Op-Ed: The Fiscal Mess, The US Constitution, Political Blagging & Trust

What are the differences between the European and American view of politics? Where does trust and patriotism end in terms of lifestyles? Are government freedoms rising alarmingly, while our individual freedoms are steadily and consistently being eroded?

Of late, I have been somewhat confused. I confess that I have not been well, certain peculiarities having recently developed in my psaurian shadow-consciousness, whose vibrations - I suspect - have been greatly disrupting my bowel region. Or perhaps I should give all those anchovy, garlic, onion, chili, horseradish and tabasco pizzas a rest. I've also noticed that my baby toe - the pinkie on my left foot only - has grown to a prodigious length, such that I can easily hold and drink a cup of tea - and stir the bloody mixture - solely with just this digit and all associated appendages. A remarkable feet some would say. What's the problem, then? Could it be the approaching full moon? Recently, certain friends have been delicately urging and advising me to get a haircut..."Make it short round the ankles, Bill, and perhaps a veggie diet is advisable, Old Boot...". Well, yes, I have been a little confused, but that false red mist is slowly clearing. I now realize what has been bothering me, and I will argue it the best that I can. Much of this has to do with differences in attitudes, by national populations, towards their respective governments. These cogent differences seem particularly and noticeably different between Americans and Europeans. I find some American attitudes to their respective governments both odd and peculiar, I have to admit, but - since I am a European - I ask any Americans to please read on, so that perhaps you can obtain some sort of understanding in the way that Europeans regard their own national governments, politics and economic situations. First of all - and by far and away the hugest difference - is that Europeans do not - in any way, shape or form - associate their patriotism or their trust with their national governments. They associate their support first and foremost with family, then their town, then region and then their country. I will not argue this point heavily as it is so self-evident. By example, throughout their history Europeans have always expressed their patriotism towards their Motherland, Fatherland or just plain Country. Americans tend to shy away from such descriptions of their own patriotism, since using Motherland or Fatherland would politically assume or imply extreme Left Wing(Communist) or Right Wing(Hitler) tendencies respectively. American patriotism, however, seems so closely to be associated with their governments - despite their governments recent financial calamities and even despite the US government blatantly and treacherously siding with Wall Street against Mainstreet in the recent farce of the bailout packages. This is all plain and obvious for anyone to see. Europeans would simply not tolerate this sort of government - which is why they have already been rioting so freely in Iceland, Hungary, Lithuania, Greece, Latvia and the Ukraine at the moment. It seems to me that the respectable tenet of " ...National Governments must always act for the benefit of their people" has been lost and buried conveniently away and removed from much of modern American politics, and the US government's growing and steady affiliations to the dark, greedy and predatory forces of Finanacial Capitalism seems so glaringly obvious to me, and much to the detriment to the lifestyle of the ordinary American citizen. But still - judging by their constant non-action and even their continued right-wing support - after all, Bush wasn't just elected once, but twice !! - the greater part of the US population seems to actually trust their governments. And this I put down to a certain blind political patriotism, since it is apparently so inconceivable that their governments could actually work against the simple and honest interests of the ordinary American citizen. And to this extent - The US Constitution - a truly wonderful and well thought-out, timeless document, has been quietly - it seems to me - screwed up and stuffed deep into the trash bin and forgotten. So that all the protection that this declaration has afforded its people in the past, no longer applies to the ordinary US citizen and has been forfeited to others such as the influential lobbyist vultures - the greater part of these concerned only with their own financial self-interests and money-making and who are not patriots at all - but who now influence and secretly reward members of the Senate and Congress for their allegiances. Quite plainly - this now works completely against the interests of the US citizen. To view this political practice as "normal and fair" seems very odd and peculiar to me, since this style of invisible lobbying within the US government freely perpetuates rampant graft and corruption, making a complete mockery of "checks, balances, and oversight". No doubt some Americans who are reading this will conveniently label and dismiss me as a Liberal, Progressive, Socialist, Commie or even a Libertarian. Nothing of the sort really, I argue from what I can see is happening economically and geopolitically. And, believe me, my views are just as scathing about my own country's politics(which are currently socialist). Some Americans seem to argue like this, as if referring to someone as a Liberal or Socialist is enough to successfully damn his opponent's economic opinions to hellfire, and to instill that same brand of paranoid group fear that Bush Jnr was so good at raising up - with his "WMA" and "War against Terrorism" propaganda philosophies in Iraq. But Americans trust their governments don't they, never questioning? To a European this is amusing and, although we welcome discussion and differences, labeling someone to instill group fear is seen as illogical and unnecessary - particularly when arguing economics, which is a pure science and therefore nothing like politics which is not a pure science - dirty at best. If I can move on, another area of misunderstanding seems to be how Europeans express their arguments - decidedly different from Americans. Americans seem to argue in a very straight, honest and apparently inoffensive way(..unless, of course, you are Bill O'Reilly from Fox News, something not quite right in his genes, I think...). Europeans, and especially the English, are used to arguing with heavy use of sarcasm and cynicism, as this is used to both express their frustrations as well as emphasizing their own individual arguments much in the same way as metaphors. The UK has a rich history of political lampooning, which stretches way back in time, almost to the start of the printing press. But I've made some real boo-boos here. I remember one American who commented on one of my own comments(sarcastic), and he missed the sarcasm and took my statements too literally. That was my fault, since I assumed he would understand the gist and I was very wrong. Also in my discussions with other Americans, there is this continual wish and hope that there will be a return to the old status quo - this is only a teensy boom-and-bust cycle after all(sarcasm), that we will be able to return and continue with the normal pre-Bailout lifestyle soon, and that all these small problems(sarcasm, frustration, emphasizing) such as the World Financial Crisis, the massive US Fiscal Deficit, the weak and volatile Dollar, Climate Change impacts, Peak Oil, World Overpopulation, Food Shortages, Water shortages, Wars brewing in the Middle-East, China, Russia etc. will all just disappear of themselves in a quiet puff of smoke, that all these vast problems are surely only temporary and soon will be no more. I applaud the optimism, but this just leaves reality in bed, asleep and snoring loudly doesn't it? Most Americans seem to expect both their government and the rest of the world to automatically achieve what seems to me to be the impossible and save them, full stop. I'm not trying to scare anybody here, but don't you think this train of thought and belief is a wee bit fuzzy and just a tad thin on logic? Definition: Blagging: Informal conversation in a public place, often deceitful. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Cite This Source