The US - Europe alliance.

Old Europe and the U.S.: It's about that time

By Gary Schneider

America, for too long now, has been subject to the reflexive and unthinking old-European past-time of abuse, blind recalcitrance and blatant expressions of ill-will toward the United States and her people. This frequent stench of blathering hatred regularly drifts from across the Atlantic to U.S. shores from those who, at one point in time, were deemed to be American allies or even friends; Yet, like a blindly loyal puppy, the United States has ignored the affronts and, with panting tongue and wagging tail, come back for more with the guarded hope that such one sided allegiance would eventually be reciprocated or at least not wantonly debased. However, seasons do indeed change in the partnership of nations whereby anachronistic alliances must necessarily die despite the lingering feelings of nostalgia that unreasonably prolong them.

The two prevailing anti-American themes we're hearing in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina are sadly not new. Resentment of America's material success and stature as the world's preeminent symbol of Democracy and Capitalism have for decades now given cause to the radical left to engage in ad hominem and sophomoric vilification of her every move. What is new, however, is the heightened degree of the attacks and more importantly, the broadened appeal and subsequent institutionalization of these sentiments throughout the media and the halls of government. So, what was once largely just fringe pap has now been elevated to mainstream news and opinion.

A number of the less intellectually honest among us would suggest the notion that The United States, and President Bush in particular, have somehow earned the disdain of our European partners. Rather, I submit that the cause is Europe's wholesale disregard of the fundamental tenets that have historically bound us together. This estrangement has been promulgated by the far left element in Europe which has attained near complete control of its cultural centers and subsequently dictate popular sentiment. The net result is a near continental group-think devoid of the sufficient ideological counterbalance necessary to provide context and gauge reason there.

Let me make this simple - Either you believe in primacy of Democracy, the need to promote and protect it, free markets and individual liberty or you don't. These beliefs are antithetical to leftist doctrine which now dominates popular European political and social thought. Ideologically then, much of old Europe is more closely aligned with China and Putin's Russia than they are with the United States. So, it stands to reason that France, Germany, China, Russia, et al., would partner to oppose the United States in Iraq, engage in joint military exercises and generally collaborate to undermine American influence. They do this because collectively they have come to oppose what America stands for....period; And the oft used propaganda tools of material envy, "environmentalism" or the "peace" movement are merely a means to a socialist end.

So, instead of an expressed desire to help the United States in a crisis, the BBC expresses the boorish glee and gloating hearts of many a European today when they crow: "...But why does the world's richest nation need handouts? ... The world's only superpower has been forced to turn to aid agencies to speed up the humanitarian effort in the wake of Katrina.

Seemingly unable to draw on its wealth at short notice to immediately respond to the disaster, charities in other countries, such as the British Red Cross, are now launching appeals to raise money.

Brian Cooper, a respondent to the above referenced article from London writes: "A quick straw poll of people in my office shows up a feeling of disgust that the US can't free up enough funds. I don't think anyone here is planning on giving..."

Shockingly, this American tragedy seems to have made a good number of Europeans feel good.

Germany's environmental minister Jurgen Tritten cynically suggests that by " ... neglecting environmental protection, America’s president shuts his eyes to the economic and human damage that natural catastrophes like Katrina inflict on his country and the world’s economy... Indications are multiplying that Bush has more than Katrina’s headwind blowing in his face... . When reason finally pays a visit to climate-polluter headquarters, the international community has to be prepared to hand America a worked out proposal for the future of international climate protection. The German Government stands ready." What a guy. However, his inference that American environmental policy is to blame for the increase in global natural disasters such as hurricane Katrina is empirically unsound and frankly amounts to nothing more than the dogmatic emissions of an ideologue.

Suffice it to say that old Europe, in the vacuum of their own myopic zeal, underestimate the extent of anger and disaffection felt by a clear majority of Americans and take for granted the permanence of American support. America is finally coming to the practical realization that many of the nations comprising old Europe can simply no longer be counted on to be anything other than reflexively adversarial. According to a recent Rasmussen poll nearly 3 out 4 Americans do not consider France to be an ally of the United States, with greater than 30% classifying them as an outright enemy.

It is reasonable, therefore, to expect that with the continued leftist radicalization of old Europe and the resultant shift in American opinion toward them, The United States will progress toward a dramatic, albeit gradual, realignment of U.S. military and economic resources to new and more steadfast partners...despite the obligatory U.S. diplomatic assurances to the contrary.

And that is as it should be.

Gary Schneider is the President and founder of The Reality Check.Org, Inc. TheRealityCheck.org is a conservative issue advocacy and information group established to promote and defend conservative social, political and economic principles nationally. They are located in Fairfield County, CT. (www.therealitycheck.org, www.oncampus.therealitycheck.org)

** I liked the bit abouta large number of Americans not considering France an ally and in fact thinking of it as an enemy, guess I agree with them on that one.

Finally a few cartoons:

(check out their website it rocks. link on sidebar)

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