Posted on 06/07/2008 6:19:23 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
MONEY can't buy you love.
This week George W Bush flies into Europe to mark the 60th anniversary of the Marshall Plan - the massive reconstruction effort that enabled western Europe to rise to prosperity from the ashes of the second world war.
The president's European tour, which will include a visit to Belfast, comes on the back of a YouGov poll published last week that reveals the extent of European hostility towards the US.
Asked "Do you think the United States is overall a force for good or evil in today's world?", an astonishing 43% of respondents said "force for evil."
Just 27% thought the US a 'force for good'.
The poll surveyed four western European nations - Britain, France, Italy and Germany - along with Russia.
Unsurprisingly, given the talk of a new 'cold war', hostility was greatest in Russia, where only 16% thought the US was a force for good.
At the other end of the spectrum, Italians were most positive about the role of America in the world, with 49%/27% split in favour of the US. Italy still prides itself on its 'special' transatlantic relationship. Almost 16 million Italian emigrants live in the US. Back home, the older generation still tend to be grateful for the role the US played in liberating Italy during the war and for the rebuilding that came afterwards.
In Britain, which has its own 'special relationship' with the US, the figures were a statistical dead heat at 33% and 35%.
Perhaps the most striking statistics of all are those for France and Germany. Despite the efforts of chancellor Angela Merkel and president Nicolas Sarkozy to rebuild their association with the United States in the wake of the war in Iraq, both countries remain deeply suspicious of what the French disparagingly call 'L'Hypuissance'. Of French respondents, only 28% thought America a force for good, In Germany the figure was lower still at 25%.
The unpopularity of the war in Iraq notwithstanding, it is difficult to take the 'forcefor-evil' sentiment in this data seriously. For the simple truth is that Europeans everywhere, including in Ireland, remain as in love with the American way of life as ever.
For months, the media and public alike have soaked up every last detail of the enthralling US primary season. (I bet more people can instantly recall the first name of Barack Obama's wife than that of Mrs Cowen. ) Check out the European music chart this week and you'll find US stars Madonna and Justin Timberlake at No 1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Sex and the City are the headline films in European cinemas.
Indiana Jones took a whopping $24.1m in UK box office receipts in its opening four days alone.
Lest we dismiss this as 'mere' popular culture, that dominance also comes in the traffic of serious ideas. As commentators such as Timothy Garton Ash frequently point out, Washington has at its fingertips a range and depth of policy analysis, in government, think tanks, universities and the media, which London has not matched for 50 years and no other European capital, least of all the EU 'capital' of Brussels, can begin to approach.
The energy and enthusiasm of that response to American politics, culture and ideas stands in stark contrast to the apathy with which we greet European affairs.
The referendum on the Lisbon Treaty has put Ireland at the heart of a crucial European debate this month, but you would be hard-pressed to know it.
For all the posters and occasional shouting matches on TV and radio, the public reaction has been one of boredom, bemusement and disinterest. Even Matt Cooper, who has been hosting a series of debates on the treaty, says he may not bother to vote.
Eurocrats such as EU president Jose Manuel Barroso would like to blame us for any lack of interest, but the reality is that Brussels consistently fails to engage the public imagination.
America on the other hand always does. And even those who seem to view the current administration as a 'force for evil' can take comfort from the words of that great 19th-century Americaphile, Alexis de Tocqueville.
"The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, " he wrote, "but rather in her ability to repair her faults."
They told me the story of how the wife's family living in a small town was terribly upset, weeping and trying to get her to stay in Russia. Why?? Because all they knew of the US was violence on the streets, rape, etc. They learned that in school and American movies. They never were able to see the Sound of Music, only movies which painted the US unfavorably. That was a program of the Russian government. I suspect the same thing is widespread. What are we to expect??
The US Census websites states that there are 604,000 foreign born Italian Americans. The rest are US born, about 15 million of those, me included :), you might call us U.S. Italian Americans.
In retrospect, Iraq has been a major Charlie Foxtrot for the U.S.
We all agreed that Hans Blix and Scott Ritter were lying about the weapons. Well, unless we can deliver the EVIDNECE that they exist or existed, we look like idiots.
In the eyes of the world, we look like idiots.
“They didn’t like us long before Iraq, and they won’t like us 15 years after we leave Iraq. I really believe there’s still a lot of resentment from WWII, and a ton of jealousy regarding our way of life.”
****
Exactly! It’s really that simple. JEALOUSY.
We’re the top dogs...they’re not. Their civilizations have peaked, ours hasn’t. Our way of life starts with liberty and freedom...theirs don;t even have a clue of what it means to be free.
besides...those krauts started 2 world wars yet they couldn;t finish...pathetic.
Sadly, I agree. I always was of the mind that we should come to the aid of Britain, regardless of the situation, but I'm not so sure anymore. That's how lost I think they are.
Makes you wonder about the frustration level of German women ;-)
[hostility was greatest in Russia]
Drastic change then. My daughter and family were there about 9 years ago and the people loved them, followed them around everywhere, asking questions.
How do they get the results for these story’s and polls? I’ve never been polled. People in some countries may be afraid to speak out. I’m dubious.
***Most European non-gay men (there’s probably still some) are jealous of our guy’s sexual prowess during the last European war.***
Over worked.
Over paid.
Over sexed.
And Over here!
we have to keep people out, not in.
Well, Islam will rule Europe in 10 more years, so what do I care about the Euroweenies...they;re cannon fodder while we re-load.
I actually dated a German chick years ago, nicely built..err, we’re going off topic here.
Yeah, Right!
Then why do millions of them want to holiday, travel and immigrate to the USA?
Miami is full of International travellers and vacationers from Europe. Hang out at the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls sometime.
More Marxist crap from those who want to cow traditional American men into gurly men and make women into whussy pippers.
It ain't evil to be free.
Jealousy is a biatch, idnit?
I would suggest that this is because the average European has lost his/her moral compass. They don’t know good from evil anymore.
.
Euro tourists still pour into NYC and other cities
I guess that hate the USA so much that they must come here and spend lots of money....
That does not make any sense does it?
We should have left Europe in rubble under the Soviets who would have screwed it up even more. Then we would have gotten the respect we deserve.
No it doesn’t. They think it’s so bad that they spend a fortune just to come and see, lol
When I went to Disney World a number of years ago, I’d say a fourth of the people there were Japanese. It astounded me! But their money ratio at the time made visiting here cheap for them.
I expect Europe to have a slow quiet death. The final turning point will be when Europeans in droves start immigrating out of Europe.
” Their civilizations have peaked, ours hasn’t. “
Ours hasn’t ? Duh !
I speak for the great majority of Americans (and you know I do) when I say I don’t care even remotely what the Europeans think about America, or about anything else for that matter. And when I talk to Europeans and they start in on how hated America is in the world, I’m very happy to explain to them that Americans flat don’t care what they think. They are unimportant except as consumers of our culture. It shocks them, because the seem to actually believe that we should be concerned that they don’t like us. I just laugh at them and say, if we respected them we might care what they think. But we don’t, and we don’t.
What do we have to do to make it 100%?
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