Americans are dumb, not innately of course, but they have very little awareness of the outside world. Most of what they do see and hear on the news is in the form of a narrative about whether a nation/government is an official US friend or foe. They rely on being given directions as to what to believe, they are almost incapable of objective thought on world affairs, they can only regurgitate what they've been told.
It's a terribly insular society, with little tolerance for those who question official narratives. The very people who decry "big government" nevertheless rely on it 100% to form their views on the rest of humanity, utterly indoctrinated, unthinking and intolerant.