This is a good one. Bruce Bawer reviews a stack of books on European-American relations, and recounts how he formed his own impression of Europe. Living first in the Netherlands, now in Norway, he was at first impressed with Europe's education and respect for learning, and "was tempted at one point to write a book lamenting Americans' anti-intellectualism":

Yet as my weeks in the Old World stretched into months and then years, my perceptions shifted. Yes, many Europeans were book lovers - but which country's literature most engaged them? Many of them revered education - but to which country's universities did they most wish to send their children? (Answer: the same country that performs the majority of the world's scientific research and wins most of the Nobel Prizes.) Yes, American television was responsible for drivel like "The Ricki Lake Show" but Europeans, I learned, watched this stuff just as eagerly as Americans did (only to turn around, of course, and mock it as a reflection of American boorishness). No, Europeans weren't Bible-thumpers - but the Continent's ever-growing Muslim population, I had come to realize, represented even more of a threat to pluralist democracy than fundamentalist Christians did in the U.S.

Also don't miss the story of how a travel article Bawer wrote for the New York Times in 2001, unremarkable except for a few unfavorable references to the level of service at the Norwegian farm he'd stayed at, made big news in Norway. Aftenposten's Washington correspondent Morten Fyhn wrote a front page story about it, the grumpy farmer became a media hero when he struck back at rude, vulgar Americans who came to his farm expecting McDonalds burgers. Morten Fyhn dug up a critical article on Norway's social democracy that Bawer had written for Cato, and could triumphantly reveal that Bawer "isn't just unhappy with the service in Flatdal, he dislikes most things about Norway". The image of the vulgar, fast-food eating American had been complemented by that of a "thundering", "condescending" conservative. A real farce.

For me, this startling episode raised a few questions. Why had the Norwegian press given such prominent attention in the first place to a mere travel article? Why had it then been so eager to repeat a cartoonish lie? Were these actions reflective of a society more serious, more thoughtful, than the one I'd left? Or did they reveal a culture, or at least a media class, that was so awed by America as to be flattered by even its slightest attentions but that was also reflexively, irrationally belligerent toward it?

I'd say this story is more amusing than anything else - Norway's paper of record takes revenge on an American journalist for a mild reference to bad service. But it does point at a central attribute of Norway's (and perhaps the world's) relationship with America, a combination of awe and disgust, often displayed simultaneously, as done by Aftenposten.

My solution: First, admit to ourselves that the US is a great culture, with great art, learning and science. Second, to stop being so damn preoccupied with it and start building our own, even greater culture. Not just so we can win a pissing context. Not a culture defined against whatever the Americans do, while copying them badly, but one that learns from what Americans do right, ignore all the rest, and politely try to outperform them at their own game. Embrace the America dominated global culture with all the awe it deserves - then set about to improve it.

Isn't that a better project than to defensively try to "protect" something we can't define against something we can't resist? Isn't it better to try to be great ourselves than to nervously search for confirmation that they're not? Worth a try.

My own wish is that US and European writers would drop the absurd and wearying 'whose dick is bigger?' contest. There's lots to criticise and admire on both sides but the pissing contests are tiresome.

Most Americans I know cheerfully admit to an ignorance of much of the details of Europe. Easy to criticize, of course, but most Europeans I know seem convinced that they know everything about the US, yet are still profoundly ignorant about most things.

European Ph.D. students in the US, for example, seem astonished at the idea of public universities, or that, for example, the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) costs a mere $4,000 a year in tuition and fees for state residents, with still more opportunities for financial aid.

Err, not because they haven't heard of public universities, but because they don't seem to believe that the US has them.

Most Americans do not care about Europe. Even those who emigrated (like myself) have only vague interest in the old continent besides family and childhood friends.

I can only speak for myself, but I think most of us who emigrated feel the same way. We left Europe and other parts of the world to get away from socialism, oppression and collectivism. We rather not dwell on the grey past we left.

Europeans on the other hand, are obsessed with us to a degree bordering insanity.

It's not a "pissing contest". In terms of power and influence, that contest was long ago won by America. If it was an on-going contest, the interest would be there among Americans. It is not.

I think it boils down to this: Massive insecurity and self-doubt by Europeans.
And I say this with a saddened heart, since I was once an European myself.

