The outcome of the cultural struggle between the Hebrews and the Syriac Greeks is celebrated every December, and fears of U.S. cultural imperialism certainly predate network television. Not as seen from Peoria. First, the entire concept of national culture simply remains alien to most Americans, bred, as they are, to the idea that this nation is defined by norms of political and social behavior, rather than by cultural habits. Americans tend to be impatient with the whole notion of culture, unlike the French, who, at least to American eyes, imbue their language, arts, and cooking with heavy national responsibility. If the Japanese, say, wish to try to sell Americans on calligraphy, family bathing, daikan, or karaoke here, they are as welcome as anyone else is to try.
Cultural warfare is something the United States is more likely to do to others.
Cultural products are one of the only categories in which the United States enjoys a consistent export surplus. When the French or Canadians complain about U.S. cultural exports to their countries, the United States sees those complaints as threats to world trade and refuses to treat such cultural concerns as legitimate.