Misunderstanding

I think that the question that this American blogger asks is pretty interesting: If people around the world hate America so much, why do so many want to go there?

I think that I know the answer: He is misunderstanding what people dislike. It isn't the living conditions in America that they dislike, they would like to experience that. It is the foreign policies of the government that they dislike.

I think that Americans, because we are a democracy, have a much harder time separating the people from the government. Since we have chosen the government that we have, it is a reflection, however imperfect, of our views. So we expect that the same will be true of other nations. But in large parts of the world, people have no say in the government policies, and so they think that hold a person responsible for the actions of their government is wrong.