In light of Press Bias, people of Europe are Pro-American

[tim490]

I have spent a lot of time in Europe over the past 35 years for business and would like to hear some feedback from other well seasoned travellers. Over the past 5-6 years, I have never experienced in Europe the positive atmosphere towards Americans as I see today. In listening to our Bias press and the democratic party, one would believe that we have isolated ourselves from our trading partners and that the negativity towards Americans is at an all-time high.
I travelled to Europe during the cold war and was there when the U.S. was deploying the Pershing II Missiles. Europe could be a very dishearting experience for an American during these times. From a personal standpoint, there was certainly no greater time of tension between Americans and Europeans.
I certainly am not a political expert but a business person that spends months in Europe and I drive throughout the continent. When I present my opinion to both my liberal and conservative friends, they find this hard to believe. However, when I ask those friends that travel to Europe how they were treated; they general respond great. Certainly we can all run into a rude Parisian waiter however I don't have to travel to Paris to experience that.
Certainly we do have differences with our European partners however, the general relationship between Americans and Europeans, in my humble opinion, could not be more positive. Europeans today have a lot more to worry about than American politics. Unlike the cold war where many Europeans believed our defense strategy increased the chance of confrontation with the East, they are today concerned about the direction Russia is heading. This couldn't be more true in the former east block countries I work in. These eastern europeans remember vividly what the former Soviet Union did to them.
I also believe that we share many similar issues with our European counterparts. They also have a illegal immigration problem with borders that are impossible to control. It's difficult to know the number of aliens crossing their borders but the influx has burdened their social programs. More concerning to them is the terrorists crossing over from Africa and the mid east.
Where our economy has gown over the past few years; many European economies have floundered. Italians are concerned about their economic future and blame the EU and conversion to the Euro for the inflation of goods and economic hardships.
I believe one major issue that has impacted the positive atmosphere is a direct result of 911. It wasn't until the summer of 2005 that I saw American tourist returning to Europe in vast numbers. When we sneeze, Europe catches cold and Americans travelling abroad have an enourmous impact on the European economy. Hotels, resturants, and shops were empty and I believe that this provided the average European the opportunity to see what life was like without America. This impacted waiters, taxi's, shop keepers, or in otherwords, working Europeans. Europeans learned that America is no longer a country isolated from the threats of enemies. That we too are vunerable and what happens to us - impacts them. In the summer of 2005 I brought my wife and daughters to Venice. After the girls made purchases in a shop, the shop keeper looked me in the eye and said "We are glad to have you Americans back". Out of curiosity I asked him why and he said "you Americans spend money, European tourists don't". Yes, they want our money. But perhaps the first time I saw a sincerity in the eyes of a shop keeper who truly appreciated Americans and understood that we have much more in common than we do differences.

[MrSinatra]

trade is a great way to get peoples of different nations to come together...

i'm not as seasoned as you, i'll say that upfront, but i've been to europe several times, and i have to say i find them slightly hostile towards americans.

i try not to be the so called ugly american, but at the same time i don't hide i'm ameican at all. i think these travel books that tell you to hide it and wear canadian flags and so on are traitorous and sick.

i'm actually quite charming in person, and so i do find the conversations i strike up with locals to be really interesting, b/c i have a way of putting these folks at ease and getting them to lay their guard down and speak what they feel.

one thing that has always stuck with me is how different they view their countries from how we view ours. to them, their own flags are symbols of hostile nationalism and past wars and so on... europe does have an ugly history. to us, we see our flag as a symbol of the freedom we enjoy, and as belonging to everyone. its a stark difference, one which is probably due in part to the age of the nation.

i think they see themselves as having evolved into this EU organism that is now above all that history, and they look down at us as somehow being imperial whereas they don't think they are. i also think they are embarassed by their past, and by our success, and this affected air they have of being more sophisticated is their way of dealing with it.

i won't even get into all their hypocritical practices, but lets just say they have many.

in any case, i find it interesting that the farther east you get, the more pro-american they are. i guess when you actually lived under communism and totalitarianism, you can appreciate the force that freed you, and lives the way you always wanted to, and now do.

[Libertyship46]

I think that you're seeing a gradual change in attitude towards Americans in Europe simply because after years and years of them denigrating America they've finally, finally, discovered that we're not what's really wrong with the world. They now see the Russians sending their old bombers to penetrate NATO airspace and they see Putin building an uneasy relationship with Iran, which is probably developing nuclear weapons. Even the French, of all people, are worried about this too. About a month ago French President Sarkozy openly stated that an Iran armed with nuclear weapons would be unacceptable. When was the last time you heard a French President ever, ever, say a bad word against a Muslim nation, especially one that was a major oil producer? The Europeans are beginning to understand that being a friend of the United States is a lot safer, and much more profitable, than being its enemy. And with the massive influx of Muslim immigrants flooding into the European Union, they also understand that the very real threats posed by radical Muslims is much greater than the imagined threats coming from Washington.

I traveled a lot to Europe in the 1980s and 1990s and, quite frankly, I just had my belly full of their arrogance and contempt for this nation. Being the son of Italian immigrants, I thought I would have a friendlier relationship with the people there, especially since I spoke one of their languages. No way. Once people learned I was an American it really didn't matter who my parents were and what country they originally came from. I was one of "them," an American, and they tolerated my presence but were never very friendly. Things have probably changed since then, which is good, but I think a lot of Americans felt that they were not wanted and they simply spent their tourist dollars some place else. It's a big world out there, and no one says you have to go to Europe on a vacation. The Europeans finally understood that and they also understood that you don't have much to gain in insulting your best customer. Well, better late than never.

But I'm also fascinated that both Germany and France have elected conservative leaders in their respective nations. I think many Europeans also understand that the great European Social-Welfare state really is a sham and that it's going broke, too. Free-market economies are the only thing that's going to save them and for that they're going to need a reliable and stable trading partner, and that's us. So it will be interesting to see how the Europeans reform their governments, their entitlements, and, most of all, how they deal with violent Muslim fundamentalists in their own countries. If those Muslim French "youths" decide to torch France again like they did last year, I wonder how a conservative like Sarkozy will react to that? I guess after you've been through riots like that, Americans don't seem that bad after all.

[Estil]

one thing that has always stuck with me is how different they view their countries from how we view ours. to them, their own flags are symbols of hostile nationalism and past wars and so on... europe does have an ugly history. to us, we see our flag as a symbol of the freedom we enjoy, and as belonging to everyone. its a stark difference, one which is probably due in part to the age of the nation.

Really? Seeing as how Americans are all about patriotism and the flag and such, I naturally figured other countries probably felt the same way about their flag and their country and felt just as much pride and patriotism about their country as ours. After all, it's THEIR home. I'm very surprised that that's not always true. For example (and correct me if I'm wrong for those on here from Canada), if I'm not mistaken, you don't really see for example, in Canada you don't see nearly as many people flying Canadian flags on their porches, having "God Bless Canada" bumper stickers on their cars or wear clothing with Canadian flags/Maple Leaf. That's certainly not to say Canadians aren't proud of their country; they just generally don't show it the same way Americans do. It's just not their way.

Also, you know how American schoolchildren say the Pledge of Allegiance to start each school day (at least I HOPE they still do)? Do Canadian schoolchildren do some kind of Pledge of Allegiance to the Canadian flag too?