How the world views the US and Americans?

I suspect there may be some schadenfreude in some corners of the world. And why not? For the very reasons you suggest, au. Little Mr. Cowboy Sheriff is looking too small for his boots these days, and more than a little squirmy.

Bring 'em on, eh, George?

Well... I heard an interesting quote the other day.

"Americans are so benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well informed about the United States.". -- J. Bartlet Brebner. ...

As a Canadian, I see how your (government) policies affect us and I don't like a lot of what I've seen done or heard. The citizens, however, are only at fault for voting. And when you vote, you rarely take foreign policy into account.
Precisely because your government in the biggest guy on the block, I feel the average voter should investigate and understand how your leader and/or system will be seen on the world stage.
But this has never been an issue, on the cable channels at night, where the talking heads discuss elections ect.
Too frequently, in the past two years, Bush has acted as the fool and a bully. Silly pandering to an overly patriotic mindset, scary international policies, unfounded WMD claims, undermining the UN and a floundering economy which directly influences the world market have done nothing to win support.

However, I think its foolish to say that the average joe is any different in the US than any Western Democracy. He still worries about his career, family, the bills, taxes, health care, education and crime the same as you or me. So while I have major concerns with your political emmisaries and there insular thinking, I hold no qualms against its people.

Thanks,
Ceili

I communicate with friends from around the world, and most countries are not angered at Americans as much as they are about GWBush. Some are even angry at their own government for committing their country to the US war against Iraq. c.i.

in world war 2 they used to say of Americans soldiers that they were 'Overpaid, oversexed and over here'!! :wink:

Vivien, You should see all the children produced by American G.I.'s during the Viet Nam war. c.i.

Many countries view the US by the rifling in the barrel of a gun.
Would American foreign policy really help anyone to smile,
when we just "make them dance"?

Meet the New West, same as the Old West.

A must-read by all Americans: Rogue Nation
A must-read for all Americans.
-----BumbleBeeBoogie

Rogue Nation: American Unilateralism and the Failure of Good Intentions
by Clyde Prestowitz, the president of the Economic Strategy Institute in Washington, D.C. His previous book is Trading Places (Basic Books, 1989). He lives in Potomac, Maryland.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0465062792/qid=1058200972/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-6856153-3345537?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Editorial Reviews - From Publishers Weekly:

As the worldwide outpouring of post-9/11 sympathy for America has given way to worldwide anti-American protests, Americans are asking why the world hates us. This nuanced but unsparing book gives a bill of particulars. American high-handedness has exacerbated tensions in hot spots from the West Bank to the Korean peninsula.

American unilateralism has sabotaged a host of international agreements on such issues as land mines, biological weapons and the International Criminal Court. America preaches free trade while protecting its steel, textiles and agriculture from foreign competition. America, Atkins argues, runs a wasteful, SUV-centered economy while it rejects treaties on the environment and global warming.

America's self-proclaimed role as champion of democracy flies in the face of its history of installing and supporting dictators in countries from Indonesia to Iraq. Most of all, Atkins says, the world fears America's overwhelming military might, now ominously paired with a doctrine of "preempting" the emergence of rival powers.

These problems have been much discussed of late, but Prestowitz, author of Trading Places, pulls them together into a comprehensive and historically informed survey of contemporary U. S. foreign relations. Although he forthrightly calls the United States an imperial power, Prestowitz, a former Reagan Administration trade official, is by no means anti-American. He insists that America's intentions are usually good, and that the world likes and admires Americans when they live up to their own ideals.

Still, his is a damning portrait of the United States as seen through the angry, bewildered eyes of foreigners: selfish, erratic, hypocritical, muscle-bound and a bad citizen of the world.

Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description: Has America turned its back on the world?

The term "rogue nation," formerly reserved for outlaw countries, is increasingly applied to the United States-not only by enemies but by people and nations who have been steadfast friends. The litany is familiar to anyone who has ever read an op-ed page.

In the six months before 9/11, the United States walked away from a treaty to control the world traffic in small arms, the Kyoto accord, a treaty to eliminate land mines, the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention, and many other international agreements. After a brief flurry of coalition-building following the attack, the United States turned a cold shoulder to NATO's offers to assist with the invasion of Afghanistan, unilaterally terminated the Anti-Ballistic Missile Agreement with Russia, and actively opposed the creation of an International Criminal Court. Then came the war on Iraq, begun despite the clear refusal of the United Nations Security Council to authorize an invasion.

Unilateralism is as American as apple pie, and in Clyde Prestowitz's view, these actions do not signal a new U.S. hostility toward the rest of the world. On the contrary, our democratic ideals remain the hope of the world-but our allies increasingly see us as abandoning those ideals.

Where we once defined our national self-interest in terms the whole world could embrace-favoring strong global institutions, due process, and the rule of law-we now seem to be thinking more narrowly in terms of our immediate military and economic security. Where we once supported international alliances such as NATO and the United Nations, we now deem those institutions irrelevant or even a hinderance. Where we once contained our foes, we now launch preventive attacks on potential threats. More and more, we act alone, with little regard for, or even awareness of, the needs and goals of other nations.

Rogue Nation is not an argument against American dominance or the exercise of American power. It's an argument against stupidity, arrogance and ignorance in the exercise of power.

Prestowitz explores the historical roots of the unilateral impulse and shows how it now influences every important area of American foreign policy: trade and economic policy, arms control, energy, environment, agriculture. In every area, he argues, a multilateral approach, consistent with our humane and liberal core values, is also in our long-term best interests.