Europe's youth take complex view of US
Its 'Iraq generation' moderates harsh views of US policy with admiration of American creativity and 'coolness.'
from the August 13, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
"America isn't Bush," says Ms. Boulanger, "and I tell this to my friends. We could have good relations ... again someday. We have a feeling a new American democracy could emerge, possibly. We like ... new faces like Nancy Pelosi."
Apart from Iraq, American negatives run from a perceived gun culture, lack of healthcare, the influence of evangelical Christians, a lack of balance in the Middle East, commercialism, income gaps, and a lawyer-based society.
Younger Europeans say America defines much of the way the world thinks. Many say they are swimming in an ocean of American media.
"[We] feel that countries like the US, which impose their culture on others, are more difficult to respect," says Bruno, a French graduate student listening to "extreme metallica" in the Luxembourg Gardens. "A lot of people are sick of Americanization … we want new technology from America, but it comes with American commercial attitudes." But, he adds, "Young Americans seem to have a desire for renewal ... and this diversity is something I like."
Matilda, a Swede studying in Paris, says US "bigness" bothers her. "Even Al Gore, who we think is good – his movie on the environment seems so dramatic ... a big spectacle. That seems so American. [Swedes] really care about the environment. But we don't talk about it like that.
"So much in America seems commercial ... so that even if you think you are making a choice, you may not be.... I don't eat at McDonald's. It is too American. It has become sort of a stupid joke, but still I don't," she adds.
Boulanger, whose mother is Finnish and father is French, thinks a stronger Europe is an alternative to a US global model. "We think about America as the No. 1 power.... We feel it around us every day. We all know what is happening in California, we hear about the Middle East, we know what [Secretary of State] Condi Rice is doing every day. But we have no idea what [EU foreign policy chief] Javier Solana is doing."
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