Anti-Americanism
In these days of war and general turmoil in the Middle East (when has this region ever known anything much different?) it is easy for attitudes to radicalise and cast governments and peoples in the same light. This is but one more instance of our basic tendency to oversimplify facts, which blurs rather than clarifies the picture.
I am not saying (or rather I am) that all the flag-burning mobs in Third World countries are deluded and should know better than demonize a whole country for the mistakes of its rulers. But they are, more often than not, bound to be manipulated by those exploiting their despair for their own ends –unscrupulous leaders in search of a scapegoat.
There exists, however, this armchair Anti-Americanism that some in the Left like to cultivate as an integral part of their ideological build-up. It arises not from despair but from… what? I refuse to accept that their rejection of all things Yankee (a much favoured term among them) is based on objective fact. On the contrary, I believe that this view has rather more to do with nostalgia-ridden rites, which they need to perform as a tribute to some glorified militancy of their youth.
The US belongs with Europe in what we call the West. Our political and social institutions are based on shared common values. It is true that the US rulers need to tackle, as ever, issues like imperial power, isolationism and intervention. But I think the succesive European governments (from the French with their detached friendship to the British with their so-called special relationship) have been wise to deal with the Americans never as anything but loyal allies. Because the fact remains that, above all else, we are on the same side.
