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I find most of the confusion between Americans and other nations stems from them getting offended when an American saying they're Irish (or half-Irish, or a quarter Irish or 12.5% ...). What they don't understand is that in America, when people say they "are" something, they just mean they're heritage is from there. America is a melting pot of different cultures around the world (which, in my opinion, is not a bad thing at all). So, no, an American (most of the time anyway) isn't trying to pretend they're 100% full thorough [country] blood when they're not, they're simply saying at one point one of their ancestors had bred in that country. What also adds to the irritability, I'll admit, is that sometimes Americans start talking about their heritage unprompted, leading to what seems to be arrogance, which is usually just them trying to connect with you on some level.
