Why do they love America so much?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/world/asia/17harbin.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=Disney%20&%20globalization&st=cse

I found this article in the NY Times that talks about globalization in China. One of China's most popular wintertime tourist attractions is the Harbin Ice Lantern Festival, but this past year the festival did not include iconic Chinese monuments like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, but Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. The common response to this situation would be for local Chinese people to be upset with the change, but in reality people enjoyed the Disney characters and locals understood the reasons for doing this. Some had said it was for the young children, while others had mentioned that it brought back their childhood memories of watching Disney movies.

It seems that people are so accustomed to American things in their countries that it isn't a big deal to them when American theme parks and icons take the place of their traditional festivals and cultural events. I would think that most people would find this change appalling and a back stab to the Chinese culture, but yet none of the Chinese people saw things this way. People were almost glad that Disney characters were featured at the festival; they love the American way of living and Disney is an American theme park.

I think that what makes America so appealing to other countries is our society. We live the most powerful country in the world, our citizens have human rights and basic freedoms and live independent lives. For so many people America is the land of opportunities and I think that is the main reason we attract so many people from other countries. Americans are individualists with strong work ethics who live in a society free from persecution, discrimination, and terrorism (on our own land). I think that America represents the world's possible future; people from other countries always hear about things going on in the United States and how powerful our military forces and government are, so I think when countries become more globalized, or "Americanized," that people see this as a good sign. When their home country becomes more like the United States people look to that a sign that their country could possibly be as great as the United States and these people could live similar lifestyles. Although we know this isn't completely true, I think this is the reason that people love American products and our way of living. Therefore, Chinese people did not get upset at the fact that Disney world took over one of their most popular, traditional festivals.