polarized in my thinking, so "rules of thumb" are just that, to me.
It's just an expression, to lump "americans" as a homogenic group. Language becomes so difficult when you have to safeguard against the disease of "my political correctness sense is offended". What you're saying is I should have construed a sentence like: "In my experience, from what I've witnessed personally, seen on TV, and read about, I have to say that a large number of americans seems to hold the belief that..." and then comes the points of what I want to say. Who reads stuff like that ?

The world is complicated. Foreign policy implementation difficult. Of course. The US has acted, and not acted, in it's own interest more than in the rest of the world's interest. True ? Good, we agree. But there are others who don't agree, who thinks that the US is superior, morally above reproof etc. It's that belief I've argued against.