What motivates German
critics of the United States? Writer Alexander
Grau has some suggestions that might be hard for
Germans to listen to.
The United States is the Only Guarantor of German Liberty (Cicero,
Germany)
"The new anti-Americanism is an old anti-Americanism. Its
origins cannot be found in the NSA, or with George W. Bush, or with Ronald
Reagan, but rather in the political romanticism of the 19th Century and its
aversion to Western civilization, individualized mass society, the
mechanization of all areas of life, and the cold rationalism of modern
capitalism. ... Let's not kid ourselves. In the final analysis, every free
person in this world has only one protector and defender: The United States of
America. Those with doubts should place themselves under the protection of
Russia or China - whose intelligence services act no differently than America's,
by the way."
This poster from between the First and Second World Wars calls for German 'freedom' from the constraints imposted by the Versailles Treaty. Alexander Grau writes that German conceptions of freedom are are far different from those felt in the United States.
On the occasion
of Merkel's Obama visit, there was again a revival of anti-Americanism in
Germany. At the same time, the U.S. is the sole protector for every
freedom-loving person in this world.
Not
since the Second World War have German-American relations been worse. On this
point, most commentators agree. There is also a general consensus on the causes
of the disagreement: The presidency of George W. Bush, Afghanistan, the Iraq War,
and of course, the NSA affair. All have, according to a more or less broad
consensus in the media, profoundly shaken Germany’s trust in the United
States, the initial enthusiasm for President Obama notwithstanding.
This
analysis falls short, however, and is based on a sham. German reservations with
respect to the United States are older and go a lot deeper. The new
anti-Americanism is an old anti-Americanism. Its origins cannot be found in the
NSA, or with George W. Bush, or with Ronald Reagan, but rather in the political
romanticism of the 19th century and its aversion to Western civilization, individualized
mass society, the mechanization of all areas of life, and the cold rationalism
of modern capitalism.
The United
States as the seat of 'international finance Jewry'
The
defeat in WWI made certain that anti-enlightenment, anti-Western currents in
Germany dominated not only academic and literary discourse, but increasingly,
political debate as well. The U.S. was stylized as a politico-cultural counter
alternative, the un-German birthplace of a universally-corrosive modernity and
center of merciless finance capitalism, home of "international finance
Jewry."
That
the U.S., as polls show, is more unpopular in Germany than anywhere else
in Europe, is because of the Second World War. A bombing war and unconditional
surrender threw Germans into a situation characterized by highly-ambivalent emotional
conflict. Because West Germans, at least, were certainly aware that the wartime
intervention of the Americans had saved Germany from the worst - total defeat t
the hands of the Soviet Union. Accordingly, right after the war, there were
corresponding levels of gratitude. The Marshall Plan and the
"economic miracle" took care of the rest - superficially, at least.
Smoldering hatred
erupted in the protests of '68
However,
as sometimes occurs: What parents think subliminally but dare not speak is
expressed that much more clearly by their children. So it was with the protesters
of 1968, who had the privilege of articulating their latent smoldering hatred
against America.
One
needn't be a great psychologist to see the angry protests against the
bombardment of Vietnam as an act of transference and as an attempt to find
relief.Those who for historic reasons didn't
want to or were not able to protest the destruction of Germany were now given
the opportunity to project their emotions in a seemingly innocuous fashion on
the Far East.
A narcissistic
pique
Psychologically
speaking, contemporary German anti-Americanism is primarily the product of a
profound narcissistic pique. The result is a pronounced anti-American neurosis
that compels Germans to feel solidarity with any alleged victims of American
aggression and American striving for dominance. The fact that this leads to
bizarre declarations of solidarity with the world’s most repulsive autocrats -
be it Saddam Hussein, Bashar al-Assad, or Vladimir
Putin - only serves to confirm this theory in the most unpleasant fashion.
So
it's no coincidence that since the 1970s, a more or less undisguised
anti-Americanism has again become "good form" in Germany - even if
one is symbolically expressing annoyance over American fast food culture, Disney,
McDonalds, or Hollywood.
The
NSA, George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Richard Nixon - they all just provided a
pretext for activating old reflexes and confirming unwavering opinions. Those
who trace back the origins of anti-American sentiments in Germany to U.S.
policy are confusing cause and effect. It is the anti-American funhouse mirror which
ensures that everything America does (or doesn't do) is perceived as a
Yankee-like lack of scruples or as American ignorance - preferably a mixture of
both.
From
the German perspective, America stands for pretty much everything we frown
upon: individualism, personal responsibility, mistrust of government, and
capitalism. But the core of German anti-Americanism is the idea of freedom. The
fact that it brings competition instead of the coziness of a social economy,
and dissent instead of a cuddly consensus, is bad enough from the German point
of view. But that one might have to defend it if need be, possibly using unsightly
robust means, is not only beyond the German imagination, but also hits them at
their weakest point.
So
there is always something forced about declarations of German-American
friendship - declarations that we will now once again experience. From a German
perspective at least, they were from the very beginning born of sheer
necessity. That is why, shortly after WWII, ways out of U.S. dependence were
sought.
The E.U. cannot
protect itself
The
most obvious solution was an alliance a country that was equally enthralled
with government and that has its own latent anti-American tendencies - France.
Naturally, this was followed by the Elysée
Treaty, the European Economic
Community and the E.U. The European Union is ultimately a product of pan-Carolingian
animosity toward the United States. In this respect, U.S. diplomat Victoria Nuland’s statement ("Fuck the E.U.") was quite
understandable.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Unfortunately,
however, the E.U. can’t even protect itself, let alone take effective measures
for its immediate geopolitical future. The necessary political will, economic
power, and above all, military power, is lacking.
The U.S. as the
indispensable protector and defender of liberty
In
recent months, we have been able to observe just how dangerous American
military, economic, or political weakness can be. Events in Ukraine are also
the result of awkward political and power maneuvering under President Obama. It
wasn’t only Syria that showed Putin that the current government of the United
States is at best reluctantly ready to seriously stand up for the values it
proclaims.At least with regard to Ukraine,
albeit somewhat belatedly, the U.S. nonetheless found its way back into the
role of leading power of the Western world. The fact that this renewed
steadfastness is precisely what makes the U.S. appear suspect to Germans and which
causes the average affluent German to think of the criminally autocratic Putin
with understanding and sympathy only reconfirms these German psychopathologies.
Let’s
not kid ourselves. In the final analysis, every free person in this world has
only one protector and defender: The United States of America. Those with
doubts should place themselves under the protection of Russia or China - whose
intelligence services act no differently than America's, by the way. There is
one thing that Germans like to forget: When two parties do the same thing, it still
isn't the same. In the final analysis, America’s power and America’s strength
are the only guarantors of everything that is near and dear to us.
