Why is the world very anti-American????

[speshk]

Bring laissez-faire in this country to a screeching halt for about 8 or 12 years. Everything else will sort itself out.

 

[JustAsking]

Two parts to the question.. 1. How can America improve it's image and 2. Do you care about the overall image thing?

I think Americans inherited from the UK a sense of decency and fair play. The undercurrent of that runs deep in the Americay psyche. However, very much like Britain at the peak of the British Empire, we are somewhat blinded by our own nationalism. So we pretty much fail to see why anyone would be upset with us. Like England at the time, we are acting like Imperialists but cloaking it in the half-believed sense that we are bringing civilization to the rest of the world, even if it is at gunpoint. (Naturally, strategic interests are important, too, just as it was for the Empire).

Since we are new at this, and the British have had about 100 years post-Empire to reexamine themselves, you may be in a much better position to understand present day America than us Americans might.

So in answer to your question #2, our answer would be "Of course we care what the rest of the world thinks. We are decent and caring people!" But you can see how we would be saying this through our own naivete.

 

[Lordpendragon]

My father recently returned from spending a whole month abroad at the world cup. He was originally born in Rumania, to a fairly typical Austro-Hungarian family. His family fled to Austria during the war, as German Nationals. After the war, due to his mother being Hungarian, his father being a German, and his birthplace being Rumania, he and his mother became displaced persons, eventually settling in the US in 1951. As a child we lived in Europe during the end of Reagan and beginning of Bush I. There was a RAMPANT dislike of American's, based more so on the dissapproval of our leaders, and the percieved values of the people. (They were after all the ones that elected the said leaders). He could not believe the amount of people that hate George Bush, and with such fervor. Neither myself, nor my father are supporters of the current administration. As Pro-Choice, Pro stem cell research, anti war, pro environment, supporters of an extreme seperation of church and state, yet believers in freedom of religion and the press, pro gay marriage, anti amending the constitution for ANY reason ex republicans. My mother has told off thier European friends as well as our family by reminding them that 49% of the population did not vote for the government currently in power And that we are included in that percentage.

I personally believe that this misunderstanding that all of America is allowing Bush to destroy the world, coupled with our insistence on NOT learning a foreign language, our inability show progress on waste and the environment, our driving need for more More MORE, the overall ignorance of "Joe and Jane Uhmerihkun" to not only our own history and culture prior to about 1950, but our utter lack of regard to other countries cultures, history and values is mainly what is driving Europeans to hate us.

I have personally contemplated moving back to Hungary, or to my fathers village in Austria for many years due to my absolute distaste for the direction that our government has taken our country, but I don't want to give up my rights that I am afforded as an American. I wish that 85% of the American people were more aware of the world, our actions and the repurcussions of said actions and attitudes. I am not attempting to slam anyone, I think that too many of us feel this way but never try and change. i wear my politics on my sleve, as does most of my family. We are not afraid to be the dissenters. I only wish that more of us would start speaking out, and louder. Look at the cross section of Americans that are giving intelligent answers and posing ideas in this thread, multiple ethnicities, all genders, urban and non urban. I wish more non Americans could see this side of us.

I like this post very much - thank you.

 

[Jason]

The world is anti-American because everyone likes to blame someone else, not themselves. If America had an amazingly good foreign policy that was truly wonderful then America would still be hated.

When there were two super powers you chose which one to blame for all the woes of your own country. Now there is just one, so everyone blames that one. Whatever America does or doesn't do, whoever is president, America will be criticised.

America needs to look after the friends she has. Basically the UK and the English speaking world (yes I know there are critics in all these). It needs lots of little gestures from individual Americans.

 

[tallguypns]

It's all because I live here.

 

[D_Sir Dancealot]

I think Americans inherited from the UK a sense of decency and fair play. The undercurrent of that runs deep in the Americay psyche. However, very much like Britain at the peak of the British Empire, we are somewhat blinded by our own nationalism. So we pretty much fail to see why anyone would be upset with us. Like England at the time, we are acting like Imperialists but cloaking it in the half-believed sense that we are bringing civilization to the rest of the world, even if it is at gunpoint. (Naturally, strategic interests are important, too, just as it was for the Empire).

