In the last eight years, the foreign policy of George W. Bush has antagonized, alienated and annoyed members of the world government. America’s reputation in Europe has degenerated to a caricature of its original values, now reduced to an image of stubborn, ham-fisted cowboys looking for a fight. As Crispin Williams from the Social Europe Blog wryly puts it,
From calling world leaders pygmies to the Iraq debacle – which regardless of talk of a successful surge still ranks as the second most unstable country after Sudan according to the Failed States Index - ‘Dubbya’ Bush will not be missed.
Who America picks to lead directly affects how the rest of the world sees us. Right now, the predominant view in Europe is that Americans float around in a self-absorbed fog of entitlement, kicking small children and taking their candy.
America esteems itself as a leader of the modern world, but our influence over other nations is tenuous. If America does not repair its national image, we are bound to lose all credibility with foreign powers. Lucky for us, there’s a new sheriff in town. It seems that Obama has entered the world stage at a very opportune time. His expansive foreign policy and plans to withdraw from Iraq strongly contrast with the Bush doctrine, and this stance inspires many Europeans. Gary Smith, executive director of the American Academy in Berlin, says it this way: “[Obama] gives a sense of hope and optimism of a more inclusive America that is likely to mend fences abroad, particularly in Europe” When I hear news like this, my reaction is “Sweet! We have a chance to not be the laughingstock of Europe anymore!” Unsurprisingly enough, there are quite a few people who disagree with me. What I’ve seen quite a bit is a lot of shrugging and “Who cares? He isn’t running for president of Europe.” I find this mentality exasperating. YOU SHOULD CARE. Obama’s popularity in Europe may help repair the abysmal impression the rest of the world has of the US, and that is certainly an issue worth pondering.
While Barack Obama’s rags-to-riches story is quintessentially American, it resonates with Europeans as well. Obama’s history of overcoming hardships has been proclaimed across Europe. Newspaper headlines read “Race Reshaped by Son of Kenyan Goatherd” in London, “The Greater America Opts for the New Man” in Paris, and a particularly interesting headline in a Berlin paper declared “This Black American has Become the New Kennedy”. The trend of comparing Obama to Kennedy is widespread across Berlin and Germany, and underscores what makes Obama so appealing to Europeans. William Rees-Mogg over at the TimesOnline, says that, “Like Kennedy, he combines personal magnetism with a strong appeal to American idealism”. When he appeared in Berlin, it raised parallels between his tour and Kennedy’s. Most of all, Obama embodies the youth, strength, and vision of a new candidate, and gives hope for a change. Rees-Mogg calls this “a renewal of hope”, and this is the image that Europeans ore so enthralled with: a candidate who can promise a divergence from the old system of jingoist nationalism that puts America at odds with the rest of the world.
As part of the old system, George W. Bush implemented tactics that left America’s world reputation in shambles. Australian editor Thomas Zweiffel fumes: “With its hard-driving cowboy unilateralism, its dismissal of the UN and its defiance of international law, the United states has unnecessarily antagonized much of the world community”. As difficult a concept as it can be, no nation can act as a player on the world stage without alliances. Our interactions with foreign powers are critical for survival in the current climate. Diplomacy, grace, and subtlety will be much-needed traits for the next Commander-in-Chief, whoever he (or she) may be. Americans should not attempt to place a vote for a candidate without considering the far-reaching effects, effects that resonate past the borders of the country to the ends of our spheres of influence.
No man is an island, and no nation is, either. Our world is built of infinite fragile ecosystems, both political and natural. Each action echoes and ripples throughout the system, leaving nothing untouched. The answer to this limitless connection in not to bury one’s head in the sand, but to learn what effect one’s actions have on the world. Knowledge, not denial, is the key to a planet in balance. And that, truly, is all any president can hope to accomplish.
