of them. Bing wore no Bling and neither did Cousey or Mikan. So what about the NBA Bling Bling ruling? First they want the hip hop ducats no matter what, then, well, maybe just the ducats. Leave your doo-rags and oversized jewelry in the suitcase please and Be Like Mike. While I appreciate the stated intent of the ruling, I’m not surprised that there is controversy surrounding it.

There’s a recent AP/IPSOS poll that investigated this shift toward the more thoughtless side of constant informality. The actual poll results are here, while analysis in the popular press can be found here. In short, we seem to be moving from a lovable, friendly expression of informality toward a rude, entitled state of Me First casualness. I feel a little funny saying Please and Thank You in public, and holding doors open for my wife and other women has gotten the occasional WTF look. That I would feel apologetic for basic civility is pretty bizarre, IMHO.

So the line between harmless casual behavior and more abrasive rudeness is getting crossed and blurred more regularly. What could be worse? How about the intentional misuse of informality?

It’s easy to point to the Chief Texan as a trend-setting culprit in the matter. I’m not so sure his Aw Shucks Stetson and Wranglers persona is all that innocent, and I’m not alone. A nice article in Foreign Policy magazine points out that Fashion Does Matter, and encouraging/insisting that others dress like you at a negotiation tends to make people uncomfortable. Forcing others to change something as basic as the way they dress – even if it is into more comfortable attire – means they’re already willing to accept change, which is the first thing you want the other side to do when trying to find some middle ground.

It’s interesting to hear the discussions about why informality everywhere may be good or bad. If we’re informal all the time, then when and how do we show we’re relaxing, or when we mean business? Does constant informality mean we must abandon real manners for the many varieties of Have A Nice Day imposed on us by whoever is in charge of the Department of Corporate Friendliness? This seems to be the direction we’re going in, and I wonder about the consequences to our personal and national image and identity.

So that’s my Big Fat Opinion for this week. What do you think? Serious problem or much ado about nothing? Post your thoughts to the message board or drop me a line at mmtym@detroitbuzz.com. All responses welcome.

Until next time, heed our Weekly Words of Wisdom:

Whatever joy there is in the world all comes from desiring others to be happy, and whatever suffering there is in the world all comes from desiring myself to be happy.

- Shantideva