I think it's a tortoise-and-hare thing: The Europeans were indeed ahead of us by many important measures, but they rested on their laurels and got into a routine of Yank-bashing, not noticing that we've since learned from our dumber mistakes and kind of caught up with them in such measures as awareness of world affairs, and possibly education as well.

I agree with Michale Ferris and besides our d. . . is bigger :-)

Right on, Bjorn! There does seem to be an inordinate preoccupation with the U.S. But understandable from its size and dynamism. Speaking of size, it makes a difference here. To some extent the U.S. physically is a big place with lots of room to move and go. I have the image of Europe as being more constrained in many ways. It seems that some of the politicians over there are more like the board of directors at Leisure World trying to make life easier on the enfeebled residents. Structurally speaking, I hope the young catch fire and create a more dynamic Europe at all levels. It's bound to happen given the high level of competetiveness in today's world. Do your thing and do it well.

A very nice post--calm, sensible, and thoughtful--which is why I recommend your blog to my blog-reading friends.

Plus you write in English. ;)

Bjorn, have you ever visited the U.S.? If not, you should think about coming here for a vacation. I'm sure your readers would give you a list of "do-not-miss" places to check out. I certainly would be glad to do so.

Good to have you blogging again Bjorn! I have missed your wit and insights 8)

Interesting point from Bruce Bawer "Yes, American television was responsible for drivel like "The Ricki Lake Show" but Europeans, I learned, watched this stuff just as eagerly as Americans did"

Anyone who has spent time in Norway, or other Western European countries, will quickly learn that the there are many more similarities between Americans and Europeans than there are differences. Unfortunately, it is the differences that are focused upon more than our common cultural heritage. Our differences are dwelt upon in the same way the eye is drawn to a black spot on an otherwise white piece of paper. This tendency is not a unique European cultural defect, that causes Euros to dwell the nuances that separate us, it is just human nature. Certainly we Americans also have many unflattering European stereotypes that we like to poke fun at and thus feel superior to. The difference, as you pointed out Bjorn, is that you have to actually search for unflattering European references in American media, while America bashing is very main stream in Europe.

Bjorn’s conclusion, “Isn't it better to try to be great ourselves than to nervously search for confirmation that they're not?”

Absolutely! Most straight thinking Americans would welcome a robust Europe on the international stage. How wonderful would it be it the Europeans could become another engine of the global economy rather than just another caboose. Wouldn’t it be great if Europeans actually spent money on their armed forces and were willing to deploy them in an effort to make the world better and safer. Wouldn’t it be nice…..

Unfortunately Europe is weak and divided. There is no single European country that can hope to match, or meaningfully contribute to, America’s economic and military strength. Fortunately there are signs that Europe is beginning to wake up to the fact that it is, and has been, shirking its global responsibilities. Germany and France are making changes to their social welfare programs and moving towards an American style economic model. Hopefully these changes, while uncomfortable, will help spur growth.

Changing the European obsession with throat baring pacifism will be more difficult, but perhaps not impossible. The first step should probably be for America to move all its military bases out of Western Europe. America has protected Europe so well for so long that many on the Continent actually think the world is a safe and peaceful place where nations work out their differences through all night negotiations. In this hallucination it is America that poses the biggest threat to world peace.

I think of Chirac’s recent snubbing of Iraqi and Afghan pleas for help and wonder if it will take a war brought to Europe’s boarders to move the Continent to reassess its role in achieving world security? Right now it seems that Europe is willing to let the rest of the world descend into anarchy, just as long as nothing effects the short work days, long vacations and pension plans.

Bjørn: You forget! We norwegian have a great culture! We've got Lutefisk! We've got gravlaks! We've got brunost! Aaaaand! We developed a proper cheese-cutter. ;-)

Hmm. Not much to brag about, that.

You have tasty reindeer! In June I had a reindeer dinner at that restaurant near Holmenkollen.

Rune What is brunost? Where do uou buy the cheese cutter

--but one that learns from what Americans do right, ignore all the rest, and politely try to outperform them at their own game.--

Rommel - we knew the least of every country he fought against, but learned the fastest.

Hopefully we still can, but it's going to be very, very bloody.

"Bjørn: You forget! We norwegian have a great culture! We've got Lutefisk! We've got gravlaks! We've got brunost! Aaaaand! We developed a proper cheese-cutter. ;-)

Hmm. Not much to brag about, that."

