Anti-Americanism: the dislike that 'decent' people are happy to admit to

There are many people who though not viewing themselves as intolerant are more than happy to talk of their dislike for all things American. There are the more serious consequences of Anti-Americanism in the world that have seen Americans killed and injured.

Only a median of 58% of people, across 37 countries according to Pew Research has a favourable view of Americans. It means that almost half do not and in some parts of the world especially the Middle-East it is much lower. 

American popular culture is liked by most people but over 30% dislike it according to Pew and this is nothing new.

The degeneracy thesis that Europeans were intellectually superior, more cultured, more evolved physically, and mentally than Americans has existed since at least the late 1700's.

The criticisms of America and Americans came from prominent enough figures that people like Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin decided to respond to the attacks.

No place can really lay claim to being superior. Europe was a place where two world wars started, where the Holocaust occurred, Stalin, where more young people in Britain voted in television contests than said would vote in the general election, where there were workhouses in London and where the flawed ideas justifying British colonization had a home. 

Joseph Joffe describes five aspects of anti-Americanism such as stereotyping Americans. One of the other aspects is blaming America for all the evils in the world which is similar to how some people blame all rich people, Muslims, refugees, and conservatives for everything wrong in the world.

There is also the Anti-American insult, made by some Americans themselves against other Americans.

One response to all of this can be found in Christian principles which are often themselves associated with Americans and are the subject of much stereotyping and dislike. The call not to judge others is a Christian mandate. How can we see the spec in their eyes but not the log in our own?

My own country of Australia has the history of the White Australia policy to contend with, the bad treatment of indigenous people or convicts during the convict era, the persistence of homelessness, and the persistence of racist politicians to consider before throwing stones literally across the pond.

Christians are called to love their enemy which includes people from other countries.

There is the teaching to love thy neighbour as ourselves.

The evils in the world, far from being all things American date back to literally Biblical times.

The neglect of the poor and the widow is routinely mentioned in the Bible. Many countries continue to neglect the poor and the widow today. Incidentally, when it comes to donating to charity to help people, Americans actually tend to rank at the top of the world giving index.  This means they are more generous than many of their critics.

One of the other five aspects of anti-Americanism according to Joffe includes opposing anything American. There are plenty of things that are actually damaging to this world like selfishness, greed, indifference, anger, hate, materialism, blind ambition and none of these were made in America. They can be found outside of America as well. 

We can reflect on America's role in the world but perhaps we should reflect more often on our role in the world as well. How most countries underfund foreign aid, explore our human right records, our arms dealing, the relatively low number of refugees we take in, the inadequate support we give to the least of us, and the scourge of domestic violence in many places.

A reflection on the good and bad we all do in the world is needed.  We should all do more good. It is not about being Anti-American, diminishing the light of others but ensuring our own light shines. And not putting our light under a bushel as the Bible tells us.

Anti-Americanism also does not achieve anything.

It has not made the world better or safer. In fact, the violent attacks on America and American government responses have made America, the Middle-East and the whole world less safe.

It has not slayed the really great evils in the world like want.

It has not stopped America becoming a superpower.

The Anti-Americanism of the 1700's did not stop America eventually becoming economically successful. In fact, some of their cities have a GDP greater than entire countries like Australia.

Abbé Raynal wrote in 1770, "America has not yet produced a good poet, an able mathematician, one man of genius in a single art or a single science”.  America became home to some of the top universities in the world. 

Anti-Americanism overshadows the good done by Americans. The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is one such good. It was the biggest single contribution against a single disease HIV/AIDS by any government in history, saving millions of lives in Africa.