I was having a friendly discussion with a group of Americans in New York last month, when I brought up the topic of US politics. To my astonishment, it turned into a heated debate, they started yelling and calling each other names. It almost turned into a fistfight. Just when I thought the worst was over, a few of them had a go at me: “What would an Arab know about US politics?” they shouted — to be fair, some of them defended me too.

It is not the purpose of this article to express my offense to what happened, that is how most political arguments end. But I was surprised because there was no civility about the discussion, they didn’t hear each other’s opinions and they surely did not “vote” on anything. I don’t know about you, but I thought Americans were different, with their so-called American values. The ones President Obama keeps repeating in his speeches, like mutual respect, tolerance, and open-mindedness. Don’t get me wrong; I know that every time Obama delivers a speech, he makes many promises, perhaps just to show off his oratory skills.

I also know that the American people are no different than their president, they are imperfect humans driven by emotions and thus can get partial sometimes... just like us. But why was I so surprised? Maybe because I am another victim of what I like to call “The American weapon of mass destruction” which has successfully brainwashed me into believing that Americans are the angels of peace and global defenders of human rights: The US media.

Throughout my life, most of the heroes and icons I came across were American! In no particular order: There was Neil Armstrong the first man to walk on the moon, Steve Jobs the visionary, Bill Gates — who copied the visionary and became the world’s richest man, Tupac who spoke for the poor, Michael Jackson the king of the pop and the WWE monsters etc.

I have no doubts about the legitimacy of these icons, neither am I promoting xenophobia. The Arab world as a whole has been suffering a shortage of such icons. A fundamental rule of economics is that when supply falls, prices rise. Maybe that’s why, whenever I am in the presence of an American, I automatically become extra polite. And when I visit any western country I am happy to learn what the rules are, follow them strictly and queue up for hours with no complaints. Perhaps I suffer from “Oukdat Al Khawaja” — Arabic for “Foreigner complex.” But it’s not only me who shows these symptoms. In the local news when I hear about a project, it seems only Aramco can get it done right. And when it gets cloudy, we don’t even trust our weather forecasts anymore, we race to check TheWeatherChannel.com!

Thanks to this weapon (US media), it is not only our perception of Americans that is flawed. I watched this American documentary about Saudi Arabia, and it left me feeling sorry for myself. The narrator said: “In primitive Saudi Arabia, there are no movies, no music, no theater, no nightclubs, no dating, no parks, and few museums...” Then the narrator’s tone got cheeky as he described all the wealth, emphasizing the fact that the only source of entertainment for Saudis is shopping and of course that it is the only country on the planet where women don’t drive. Some of these things are untrue and some aren’t. I know that because I live here, but the problem is that after watching such documentaries, foreigners will be convinced that Saudi Arabia is a rich version of Afghanistan. It’s no wonder that even in some Arab countries, I was asked if I lived in a tent, if I can swim, if my main means of transportation is a camel, or if I have a well of oil in my backyard. In the end, although media conspiracy theories can be fun and documentaries tell a lot of truth, it is only my ignorance I should blame for believing all the good things I see in US media. It is also the fault of foreigners who jump to conclusions after having watched one documentary. If you want to know what it is like to live in Saudi Arabia, do it the old-fashioned way: Pay us a visit — and no, you won’t have to sleep in a tent, or travel on the back of a camel!

On the other hand, although we are still far behind, we should abandon the mentality that Americans can do no wrong and be more skeptical when we consume their media. America had a dream and she realized it. Our “values” are divine and they have been set more than1435 years ago. Let us realize our own... the Saudi dream!