Since we are new at this, and the British have had about 100 years post-Empire to reexamine themselves, you may be in a much better position to understand present day America than us Americans might.

So in answer to your question #2, our answer would be "Of course we care what the rest of the world thinks. We are decent and caring people!" But you can see how we would be saying this through our own naivete.

Good comment!

 

[tygrrr]

My father recently returned from spending a whole month abroad at the world cup. He was originally born in Rumania, to a fairly typical Austro-Hungarian family. His family fled to Austria during the war, as German Nationals. After the war, due to his mother being Hungarian, his father being a German, and his birthplace being Rumania, he and his mother became displaced persons, eventually settling in the US in 1951. As a child we lived in Europe during the end of Reagan and beginning of Bush I. There was a RAMPANT dislike of American's, based more so on the dissapproval of our leaders, and the percieved values of the people. (They were after all the ones that elected the said leaders). He could not believe the amount of people that hate George Bush, and with such fervor. Neither myself, nor my father are supporters of the current administration. As Pro-Choice, Pro stem cell research, anti war, pro environment, supporters of an extreme seperation of church and state, yet believers in freedom of religion and the press, pro gay marriage, anti amending the constitution for ANY reason ex republicans. My mother has told off thier European friends as well as our family by reminding them that 49% of the population did not vote for the government currently in power And that we are included in that percentage.

I personally believe that this misunderstanding that all of America is allowing Bush to destroy the world, coupled with our insistence on NOT learning a foreign language, our inability show progress on waste and the environment, our driving need for more More MORE, the overall ignorance of "Joe and Jane Uhmerihkun" to not only our own history and culture prior to about 1950, but our utter lack of regard to other countries cultures, history and values is mainly what is driving Europeans to hate us.

I have personally contemplated moving back to Hungary, or to my fathers village in Austria for many years due to my absolute distaste for the direction that our government has taken our country, but I don't want to give up my rights that I am afforded as an American. I wish that 85% of the American people were more aware of the world, our actions and the repurcussions of said actions and attitudes. I am not attempting to slam anyone, I think that too many of us feel this way but never try and change. i wear my politics on my sleve, as does most of my family. We are not afraid to be the dissenters. I only wish that more of us would start speaking out, and louder. Look at the cross section of Americans that are giving intelligent answers and posing ideas in this thread, multiple ethnicities, all genders, urban and non urban. I wish more non Americans could see this side of us.

Great post!
I doubt it is fair to say that the world in general is more anti-American than those 49% of Americans are anti-American.

I've been thinking about those aforementioned anti-American slogans on Crete. I presume they were in English, and not in Greek. There used to be a lot of Americans stationed on Crete, I don't know how that is now, and there's a really large Echelon listening station there - the native Cretans call those huge antennas the 'Ears of Zeus'. I got the impression most Cretans were relaxed about all that - but then they are a relaxed people.

Global politics is an intricate subject, it cannot easily be viewed in black and white - and 'the world' has more points of view than just one, though the Bush/Wolfowitz doctrine of 'with us or against us' seemingly has aimed at reducing it to just that. I don't find it strange at all that this has created global opposition and controversy, quite to the contrary - and it would be bounding in sheer naiveté not to expect this to happen. A tad bit more 'fingerspitzgefühl' wouldn't come amiss...

 

[SpeedoGuy]

Attacking Hussein before Kim? Where's the logic in that? The deceit is obvious. It is not lost on other countries, and it is not appreciated when we invade, even under false pretenses. Or true pretenses.

The deceit might not be lost on other countries but it sure is on red state voters.

How would any of our citizens feel if, say, the former soviet union had invaded the US, on our own soil, to "make the world safe for communism?"

