Response to Mr. Spence

Submitted by Garrett Stasse (United States), Jan 14, 2003 at 16:10

Mr. Spence is a refreshing voice in a gloomy world. Much of what he says has the ring of truth and common sense. There are some nits to pick, however. I hope he considers my comments not as criticism, but from another point of view, a paralax, so to speak:

First, he and other Europeans might consider that historically, the United States hasn't taken much of a role in foreign affairs. He admits we were late to the last world wars, and there's a reason for it: the Atlantic Ocean. That has given us a perspective from afar, a chance to watch Europe's destructive tendencies for a while, then decide what to do. Only when things get out of hand, as they so often do there, does the U.S. act. Sometimes it's in self-interest, but more often it's in the naive belief that we have friends there.

Tactless? Perhaps. But that depends on who's defining it. Our sense of urgency, based on a strong foundation of fairness and regard for the underdog predisposes us toward problem solving. Europe appears to like "the process." The U.S. prefers the "bottom line" solutions. Europe did nothing for two years while Bosnia and Kosovo burned. The U.S. intervened only after Europe let more than 200,000 people be slaughtered. The war stopped when American soldiers arrived. Yet the French, Germans, Dutch and British didn't have much nice to say about us; we ignored "the process" once again.

There are deeper divisions, of course. Americans disdain collectivism, big government and empty moral posturing. That's why people who practice those here -- Susan Sontag, Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer, Gloria Steinem et al -- get no respect from the huge majority that sees through their pomposity. Europe's elites seem to love them. What does that tell you?

It tells me Americans are slowly divorcing themselves from the notion that Europe is somehow better than we and we no longer have to obey Europe's every whim. Thousands of us died on Sept. 11, and there is good reason to think millions more might be at stake. So President Bush is acting decisively to protect us. If that's tactless in Europe, then so be it.

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