I served overseas in the early '80s, under Reagan, and again in the '90s under Bush the Elder and Clinton. The overseas Leftists really hated Reagan, but their venom was muted to a degree due to the Cold War. The Soviets, still being dictatorial bastards, gave peace-loving people plenty of ammunition to use against them. Even still, the huge marches against Reagan in Europe, especially over the deployment of Pershing II IRBM, in response to the Soviets FIRST deploying SS-20s at all their capitals and peoples, were some of the biggest gatherings of anti-Americans ever assembled. The DBM ignores this or is too stupid or too stuck on their times only to even acknowldege it.
During the 1990s, the protesters were once again out in force over Desert Shield. I was at the Pentagon then (soon to go overseas), and had a part time job working for the Veterans Administration next to the White House. Next door, in Lafeyette park, the aging, smelly, greasy-haired hippies had this enormous tom-tom drum, which they beat every five seconds. I could hear it in the VA's computer room, even with the air handlers going full blast and a 6 node VAX cluster running. I have yet to encounter a more disturbing noise since. The Worldwide Left threw similar hissy fits all over, especially in Europe.
During the Clinton years, the world began to REALLY, REALLY hate us, and, believe it or not, it wasn't just about Clinton.
You see, after the Soviet Union broke up in late 1991, we, meanning the United States of America, was the only super power left standing. Without the various nations taking sides either with us or the Soviets, they could all hate us together. Everyone loves to hate the richest, biggest, strongest person--it's simple human nature. The USA is simply a national personification of this.
Our culture is world wide. I have seen Japanese kids, German kids, Italian Kids, Greek kids, wearing their pants halfway off their butts and various NBA and Raiders jackets, half-cocked ball caps, etc, all over the world. Rap music in Berlin at 2:00 AM on a Tuesday. McDonalds in Paris, serving Le Royale (Big Mac)... Chrysler minvans on the Autobahn to Basel, Switzerland.
I have been stared at in disgust by older Germans just for being "too friendly". These people won't even talk to each other, so it annoyed them when a strange American treated them nicely. I just laughed at them, knowing how we kicked their asses! Der Fuerer's tot, dumkopf!
Under Clinton, the USA was percieved as a joke politically. It was like Peyton Place moves to the White House. So many European people told me what a bumpkin they thought he was.
Now Bush is a MAN, and an American man at that. Nice guy! Friendly. But means what he says and says what he means. No nuance in him. They hate that!
Since then we have been using just SOME of our power and might to take out Islamic fascists. The already-hating-us world Left is still, well, hating us. Nothing is new.
The self loathers we have in this country (Kerry, et al), simply are jointed at the cerebellum with the world Leftists.
Clear back to Carter they hated us. My husband and I traveled to Tahiti in 1980 and heard nothing from the French there by derision for the USA and our idiot president.
Thanks for the historical percpective. For sure, most people under 40 or who have never lived abroad have little idea that today's "hate America" is not a new phenomenon.
It never ceases to amaze me how our major media can ignore the facts of history.
During X42, we were mocked and ridiculed the world over. The media would pretend that wasn't so, but it is so!
Given a chance there's not a soul in any other country who wouldn't give just about anything to come to America.