How Europe Views America

We're about to fall hard on our ass, you see, and it's going to be pretty embarrassing.

The truth is, actually, that we are barely on their radar any longer. When I lived in Berlin thirty-five years ago, even after I got out of the military, I was acutely aware of my "American-ness" because of Vietnam, our support of the Shah of Iran, and, of course, our large military presence throughout Europe. Being an American meant facing a lot of questions, challenges, and sometimes outright hostility. Even as someone who disagreed with our foreign policy then, I felt obliged to defend our overall intent in trying to shape a better world, because I honestly believed then that although we were capable of making some pretty grievous mistakes, our goal was never to build an empire. In 1983 I was in the Netherlands and then Britain when Reagan opted to invade Grenada, and that was a bit tougher to balance. Actually, the Brits found it more comical than anything else.

With that on my mind on returning to Berlin and Prague two years ago, I discovered that things had changed quite a bit, and in a very unexpected way. That experience was echoed on these last two trips, and it's been a bit of a shock, I'll admit.

You see, we still view ourselves as the center of the world, and we have the idea that as the U.S. goes, the world follows. As the old adage goes, when the U.S. sneezes, the world gets a cold. But not anymore. And for citizens of "Old Europe," as Donald Rumsfeld called it in an effort to marginalize the greatest concentrated economic power on earth, they don't really think that much about what we're up to.

In Europe, so far as I can tell, the U.S. has become almost irrelevant, more like a sideshow. Oh, they're aware of our travails and triumphs, but they don't really place us at the center of global events and concerns. With the European Union now greater than the United States in terms of population, GDP, exports, and global influence through diplomacy, and no longer dependent on U.S. nuclear deterrent to keep the Russians at bay, they've turned their attentions to expanding their markets and influence while we squander our Cold War victory in the sands of Iraq. And although I am grateful that my nationality provoked nothing but friendliness everywhere I went, it was curious indeed to suddenly confront the feeling of being a citizen of a country that was now almost marginal insofar as the people of Europe were concerned.

Oh, and poor too. Have you looked at the value of the dollar vs. the euro lately? Sheesh!

Actually, this fellow in the photo didn't fall--he was break dancing and quite skilled enough to pull this stunt off. I'm afraid we might not be so lucky.