Anti-Americanism in Europe: Myth or Reality?
Recent developments in Europe make Don Surber conclude that all the stories about growing anti-Americanism in the world since Bush became president are based on a myth. According to Don, Sarkozy’s and Merkel’s victories show that the world really does love America.
Although I would like to be able to agree with Don, I cannot do so. His reasoning is false. The voters did not elect these people because they are (relatively) pro-America, they voted for them because they are fed up with the economical and social policies of the left. They voted for them for domestic reasons, not for reasons of foreign affairs, and especially not because they are pro-America.
Having said that, the political landscape has changed, and quite significantly so – the US should jump at the opportunity to restore ties / the relationship with Europe since its leaders are more open to it. But make no mistake about it: even these leaders do not like Bush, and European voters do not like Bush either. Bush is probably one of the most hated – if not the most hated – post-WWII American presidents. Not only, however, do Europeans greatly dislike Bush, since the view is that Americans voted him into office, resentment against the American people as a whole has grown as well.
It is nice spin, but quite easy to see through. Just because people vote someone into office who is pro-America, does not mean that those voters are pro-America as well. I respect Don, but his reasoning is in this case flawed.
3 Responses to “Anti-Americanism in Europe: Myth or Reality?”
I must concur (yes, I know, you’re shocked
). If anything these leaders have been chosen despite their pro-American stance, not because of it. In any case since when has any leader been chosen on the basis of their relationship with another country more than on the basis of their internal politics? Americans would consider it (rightly) pretentious in the extreme if the French decided that Americans had chosen Bush for an anti-French stance. As if the center of our lives was France and not the US. The center of the lives of people in Germany and France is (rightfully) Germany and France. These more conservative leaders are rising because of disenchantment with the left that is sweeping Europe. Europeans are still very progressive by American standards, but the supposed representatives of those values are corrupt and ineffective, often much more concerned with the “feel-good” aspect of things than actual results. This is why I can’t vote for the (so-called) left in Spain, though I still can’t bring myself to vote for the (also so-called) conservatives. The US has nothing to do with it, anti-Americanism is still sadly flourishing, gleefully reinforced by reports of Americans unable to find Europe on a map (while a good number of Europeans can roughly place many US STATES on a map) and things like the election and re-election of Bush.
[...] Michael van der Galien wrote: “The voters did not elect these people because they are (relatively) pro-America, they voted [...]
Perhaps Surber overstates it, but it suggests that this hatred for America may be a reality rather than a myth, but it is a reality that doesn’t hold great sway. It might break a tie between two otherwise undifferentiated candidates, but that seems unlikely to occur.