Why do Europeans care so much about America?
This is a question I've often seen asked here on the boards. Gun control, Iraq, World Trade Center conspiracies, Patriot Act, poverty, and all that other stuff. Why do Europeans care?
All I can say is why I care. A long-overdue explanation, by one guy who cares.
It's hard to explain. I guess a good place to start is 11 September 2001. I don't think many Americans realize this, but Europe sympathized greatly with the States that day. When those planes hit -- I didn't just think "Oh somebody attacked America" -- I actually felt like they attacked us. Up until that point I had always admired the United States, and I felt devastated, even though the attack had happened at a place thousands of miles from my home, against a country I'm not even part of. To put it in plain terms, I felt bad.
I was younger back then, and unavoidably more naive and in that naivety I had never learned about America's "dark side."
But what happened after 9/11 shocked me. I saw the U.S. invade other countries and the bad news started piling up. Since then I've learned a great deal and maybe even grew up a little. I know there's good and bad sides to every country. There's an undeniable potential for greatness in the United States of America, and I hate to see it go to waste. I started taking classes in American Studies. I learned about the spirit of the puritan settles and their noble motives. And I started to see that deep down, the country was founded on high morals and world-changing beliefs. I understood why you are so passionate about your constitution and your "founding fathers".
This is part of the reason I care so much about what happens in your country. I always had the feeling that if the world was ever to be changed in a positive way, the change would come from America. But when I look at what actually goes on over there, the poverty, the corruption, the crime, the Patriot Act, it concerns me and even makes me sad. The most powerful nation on Earth, with the potential to do so much good, is heading down a slippery slope.
Of course, I also care about America's foreign politics for much simpler reasons. I'm worried that if the States decide to invade somebody or declare war, I may personally feel the consequences of that. Our soldiers have been in Iraq because of America, and my best friend is in Afghanistan right now because of America.
And since I am a soldier myself now, I would not like to go to Iran because of America.
That is why I care.
This is a question I've often seen asked here on the boards. Gun control, Iraq, World Trade Center conspiracies, Patriot Act, poverty, and all that other stuff. Why do Europeans care?
All I can say is why I care. A long-overdue explanation, by one guy who cares.
It's hard to explain. I guess a good place to start is 11 September 2001. I don't think many Americans realize this, but Europe sympathized greatly with the States that day. When those planes hit -- I didn't just think "Oh somebody attacked America" -- I actually felt like they attacked us. Up until that point I had always admired the United States, and I felt devastated, even though the attack had happened at a place thousands of miles from my home, against a country I'm not even part of. To put it in plain terms, I felt bad.
I was younger back then, and unavoidably more naive and in that naivety I had never learned about America's "dark side."
But what happened after 9/11 shocked me. I saw the U.S. invade other countries and the bad news started piling up. Since then I've learned a great deal and maybe even grew up a little. I know there's good and bad sides to every country. There's an undeniable potential for greatness in the United States of America, and I hate to see it go to waste. I started taking classes in American Studies. I learned about the spirit of the puritan settles and their noble motives. And I started to see that deep down, the country was founded on high morals and world-changing beliefs. I understood why you are so passionate about your constitution and your "founding fathers".
This is part of the reason I care so much about what happens in your country. I always had the feeling that if the world was ever to be changed in a positive way, the change would come from America. But when I look at what actually goes on over there, the poverty, the corruption, the crime, the Patriot Act, it concerns me and even makes me sad. The most powerful nation on Earth, with the potential to do so much good, is heading down a slippery slope.
Of course, I also care about America's foreign politics for much simpler reasons. I'm worried that if the States decide to invade somebody or declare war, I may personally feel the consequences of that. Our soldiers have been in Iraq because of America, and my best friend is in Afghanistan right now because of America.
And since I am a soldier myself now, I would not like to go to Iran because of America.
That is why I care.
"If you want a vision of the future, imagine SecuROM slapping your face with its dick -- forever." -George Orwell