-Caveat Lector-
> From: alt.activism
>
> Europeans view Bush as a thief who has brought shame on America
>
> By Linda Stout Deak
>
> WASSENAAR, The Netherlands, Feb. 27, 2000.
>
> �When Condoleeza Rice, Bush's National Security Advisor appointee,
> took her place at the microphone in those numbing first days after the
> coup d'�©tat, she called herself a Europeanist. What is that? I
> wondered if she played the piano in Europe. I believe she meant that
> her studies had focused on Europe and she considered herself an expert
> on Europe.
>
> I am American living abroad. Both sides of my family are deeply rooted
> in America and I have lived in nine states. I love America. I am
> married to a Canadian who is also a European. I have lived in Europe
> twice, a total of fourteen years and I have lived in Canada once for
> five years. Our sons have been educated in European and Canadian
> schools. I have many European friends, family members, acquaintances
> and contacts. The Europeans, as do the Canadians, teach me a lot about
> how America is perceived from the outside.
>
> It is surprising to a friendly, open, swashbuckling American to feel
> the contempt that so many others feel for us. I think you have to be
> on the outside of the country to understand what I am referring to
> here. The Canadians let me know shortly after I landed there, that I
> was not to consider myself a Canadian. After some years I understood
> why. They had always been kind of folded into America in most American
> minds. Many Americans view Canada in the same way they view California
> as a state, but one that is different, set apart.
>
> I grew to love Canada. They seemed to have the best of both Europe and
> the U.S. with the American sense of vastness and possibility and the
> European sense of social responsibility.
>
> Americans have a very limited notion or regard for world history and
> geography. The outsiders consider us dumb. Oh sure, we have our
> technology and bravado and friendly service, but most of us cannot
> separate the Balkans from the Baltics or Palma from Palermo. Is
> Jakarta close to Madagascar? I daresay, in the shrinking world, we
> have done ourselves a disservice. The media's dumb-down has not been
> very helpful either.
>
> When I first resettled in Europe twelve years ago, I began language
> classes. I was the only American in my class. Each of us was from a
> different country. I sunk quickly to the bottom of the class. The
> others were learning their third or fourth language. I was a hopeless
> beginner. They were kind to me and helped me along with cheerful
> encouragement. Our topics of conversation were eye opening as I
> learned how very differently we perceived an issue or an event, coming
> from different cultures. When the teacher put the topic of "Do you
> consider the Dutch to be dirty?" forward, I was stunned at how the
> entire group turned to me with real anger about the excesses of the
> Americans in this regard. Did I understand how much of the world's
> resources we use and how unnecessary daily showers are? And, Why do we
> do that? And, What was I going to do about that?
>
> Gradually, I became good friends with more than a few Europeans and I
> came to understand and respect the differences. In friendship, one
> becomes privy to inner thoughts and foibles. Just as Americans
> experience the Americanization of newcomers to our country, this new
> culture began to seep
>
> into me.
>
> When I go to a tourist magnet, like Lago Maggiore or Paris or Bruges,
> I notice the Americans who usually huddle against the foreignness of
> their strange environment. The glories of Rome go unnoticed if ice is
> unavailable for the Diet Coke. They are often full of complaints that
> the place is not America and they make matters worse by demanding that
> it cater specifically to their American idea of how things should be.
> There is a very real difference in attitude to money and the Americans
> cannot believe that profit doesn't hold the same motivational internal
> whir. The Europeans believe it is crass to flaunt wealth. It takes a
> while to pick up on the nuances of culture.
>
> In contrast, the Europeans are very aware of America and probably even
> speak our language. The balance is off because of this. We still
> condescend to all cultures as if they were lesser, and it does not
> make us very likeable.
>
> My European friends and contacts, almost to the man, were in support
> of Al Gore winning this election. I have asked more than a few of my
> friends who are located in other parts of Europe and they report the
> same phenomena. I do know that straw polls gave Bush and Ralph Nader
> each seven percent. Most of the Bush-supporter spottings have been in
> England. England is not really full-heartedly a supporter of the
> European Union and their ties to America have always been special.
> Shortly after the Revolution ended, the British shook hands and got
> back to the business of trading and envoying with our country. The
> Atlantic Ocean, for them, has often been narrower than the North Sea.
> Their relationship to both continents is naturally very conflicted.
>
> Why do the Europeans dislike Bush so much? He embodies the
> characteristics they find most distasteful in Americans: the fake
> smile, the absolute disregard for anything not American, the lack of
> curiosity about them as evidenced by his woefully few visits to
> Europe, for starters. The callous use of the death penalty is Texas
> truly galls almost all Europeans. The politics of reducing taxes for
> the rich and allowing forty percent of America to go without health
> insurance is considered to be primitive beyond belief. The bombing of
> Iraq at a time in history when peace is breaking out all over was
> shocking. The selfish and greedy use of the world's resources by
> America is a huge concern, as my Dutch class hammered home for me.
>
> I am quoted in a Dutch newspaper published in September that the
> Americans are not so dumb as to vote Bush into office. When I made
> that comment in front of a Dutch journalist, it was off the cuff and
> from the street. I was embarrassed by how graceless it was in print.
> However, my comment proved to be the truth. Americans did not vote
> Bush in. The blow to democracy that allowed Bush to occupy the White
> House has stunned the world. We no longer have any right to swagger
> onto the world stage and brag about our democracy and our American
> values. The Europeans know, and I can speak with some certainty that
> the rest of the world knows also, that fraud and an errant Supreme
> Court put Bush into the White House. There would be some good old
> European Schadenfreude over this, but the blow to a mutually regarded
> government system is too painful for a democratic soul to gloat over.
> How can this new president be demanding civility when he took the
> presidency in this underhanded manner? Where is the shame?
>
> It is also clear to most that there is a very concerted effort to
> diminish the image of former President Clinton. They can be as
> critical as they want of Bill Clinton's pardons. They can talk for
> many months about furniture gifts. They are never going to be able to
> blow enough smoke to cover the fact that they stole this presidency
> and brought this globally public shame to America.
>
> How can I say this? How do I know this with such certainty, with such
> authority? I am a Europeanist, just ask me. Ask any man on the street
> in Europe. They will tell you. I am telling you this because my
> American heart is breaking and this has to be said.
>
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
