Q: What do Americans think Europeans think about Americans?
A: Several things.
I think Europeans think they are not stereotyping Americans when they actually are. They think their average Joe is smarter than our average Joe, and that if they lived in America, they would never change into Americans.
I recall, when I was a young man, I was explaining Americans to an Italian exchange student at Columbia U. I said, Americans, unlike Europeans, actually get closer to wealthy people - we actually party with them. So we actually believe that we are like them, and we are. Because there are a lot of Americans who are ordinary people who actually get rich, and that’s something that doesn’t happen nearly as often in Europe. Europeans unequivocally hate their rich douches. Americans tolerate them and party with them, then ignore them.
I also think Europeans think Americans represent America more than we actually do. We represent our part of America. I think a European would never say that Catalonians are the same as Spaniards or that Northern Italians are the same as Southern Italians. But they think that Americans who actually live geographically further apart are still the same. They think Tennessee is the same as Texas is the same as Georgia - all some kind of dumbass rednecks.
Somebody said it very well. Europeans think multilingualism is more important than living in different places. We say 2 languages in 1 place < 1 language in 2 places.
I think that Europeans think American patriotism is stupid and that Americans are politically unsophisticated when we embrace patriotic values or respect our flag.
I think that Europeans think that most Americans have no inner self or contemplative life, and that our religious devotion is categorically insipid or that thoughtful atheists are under attack.
I think Europeans think that Americans are uniquely wasteful and that Americans are incapable of being thrifty and scrupulous.
I think Europeans think that American athletes are as stupid and self-absorbed as their pro footballers. They really have no idea about amateur athletics and the depth of our coaching culture in every sport except soccer.
I think Europeans think that Americans regard the US Armed Forces as invincible and that we expect to use them with impunity to get our way. They’re half right, but Americans don’t start fights, we finish them (when we can).
I think Europeans think American gun owners are stupid, paranoid and reckless. But they have a lot of help on that score from Americans who themselves are not gun owners but are stupid, paranoid and reckless with the truth.
I think Europeans think Americans don’t have a lot of choices, so when they see some of the stupid choices we make, they think that our tolerance of that is morally lazy. For example if Europeans read about our opioid crisis and watch Breaking Bad, they have no perspective on how many Americans are not on opioids and have never even heard of Breaking Bad.
I think Europeans think that Americans are as defined by our culture as they are defined by theirs, and they find it very puzzling how we get along without 1000 years of history - therefore we must be immature and shallow by definition.
I think Europeans acknowledge and respect elite Americans who visit Europe at meetings like Davos and the Cannes Film Festival, and they think such Americans are contemptuous of average Americans. I don’t know if they’re right or wrong about that.
Most importantly, I think most Europeans think Americans care what they think and that we take their thinking into consideration on a regular basis. I’m not exactly sure why they do, maybe because some of us read The Economist or Guardian UK? Honestly honestly, I would wager that younger Americans pay much more attention to Asia than all of Europe put together. I think most Americans don’t really know what is actually supposed to be so advanced and sophisticated about Europe. I think this American attitude isn’t so hostile as it is skeptical. Like if Europe is so great why aren’t they leading the world? Like wasn’t the Euro supposed to put the dollar in its place? Americans do not sense European power in anything other that bureaucratic stuff like GDPR and whatever we’re supposed to do with the Higgs Boson, thanks CERN, now what?
To put it succinctly, Americans my age take Europe for granted. We think that if you’re ever going to do something significant on the planet, you’re going to need our help, or it just won’t happen.
The younger generation simply doesn’t respect Europe. They believe you invented racism, colonialism, imperialism, slavery, the patriarchy, oppression, capitalism, industrial pollution and war. We’re trying to teach them better, but you all probably invented self-flagellation, so your young people are saying the same thing.
So that’s what I think Americans by and large think about Europeans, by and large. What I think about Europeans… Hmm. I like Idris Elba. He’s European, right? Dunno really. I care about Western Civilization, and I’m very much impressed with what Japan and Korea have done with it. It’s not like Greece or Central Europe are doing things of interest to me these days. Meh. I should maybe write something about my geopolitical looks. Meanwhile I’m happy mining classic European literature and music. I can get so much for the price of a Beyonce concert ticket.
I apologize for this unrelated remark.
Hey! You got your question read on the monthly Q & A with Glen Loury!
I think they could could have done a better job answering it, but oh well.
I enjoyed your read. Having been to Europe a half dozen times, I have found the "common" folk in most countries to be delightful. Uber drivers, tour guides, hotel staff, restaurant workers tend to be likeable and conversational. I usually ask a lot of questions about their work and inquire about general geographical and historical information. Often it turns into personal and political conversations that are based on where they take the conversation.. not where I lead them. I understand that many of them work for tips and that might make them say what they think we want to hear, but the unscripted conversations seem to be a glimpse into their reality. I often hear a volunteered version of "don't believe what read or hear in the media about us who live in Europe and what we believe."