An American revival?

On the surface it is something of a paradox that when members of a radical Islamic terrorist group slammed jumbo jets full of innocent civilians into buildings full of other innocent civilians on September 11th, 2001 it should become America that became the big evil. Of course it was the devastating wave of nationalism, totalitarianism and war mongering that the world’s last remaining super power unleashed upon an unsuspecting world that really turned global opinion against America. That this was all sanctioned by a resolute, yet apparently dim-witted President, made matters all the worse.

Educated classes all over the world flocked to their wine parties and vied to out do one another when it came to condemning the actions of the greatest democracy on earth. In Britain it reached the stage where American tourists were advised to wear Canadian badges in an attempt to avoid the inevitable hail of abuse whenever their high-pitched voices cut through the din of London tube stations and restaurants. The second largest rally in British history (which I attended) was held when President Bush came for tea with the Queen. In fact it was the one thing that you knew you had in common with other people. It has been quite a comfort actually over the past five years to know that when meeting someone for the first time there was little worry of the conversation ever running dry, you could always count on a mutual loathing of all things involving stars and stripes.

This bizarre international unity created some unlikely bedfellows. In Britain the ‘Respect Party’ was probably the most obvious example of how two opposing trends, that of rainbow coloured liberalism and socially conservative Islam, began to join forces in order to better rubbish America. Further more I would argue that on some level this common enemy of ours has done wonders for cultural integration in Britain. Suddenly it became cool to be a Muslim, or to at least to know one and agree with everything they said. Mosques became symbols of rebellion and the television pictures of illiterate and RPG armed followers of Muhammad became quite romantic. Britain’s creaky multi-cultural system will probably now survive at least a decade or two more than it otherwise would have.

Deep down however there was always that uncomfortable feeling that this really was all a bit of a show, and that this marriage of convenience was never destined to last. America, with all its freedoms, initiative and wild diversity had a depth and resilience that the frantic and seemingly aggressive shouting of Arabic verse could simply never match. It made little sense that British kids would forever watch documentaries like ‘Jesus Camp’ and gasp at the ignorance of misguided southerners while down the road the local mosque was holding one of its regular Madrassas in which young children sat on pillows, swaying back and forth as they chanted verses from the Koran. Indeed the whole idea that it was more shocking to see rich, white Americans saying stupid things than it was to see poor brown folk doing so was in itself a view that, if not racist, than was at least culturally elitist. Why should white Americans know better?

Then came the Democratic and Republican primaries. The world’s media has been hooked on this race. Praise has been near universal for this awesome display of democratic selection. America it would appear has come to its senses and by having a black man and a white women as two of the three most likely people to become the world’s most powerful person, Europe has once again fallen in love with America. What’s more Europe is even quite fond of McCain. He is the sort of Republican we can admire, a real individual with real life experiences and policies rooted in the concept that America can only thrive when everyone else is doing so. Of course all these candidates really can’t go wrong in the eyes of Europe, anyone that isn’t George Bush simply cannot help but be a hero. Indeed if given the choice Europe in its infinite wisdom would probably quite happily have replaced Bush with someone more to its liking, like Saddam Hussein or a Saudi Prince, long ago. Yet regardless of Bush’s legacy the three candidates genuinely are good ones and at this juncture, one day before ‘Super Tuesday’ it appears America really can’t do any wrong. Only the unwelcome victory of Mitt Romney in tomorrows primaries could really detract from what is shaping up to be a hugely inspiring period in American history.

What’s more (and I write this, somewhat awkwardly, with my fingers crossed) it appears that the worst has been and gone in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Indeed young and fragile democracies (albeit highly corrupt like all such democracies) now exist where there was once nothing but totalitarianism and oppression. While we in Europe congratulated ourselves at being wonderfully inactive America was busy safeguarding and promoting the values that when pushed, Europeans pretend to cherish above all others. It seems that Bush and his cronies have done the dirty work and, much like we did with Reagan and Thatcher, we can now all sit back and criticise them at will, while silently enjoying the benefits of their hard work.

This sudden realisation that America might not be so bad after all is still in its infancy and could still be set back by several years should some bright spark in the Pentagon suggest so much as to build a conservatory on the back of Guantanamo. However I believe the world is finally beginning to get over its obsessive America bashing. That can only be a good thing for a world in which democracy, human rights and environmental protection face so many challenges.

The unholy alliance between European liberalism and conservative Islam is also on its way out, the Respect Party has already split due to infighting, and I am afraid to say that a lot more work needs to be done at cultural integration if Britain is not to suffer serious problems in the near future. Newspapers are already picking up on stories of widespread forced marriage and abortion within Muslim communities. Without the support of the wine drinking classes I predict Islam in Britain faces an uncomfortable future.

On the whole however I think there is finally reason to be hopeful. America is busy being brilliant, as it has always done, and Europe is beginning to sober up to that reality. So all that is left to ask is, is this change we can believe in? Ha.