Us and Them III

Dr Demarche over at The Daily Demarche who works for the US State Dept. has written a two part series (Part I and Part II) about US-EU differences. Having spent around 3 years living in Europe myself and having visited most countries in Europe at least once, I couldn’t help but add my two cents.

Before I begin though, I’d like to first offer a few words of caution for Americans and Europeans alike. Perhaps one of the most serious problems which plagues transatlantic relations on the international as well as individual level is the mutual failure to see the other side as a truly different culture. Were I or Dr. Demarche in Mongolia, we would go with no expectations and be much more careful when delivering judgement as no one would reasonably expect our cultures to have much in common. However, since the EU and US tend to look so similar on the surface and we’ve had strong historical ties, both Americans and Europeans tend to get into a number of serious misunderstandings. Thus, I must ask Americans and Europeans alike to pretend that when visiting, thinking about or discussing the other side of the pond, treat it like you would India or Iran.

Dr. Demarche does point out that superficially, the US and Europe seem to have never been closer, however which is indeed true. Germans walk around wearing bagging clothes, Fubu shirts and tilted Yankees hats while listening to Eminem and constantly throwing in English words during their conversations and as a personal note, his comment that white socks are the only thing that give away Americans truly made me laugh out loud. It couldn’t be more true. However, as he notes, once one moves to a deeper topic, huge rifts emerge. American and European values differ tremendously.

One point where I have to disagree is with regard to religion. Demarche seems rather upset that most Europeans are only nominally religious and that they have transfered their belief to the government. First of all, like he himself pointed out, this is a generalization. Certain countries are far more religious than others (eg: Poland/Spain) however on an individual level. Nietzsche proclaimed in the late 1800s that “God is dead,” meaning that religion no longer steers the state nor governs public life. Within Europe, religion has no say at all in government affairs unlike the US where it’s going out with a fight.

From the text, it’s difficult to say whether Demarche is religious and therefore regards Europeans with such skepticism or is rather offering his critique of how it has been replaced. Being an atheist, I for one find it refreshing that religion is totally shut out of public life as I feel this should be left to the individual and should have no basis in public debate (abortion, 10 commandments, stem cells, gay marriage etc). Believing in your own ways is one thing, wanting to force them on the entire country goes against everything the US stands for.

I would argue that religion as the centerpiece of public life wasn’t replaced by the government by rather by the socialist/leftist ideology that permeates throughout Europe. This of course is embodied in the government. However, I think Demarche is off the mark. Whether someone says he is catholic, protestant, muslim or socialist, many of the same basic values are still there. Europe has a long Christian tradition and the fact is that Christian values are so firmly ingrained in Europe that it is easy to overlook them. A conspicious absence of religion in the public sphere doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist in the private one.

Secondly, I would argue that the basis of European’s trust in the government comes rather from socialism, which has a long history there and has little to do with religion. Considering the first government sponsered social programs were enacted by Otto von Bismarck in the late 1800s, a time when people were still considerably more religious as the industrial revolution had only begun, I would not argue that religion was unseated by big government. With the onset of the industrial revolution in Europe, one declined and the other rose, but this does not necessariy prove causation.

This brings us to our next and perhaps the biggest difference: the role of government. The basis for a great deal of criticism of and by both sides relates to the balance of personal responsibility and the role of the government in daily life. To summarize the American position, Americans (both Democrats and Republicans alike) believe in small government and that it should have a minimal role in the individual’s life. This can also be seen in the fierce State’s Rights battles. Americans believe that one should be allowed to do almost anything he wants as long as it does not infringe upon the rights of others. Period.

Europeans, on the other hand, believe in big government and that their government is there to provide for the people and take care of them from the cradle to the grave. They think it is the government’s responsibility to take care of the poor and weak who cannot take care of themselves and to ensure equality and equal opportunity among all. Euroepans need more structure in their lives and don’t mind forfeiting individual freedom for security, the polar opposite of Americans.

Before I close and let you wait for Part II, I’d like to discuss another point of contention. Dr. Demarche notes:

To be fair I agree with them, the whole hyphenated American thing drives me nuts, but they really seem to not want to have any ties to us- our forebears left, and good riddance to them, seems to be the attitude.

I must firstly agree. Nothing annoys me more than African-Americans, Italian-Americans, Native-Americans, Irish-Americans etc. The first thing I ask those people is for their foreign passport, how long they lived in their other “home country” and whether they speak the language. Always no, no and no. Thus, I think most Europeans find it simply stupid as he and I both do. This has nothing to do with Europeans not wanting anything to do with us, but rather the fact that it’s a preposterous statement.

Given that the United States and Europe’s working together is now of utmost importance with regard to the rise of Asia, international terrorism and WMD proliferation, an honost discussion by all sides is direly needed. I invite ComingAnarchy readers to add their insight, especially people like Grendel, the folks at The Daily Demarche , New Sisyphus, Consul at Arms and Gabriel, to comment or post follow ups at their own blogs.