64 years ago, my mother saw the Americans liberating Strasbourg, France, my hometown. Today she is proud that Strasbourg was up to the visit of the U.S. President, in giving him a warm welcome. She also saw the French-German border collapse on the Rhine, and was proud to watch the NATO allies meeting this week on the “Pont des Deux Rives”, which materializes the former check-point.
Mom called me from France today to make sure I had not missed the event on TV. But she also wanted to make sure that the American media did not put too much emphasis on the anti-NATO demonstrations held on the sidelines of the summit. “Just a few idiots and thugs” she said as to apologize. This is her city, she’s proud … and ashamed.
And it is true that aside from the overall warm welcome, some violent demonstrations took place in the suburbs of the city, against the Europe-US Alliance, against capitalism and against globalization. Not to say the word: against America. These events are not specifically French. They have become routine at most major international meetings. They were violent in London for the G20, as for all the latest “G” meetings. But from a US perspective, they take a special importance when held in a country which is viewed as the most anti-American in Europe. It’s a cliché (polls show that the anti-american sentiment is much stronger in Germany and Spain), but one must acknowledge that it is a cliché that many French politicians are likely to promote.
By showing respect and consideration for the European culture and influence, Barack Obama undermines the foundation of the French anti-Americanism. But it seems now that anti-Americanism gets fueled by the pro-American support Nicolas Sarkozy is showing in return. As the President of the United States gets more popular in Europe, anti-Americanism turns into “anti pro-Americanism.” Since we can’t blame the American president anymore , let’s blame the pro-american decisions of the French president. Pure rhetoric.
It will probably take more than the speech Barack Obama delivered in Strasbourg in a public meeting to put an end to this sterile antagonism. It will also require the media to report full excerpts of the speech, not just 5 seconds. In the excerpt of Obama’s speech reproduced below, the french media often broadcasted the first part only, while CNN pulled out the second part. Unfortunately, the “antis” on all sides have nice days ahead …
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In America, there’s a failure to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.
But in Europe, there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual but can also be insidious. Instead of recognizing the good that America so often does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what’s bad.
(…)
So let me say this as clearly as I can: America is changing, but it cannot be America alone that changes.
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Post by Jean from Inside America