I wonder what would have happened if, say for an extreme hypothetical example, Canada had invaded and occupied the U.S. during the fiasco following the November 2000 vote recounts over who had actually won the election. The Canadians could have justified the attack by saying they were simply preventing the use of weapons of mass destruction. They also could have claimed they were promoting world peace by preventing an ugly regime from rising to power. Later they could say they were only occupying the U.S. until the Yanks got their government and constitution straightened out. Later their story would have changed to say the occupation was to prevent civil war among different factions in the U.S. Or to stop worldwide terrorism. And the list goes on.. ..

 

[Andresito]

First of all, it's not anti America, it's anti United States.

In this side of the world, the US are hated for give economic support to dictatorships.

Particullary here: there was a reaction to the neo liberalism system, which drown the country to hyperinflation and high debts to the IMF.

Basically, that are the main points (facts, not opinions)

 

[Pensive Josh]

I think most of the world right now is anti-Bush administration. We as a nation have made plenty of mistakes, some of them large, like Guantanamo Bay, but I think as a country we are a good-hearted people. I think a lot of it is generated by our peoples' blind acceptance of the garbage that the media feeds us. People in this country need to think a bit more independently, so that disasters like this current administration can be avoided in the future.

 

[Gisella]

First of all, it's not anti America, it's anti United States.

In this side of the world, the US are hated for give economic support to dictatorships.

Particullary here: there was a reaction to the neo liberalism system, which drown the country to hyperinflation and high debts to the IMF.

Basically, that are the main points (facts, not opinions)

I read somewhere that is U$2billions montly payments that Latin America have to pay as interests of their debt to US finantial institutions...

Yeh...and about the US support for dictatorshipr regimes too...very true, very dark decades in our histories.

 

[JustAsking]

Andresito and Giselle,
It is amazing how few Americans realize how much we supported the Latin American dictators. Part of that support was to helping train their goon squads in The School of The Americas. We did this because its easier to influence countries with America-friendly dictators that to have to deal with the unpredictability of the rule of democracy. With dictators its "one stop shopping."

 

[transformer_99]

err...Spain? Portugal? UK? To name but a few who have been on top for a looong time - and I´m leaving the ancient and far more powerful empires out of this (powerful in respect to the age in which they existed)

But you´re right, lone superpowers are in that unlucky position that they are under everyones scrutinity. And I think you also hit the spot with bush and his neocon band making things worse.

Personally, I think there are different reasons for anti-americanism in different areas of our world. European nations and especially the UK and France obviously have a special relation to what is now the US, given their colonial past. There might be some kind of envy and shame that europe needed the help of their former colonies to get rid of some its own old evils. At the same time, there is this strange feeling of cultural superiority (especially in France and Italy, but to some extent also in Germany). Entwined history makes relations difficult - but we´ll always stand on the same side, especially in 50 years time, when most of us will be old and the world completely different.

I do also agree with some other poster (sorry, forgot your name!) that America as an "Empire" is actually on a downward slide. The fact alone that military spendings exceed the sum of all other western nations combined are good proof of this. The administration is trying to gain as much of a technological and gopolitical advantage as possible before the tide turns and darker times come. And they will come. Just think of what will happen in 40 or so years, when fossile ressources will get very expensive and not sufficient for all, when markets and industries and our general standard of living will collapse, when wmd´s have finally proliferated to the last African failed state dictator (this will happen sooner or later) ...?
I am definitely not a dark future kind of person, but I do think that the last 50 years have been VERY kind western/european nations.

Spain, Portugal, UK, if I remember correctly the USA defeated England when they were at the height of their power. If I remember correctly, the US was the turning point in WW I and WW II, not only did we crush Hitler's Germany, but Japan as well. I won't deny that other nation's didn't contribute to those wins, but Germany, after turning on Russia was only beaten on that front by the weather and a flex defense of Russia, had Germany been able to defeat Russia before the winter, well, maybe the cold war with Russia would've never happened ? We are the only nation on record to use nuclear weapons against an enemy, we currently are developing tactical nukes under the Bush administration. America is not on the downslide, there is no heir apparent in the ultimate game of survival. Nobody in line for the job of World Cop, even if they wanted it. I didn't vote for Bush, either of them, I voted Reagan the first time to get Carter out, Reagan should've been only a 1 termer, Daddy Bush should've never happened as either of W's terms.