There is no need to put our culture down like that,our culture is much more than that and you know it. It would be like saying american culture is Mcdonalds and Britney Spears.

John Thacker wrote:

"European Ph.D. students in the US, for example, seem astonished at the idea of public universities, or that, for example, the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) costs a mere $4,000 a year in tuition and fees for state residents, with still more opportunities for financial aid."

I can top that. I've meet Europeans who were astonished to learn that the US has publicly financed grade school and secondary education. Seriously. And these were college-educated people who spoke English more or less fluently.

I too find Europeans to be very ignorant about the US in general. Yet they almost always consider themselves to be stone experts on us, our politics and our culture. This attitude is extremely annoying, and in fact, is one of the main reasons why I have a much lower opinion of European people in general than I used to have.

One gets tired of explaining that American poor people are indeed covered by a very expensive public healthcare insurance program called Medi-caid, which costs our federal government several hundred billion dollars per year, and that the ones who don't qualify are treated for free at county hospitals that are often very good facilities. Worse, even when you do point out facts that contradict the European stereotypes and received "wisdom", they often refuse to believe it, and they give you that smug little smirk that says, "Oh SURE you have medical insurance for poor people" or "Oh SURE the US overall crime rate is lower than that of Britain and many other European countries."

I think the US is held up to be the bogeyman by the Euro-socialists like mothers who hold up the black sheep of the family to their kids as an example of something you don't want to be: "Eat your peas or you'll grow up to be like nasty old Cousin Delbert." Only in Europe, it's "Don't complain about our socialized medical systems or we'll end up like nasty Old Cousin America, where millions of people don't even have health care." Problems in the US must be magnified and distorted beyond all recognition so that the home crowd is happy with its lot. As things get worse in Europe financially and socially, the anti-US propaganda will get more and more fanciful and absurd.

John Tacker: You wrote "European Ph.D. students in the US, for example, seem astonished at the idea of public universities, or that, for example, the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) costs a mere $4,000 a year in tuition and fees for state residents, with still more opportunities for financial aid."

I find that extremely expensive.

I pay about $160 a year in tuition fees at the University of Oslo. That you talk about $4,000 a year as "a mere" .. wowchi, I say. That's bloody expensive.

Rune,
Prehaps you get what you pay for? Chappel Hill is one of the best Universities in America, Is U of Oslo as highly rated?

If it is then never mind 8)

Franko, c'mon: Don't start in with the my dick is bigger than your dick stuff.

Susan, I am hung like a peanut so I don't want to have any such contest thank you very much.

My point was valid, in my opinion of course. Going to Stanford University will cost you about $25K US per year. Going to a Community College will cost significantly less and you will get a much lower quality education as a result.

U of Oslo costs much less to attend than Chappel Hill. is it wrong to wonder about the quality of education one would get at a University that costs so little to attend?

Frankly I have no idea if U of O is a great school or just good or just awful. If it is just as good a school as Chappel Hill and costs only $160 a year in tuition fees, I know where I will send my children.

Franko, it's a valid question, I just thought it was phrased a bit too -- well, Americanish!

Franko wrote:

"Most straight thinking Americans would welcome a robust Europe on the international stage. How wonderful would it be it the Europeans could become another engine of the global economy rather than just another caboose. Wouldn’t it be great if Europeans actually spent money on their armed forces and were willing to deploy them in an effort to make the world better and safer. Wouldn’t it be nice….."

It sure would - for the record we're trying to do exactly this (the military part of it) in Denmark, manning and equiping 2 brigades of appr. 1000 men each for this very purpose. Our airforce is being upgraded - though downsized - to be able to participate in joint air/land operations in cooperation with US forces - as far as I remember the RDAF and the Dutch Airforce are the only NATO airforces - except of course the US and the british - being able to deliver precision munitions in all weather conditions in tight cooperation with on-ground controllers.

So we're trying. But given there's only 5,5 million danes in this whole wide world we'll never be able to save the world on our own :-)

As for the other part, I hope you're right. Having said that I must confess that I've read some right wing US bloggers who at least seem to think otherwise. I might have been reading these sites as the devil reads the Bible, but the general notion seems to be something down the line of "the EU is a pathetic born-to-lose attempt at matching the US in at least economic terms. It won't work, it simply can't be done because - learn it dammit! - the US is the finest, strongest and most powerful nation on the face of the earth; and allways will be. Period."

