What do Europeans think of Americans?

I haven’t asked any Europeans recently and my anecdotal information might not be current or completely factual, but for the most part it is probably true.

Europeans think we aren’t too bright. Ask any punk kid on the streets of Amsterdam where Gabon is and he’ll know where, what language they speak and he can probably speak it too. Do you know which country Amsterdam is in? I rest my case. Part of the problem for Americans, I believe, is that we live in such a large country that we can’t even figure out which way to head to get to New York and thus have become geographically challenged. We can build nuclear bombs, space ships and etcetera, but most Europeans think we’ve done it with European help.

During my years living in Europe, after the Korean war and Vietnam war, but before Kosovo and Iraq I & II, I was often asked “what took the Americans so long to enter World War II”? Obviously the Germans didn’t mind, but the allies who were getting so much material support couldn’t get us to budge when they asked for military help. When we did enter the conflict it was because of the Japanese. Today they support us (or don’t but don’t get in our way), but can’t figure out what we are doing in Iraq. The problem here is that we say “to free the Iraqi people” but they know it is to secure the petroleum supply lines.

Europeans think we are rich, so we can afford to finance many projects or innovations. They think they are smarter, but can’t get the funding to put many of their ideas into use. If you want to be economically successful it has to sell in the USA. We are so rich that we eat too much and lie around too much and become fat. Europeans have a similar lifestyle, but wages are genuinely not high and cost of living is, so folks tend to eat out less often, prepare foods fresh, and get out and exercise more, particularly walking.

Europeans think Americans are gregarious. This often comes off as loud, obnoxious and disingenuous, when Americans think they are just being “friendly.” Europeans think we are overly competitive and aggressive. This doesn’t mean in the sports arena or war, but in every facet of life from cuisine and love-making (the French say “what”?) to games of chance, time spent in line, the square footage of our homes, everything. Maybe it is because we have a little too much of the pioneer can-do spirit (bushels per acre and straightest rows of corn), and organized sports from the age of 3 on up.

Europeans have better social welfare systems, more worker rights, use less energy per capita and have deeper historical roots. Americans are more pro-business and anyone can become president of the United States.

Of course there is much admiration of our democratic principles, our ingenuity, our economic success and of course most of us are descendants of Europeans, so they can’t say too much bad about us.

(by Marc Adami, Guest Columnist)