 

[Gisella]

Andresito and Giselle,
It is amazing how few Americans realize how much we supported the Latin American dictators. Part of that support was to helping train their goon squads in The School of The Americas. We did this because its easier to influence countries with America-friendly dictators that to have to deal with the unpredictability of the rule of democracy. With dictators its "one stop shopping."

JustAsking...


The thing I know is that even me as a kid i was trained by my parents and relatives to not talk about politics, the regime and etc...censorship all over. If 'they' get you to questioning you desapear, or got beaten or go to exile...

The artist people created play and music with double meanings to keep expressing themseves about the struggles and censorship of oppression.

For this motive i dont know much about politics and still amazed by the liberties and free expressions 1st world people have...they can say whatever they want about the government. Its COOL!!!

You dont know how precious it is until you trully lost it. I was just a kid but many young people desapeared without a trace...the mothers and families are the proof that the most part they were young, very young.

People still disapear in this world bcause they dont agree...

 

[Gisella]

PS; it can be funny to some..but those dictarorship regimes live such impression inside us..that during my reply to JustAsking above..i was desconected at least 3 times...and silly or not i thought 'they' have something to do with it...and deep inside i still cant talk freely...

And i was just a kid...imagine the deep emotional scares adult people got from it...and the ones who got caught and etc...terrible...

 

[JustAsking]

PS; it can be funny to some..but those dictarorship regimes live such impression inside us..that during my reply to JustAsking above..i was desconected at least 3 times...and silly or not i thought 'they' have something to do with it...and deep inside i still cant talk freely...

And i was just a kid...imagine the deep emotional scares adult people got from it...and the ones who got caught and etc...terrible...

Giselle,
I think some Americans are aware of the things you are talking about in Latin America. It has even been the theme of some popular movies, as you might have seen. But your posting about your firsthand experience and the very real fear you feel about expressing this stuff sent chills down my spine. Even though I really can't imagine how it really feels to be like that, it still is very scary when you describe it that way.

You are right when you say that 1st world countries don't know how precious their freedoms are, because we dont really know anything else. Just as you were raised to be afraid even when you are safe, we were raised to be fearless in expressing ourselves thinking we will always be safe.

I am more concerned that we don't know how fragile our freedoms can be because we consider them as reliable as a public utility. So we won't see how US wiretapping and taking of people into secret custody without due process is not much different than people getting "disappeared" in Latin America. The degree is much much different of course, but the principle is not.

Anyway, thanks for bringing this to us in that very personal and well spoken way of yours that freedom is more precious than we can imagine and the lack of it is more scary than we can imagine unless we have experienced life without it.

 

[D_Sir Dancealot]

It's all because I live here.

No....Dont blame yourself!!!!

 

[madame_zora]

Two parts to the question.. 1. How can America improve it's image and 2. Do you care about the overall image thing?

1. The US could improve its image by becomming the benevolent leader we wish we were- that is the American people wish we were. Our "government" has been sold to corporate interests at such alarming rates that the average merkin simply can't absorb it as reality, so we believe the fairy-tale instead.

2. I'm tempted to say no, but here's why- I care more about reality than image. I believe if we corrected the reality, the image would take care of itself. Yes, a dominant power will always draw some opposition, but we make it so easy.

 

[D_Sir Dancealot]

1. The US could improve its image by becomming the benevolent leader we wish we were- that is the American people wish we were. Our "government" has been sold to corporate interests at such alarming rates that the average merkin simply can't absorb it as reality, so we believe the fairy-tale instead.

2. I'm tempted to say no, but here's why- I care more about reality than image. I believe if we corrected the reality, the image would take care of itself. Yes, a dominant power will always draw some opposition, but we make it so easy.

re question 2. Good point!

 

[Matthew]

No....Dont blame yourself!!!!

I don't know. I think "Blame Tallguy" has some potential. :tongue: