Europe and America

Submitted by Gabriel Grosso (Italy), Dec 27, 2002 at 17:01

European universities are even more ideologisized than their US counterparts. I went to university in London (United Kingdom) where students (and lecturers) preach hatred against America, Israel and even Britain! What long-term impact does a radicalized and repressive atmosphere have on students? The first effect I can think of is that students are afraid to express their views. In America and Europe, leading accademics hate Israel. In Europe, anti-Americanism and anti-Zionism/Semitism are becoming common features of campus life. Journalists and politicians are no better: do Robert Fisk, John Pilger and George Galloway sound familiar? Indeed, we do need a more balanced environment in terms of Universities and campuses. We need to create a respectable alternative to the anti-Israeli, Anti-American, anti-Russian and anti-Christian lobby which rules and dictates campuses and public debate. It must be a respectable and non-biased alternative. At the moment, in Europe, the only opposition to this radicalized environment comes from the Far Right. We can do better than this. The reason why I- as a European- take a keen interest in Daniel Pipes and his work is that he is providing a rational, moderate and focused alternative to the mainstream approach.

Europe is-almost by definition- opposed to America. That shouldn't be the case because our interests are closely linked to those of the United States. As for those anti-US American professors, this is my thought: in the USA, you are free to criticize Bush; in Europe you are free to say what you want; in Iraq, you could be tortured or killed for less than that.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".