« The co-existence of pro-Americanism and anti-Americanism – a paradox? | Main | America and its adverse International Community »
December 8, 2004
Anti-Americanism- an intractable problem?
When someone hurls an insult at you, your instinctive response is likely to be something like this- you get highly defensive, enraged with your seemingly unreasonable critics and then devise devious plans to get back at them. Rage or feelings of being victimized blind reason, or at least when the wounds are fresh. Then, two things can happen- one, such hostility is further perpetuated unabatedly between you and your antagonist when no attempts are made to understand the reasons for such insults or two, you cool down after your initial enragement, calmly ponder over possible elements of truth in the criticism and seek to correct your faults or the misconceptions that led to this unpleasant episode.
Unfortunately, pride and intolerance have provided fodder for the brewing anti-Americanism today. In response to the anti-American sentiments abroad, the United States has not done much to abate such sentiments, nor does it seem to be affected much by them. In a nation where humility perhaps isn’t the most widespread national trait, there is a pervasive instinct to resist, rather than to admit. It certainly does not help that Bush, post-Sept 11, declared to the rest of the world that “Either you are with us or against us.”
If we take a closer look at some of the reasons for these anti-American sentiments, we realize that they are partially a result of myths and can actually be dissipated. Often, slandering and political scapegoating are convenient political tools that can be repeatedly exploited by political parties to redirect attention away from domestic problems. Take for example, the Middle East, where anti-American sentiments run high. Nicholas Schmidle, a contributor to The Daily Star, highlights the Iranian leaders’ persistence in vilifying the U.S. Thus, there is every reason to believe that much of the anti-Americanism there is regime-generated. Add to this the lack of access to accurate information on the part of the masses, the intensity of anti-Americanism is perhaps not so surprising.
Furthermore, as an editorial from The Yemen Times points out, quite often, “official media thinks that its sole function is to polish the image of the government and to make sure that the public should only hear, see and read what never leads to any discontent among the public”. Individuals who seek to take a more critical stance towards public affairs are often proclaimed as dissenters whose sole purposes are to find fault with the regime- as such, state run media often serves as a mouthpiece of the government and wields the power to significantly influence public opinion by endorsing any agenda that the state may have. In the article by Schmidle, he points out that some Iranians do question the credibility of the information they receive. Yet, such individuals are likely to be the exception rather than the norm. Under such circumstances of incomplete information and intentional shaping of public opinion by the government, are people to blame for what they think?
Misperceptions of America are not limited to the certain less developed countries, which suffer from a dearth of information. Misconstrued notions of America and lack of understanding of the American culture is commonplace even in Europe. Take the example of French anti-Americanism- in L’ennemi Americain, a fascinating genealogy of French anti-Americanism, Philippe Roger observes that “the French do not understand what makes the heart of America tick, while being exposed daily to its mass culture and its products”. This suggests that xenophobia could have contributed significantly to much of the anti-American sentiments among the French. Conversely, in their current mindset, “the Bush administration and its supporters have little interest in - or understanding of - a country that once considered itself to be the world’s exceptional nation”. Consequently, a reciprocal hands-off approach from the United States perpetuates the mutual misunderstanding.
Investigating the reasons behind accusations is imperative. It will be regretful if we end up viewing with animosity, someone who calls us names because he has been misled and indoctrinated to believe in our treachery. Or for that matter, bearing a deep grudge against someone who is simply a little queasy and uncomfortable with a foreign presence slowly encroaching and eroding values that he has believed in all his life. Bearing that in mind, with a little humility and initiative, it is perhaps not that difficult to turn some foes into friends.
Posted by Shi Min Tan at December 8, 2004 8:15 AM