Do Americans Really Hate the French?
After two years of avoiding travel to the US, I finally returned this month for two weeks to visit family and friends. Aside from the absolutely freezing weather (below zero, snow, ice, etc.), I actually had a very nice time. Why would an American living abroad NOT want to come to the US? Well, here were a few thoughts that almost made me cancel at the last minute:
Orange Terrorism Alerts
More worried about friendly-fire mishaps than terrorists on-board, I wasn't looking forward to the possibility of over-zealous fighter jet pilots accompanying my flight in Philadelphia. Luckily, not only did my flight go smoothly, the only extra security delay at the airport (I flew through Frankfurt) involved a complete pat-down and hand-held metal detector check. Maybe it's because I flew with Lufthansa and not a US company. Even when I arrived in the US, the customs officials didn't go through my bags (like they usually do), or ask questions about the large number of French visa stamps in my passport.
Pro-war, pro-Bush Fanaticism
From Europe, it looks like every American is pro-Bush and pro-war. Of course I know Americans who aren't, but their voices seemed censored. So I was actually happily surprised to read a lot of balanced media coverage on the war and on Bush's policies during my stay. Of course, there's still very little open, intelligently moderated debates where each side defends his or her views with facts and examples (most televised debate still seems to be of the "attack and belittle and change the subject" variety, but then again I wasn't looking outside the mainstream media).
Mad Cow Outbreak
After living through the first outbreak over here in Europe 8 years ago, I wasn't too keen on trying any burgers. I like to be vegetarian while in the US, especially after reading Fast Food Nation...although I did make exceptions for a Philly Cheese Steak (mmmmm), the all-you-can-eat Chinese food buffet in Gettysburg (probably cleverly-disguised tofu anyway), a very fine roast beef sandwich at a family party (with horseradish sauce, yum!), and my cousin's venison lasagna and sausage (that's deer, folks; even as a former vegetarian, I'm pretty impressed with anyone who has the guts to sit in a tree all day and shoot his own dinner with a bow and arrow; and at least I know it probably wasn't eating anything unnatural).
Pre-Election Absurdity in the Media
The obsessive hype over Dean's "yell" reminds me of all the flak Gore received for kissing his own wife in public (is this illegal in certain states or something?). After just one caucus ballot, people are sending candidates to the grave. I read in one mainstream international newspaper (the NY Times-owned International Herald Tribune) that many people were influenced by the ads that were circulating in Iowa in the last week. "Dean's ad was too negative" said one voter. People are making decisions on who should be the most powerful leader in the world based on an advertisement. This is why Europeans fear the US. They know that the US Presidency is important to the whole world, and yet Americans don't seem to take the business of choosing them very seriously (it's more like entertainment and talk show fodder), with less than half even bothering to vote at all.
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