I can’t help but wonder if this whole argument is related to the fact that many US-based maps and globes tend to show the outlines of each US state as well. It confused the hell out of me as a kid. I’d see each state outlined and colored differently on maps, and think that the countries in Europe or Africa were also states. When my parents pointed out that no, those are countries, I’d ask why the US states were shown the same way, but other countries didn’t show their states (or equivalent boundaries.) Never did get a good answer.
Someone growing up seeing their states depicted equally to how other countries are depicted, on the same map, could easily think the differences are equally important between US states as between countries. If you grow up being told your country is the best in the world, and even globes make a point to show how important your different states in particular are, it’s not surprising that someone could come away thinking the differences between Arkansas and Michigan are just as important as the differences between Finland and Bulgaria.
Do other countries have their own maps/globes that highlight only their own states/provinces/etc. but not the subdivided territories for other countries?
Why not a mix of both?