Over the past couple of days, anti-US demonstrations that initially erupted among Muslims in Egypt have spread to South and Southeast Asia. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims staged fierce protests in countries such as Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and India. The explosive anti-US sentiment sweeping many parts of the world has surprised many Americans.

While some Americans seriously question what their country's foreign strategy has really brought over recent years, many continue to be unaware of how they should view and treat other cultures.

More than a few US media outlets cast doubt on the spontaneity of the outpouring of public wrath, and attribute it more to a trick of "mob diplomacy" driven by indigenous political parties.

There are also voices berating US authorities for being weak in the face of such "mob violence" and protestors who lack "religious tolerance."

The US has to look squarely at the cracks between its self-image and how it is viewed in the external world. After the eruption of the Iraq War in 2003, some scholars proposed that the "American century" was ended by the 9/11 attack. Some even speculated the 21st century might be the "anti-American century."

According to the latest global attitudes survey by the Pew Research Center, attitudes toward the US are generally more positive than during the George W. Bush administration, but views among Muslim countries remain decidedly negative.

Among nearly all the 20 countries polled, support for US international policies has declined over the past three years.

Key aspects of US foreign policy remain unpopular among many countries across the world, and there is a prevailing view that the US acts unilaterally and fails to consider other countries' interests.

The Internet era can easily expose the disrespect of some individual Americans toward other cultures. As long as degrading perspectives continue, as represented in the Innocence of Muslims, a US-made film that was regarded as insulting the Prophet Muhammad, conflicts between the US culture and other cultures will continue in the future.

American culture has its attractiveness in other parts of the world, but its strong inclination to expand and superiority mentality have found itself facing more resistance in the world.

The US obviously lacks a deep overall understanding of other cultures. The latest anti-US wave, which continues fermenting, ought to force the US to update its self-assessments in the world.