For all the shortcomings of the EU - and there are quite a lot - I support the project, and I hope it will be succesful. For a lot of reasons but one certainly being I don't believe the current state of affairs, with the US being so dominant in every sence, is good for anyone, not even the US. The US needs some balancing - as has any dominant nation in the course of history - perhaps these guys fear this actually might happen?

Re: the education part. I studied at the Electromagnetics Institute at the Technical University of Denmark. At least at the time - and these are ancient times :-) - it was arguably ranked as a top-3 contender worldwide in it's field of research. I only had to pay for my books.

Regards.

Let's not forget the much higher taxes that Northern Europeans pay for a "free" education. The system apparently works for them, but I prefer my much lower taxes. And my public university education was pretty inexpensive...and I have a very good job.

Education is fine, higher education is even better. But I like to think of the US as being a little more friendly to those with inspirations. Call it "the land of opotunity" I lived in Australia (8yrs) and Italy (3yrs) and grew up in Sri Lanka (early 70's) in fact I have managed to fill up about 3 passports. I dropped school at 14, at 17 I was a marine Infantryman (8yrs) I worked construction for 17 yrs. My 3rd invention was just patended and I just bought a 1.2m house here in AZ. USA It's all about opportunities. Like I said, an education is what most crave, but the rest of us (US) just want the opportnity to improve. Whats a PHD worth now in Moscow?

I think that European culture gets greatly discriminated upon in this article, and comments. I noticed one American said that no European country could meaningfully contribute to American economic or military strength. I think you are mistaken my friend, as Germany has the worlds 4th largest economy. And that is larger than any state in US. On the other hand also I wonder in what way he talks about contribution, is it not contribution when two countries have trade? Or is he talking about European countries giving some kind of subsidies or tribute to America?
OR.. is it military contributions? That is also mistaken though, as Great Britain was the largest ally of America during the Iraq war.

My opinion of this is that Americans are on a bashing tour on Europe since France and Germany did not agree on the Iraq war. The result of that is what you see under this post, many americans happily really saying that "our dick is bigger" of course, very politely, and if you agree, then your their friend. Otherwise, you are no friend. This we already know from the Iraq war, old friends suddenly dropped so in value. That is not what true friends do.

I also wonder what you are talking about as well Bjørn, do you really want Europeans to take up American culture, when Europe has a much richer and older culture by itself, or are you talking about economical and military reforms?

It also seem to me, that the two things that are important for the americans who comment here is money and power. Seems a little bit shallow way of thinking if you ask me. Makes me realise why Americans are considered to be shallow by the rest of the world.

Of course there is some small talk about education, although even there it is not accepted that Europeans are more fortunate. That actually makes me a little bit curious, how do you measure how good a university is? Is it by number of students going out into work after graduation? Or is it reputation, or is it the amount of research that is done in that uni? I am honestly curious, and if anyone could tell me that would be great. One could then compare Oslo University with that American one and see. Of course,we have quite good benefits from EU, through EFTA these days, as we can go to European Unis and study, there are definately some good universities there.

I liked Hating America and read a couple more of Bawers pieces. His uncharitable bordering on hateful review of Norman Mailer’s life and works can not be understood exept in the context of Bawer being a gay right’s campaigner whose downright admiring review of Dutch right wing (and gay) politician Pim Fortuyin indicates that Mailer earned the reviewer’s venom primarily for failing to endorse homosexuality. Bawer is advised that his chances of getting accepted in the New York Review of Books - which appear to be the intended target for several of his writings - he should try being less malicious.

Bjorn

I read Brawer's article at 11pm Saturday night. I then started searching for the book mentioned in Brawer's article, Frykten for Amerika by Stian Bromark and Dag Herbjørnsrud. I was curious if you or anyone on this site has read this book?

I tried to search for an English version, but had no luck. I am very interested in finding anyone who may have read it, or if anyone knows where I can purchase an English version.

Tammy

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Rishon Rishon: Alienationals, July 22, 2004 12:53 AM

I just added two new blogs to my blogroll: Bjørn Stærk and Baltic Blog. They are both great bloggers in their own right, but added to that is the fun of seeing the world from a different geographical perspective. In...