Originally Posted by
GUWonder
It has nothing to do with why should Americans be any different, but that kind of rhetorical device is often the kind of anti-American snobbery that makes me laugh in a world where every country is chock full of people who are ignorant about a lot of things related to international movements of people.
The paperwork to get a passport isn't always as easy as it is to use a birth certificate and/or DL that is already in hand -- it certainly isn't cheaper for those who already have a birth certificate and DL.
US citizens are not the only people who have some allowances even without a passport to enter some other country or countries.
Some other countries well beyond the US also have allowances for some foreigners to enter them without a passport. Actually most countries that are in the UN have arrangements to admit some people who have no passports. And some countries have agreements that allow millions (even tens of millions) of foreigners to enter them without a passport and those arrangements are used by hundreds of thousands if not millions to cross international borders too. (A little exaggeration here, I think.)
Just because travel from most countries to most countries ordinarily requires a passport doesn't mean that everyone has the expectation that all or most of their travel does ordinarily require a passport. Education and/or previous experience(s) can play a role in what even reasonable people may expect -- even when perhaps mistaken or frustrated by a party that may not necessarily be the wannabe passenger's intended host country (or an agent thereof).
By the way, if your "yes" is to be an answer of some sort to my question which you quoted, then I have to following to say:
International travel today involves less paperwork for a greater proportion of the world's population today than at any point in time since the end of WW2. So why should Americans expect more paperwork than before in order to travel internationally?
I'm going to take you up on this.
My response asking why should Americans be any different was in response to the title of this thread - "I don't need a passport - I'm American." (You could also interpret that as snobbery, if you wished.) My response was neither snobbery nor a "rhetorical device." It was a fair comment, nothing more.
What has happened is that the US government has made matters more confusing for its citizens by introducing exceptions, such as the WHTI initiative and the passport cards. In doing so, it has created a situation where its citizens sometimes genuinely do not know whether or not they need a passport to travel outside the US.
You cite several examples of instances where passports are not required. They are exceptions, and not the general rule. The majority of people, regardless of where they live or where they are travelling to, need a passport to enter a country that is not their own.
The requirements for obtaining a passport are similar throughout the world - birth certificate or other proof of entitlement, etc. This involves no more and no less paperwork for Americans than it does for citizens of other countries. I don't understand why you said it takes more.