This poll by the Pew Research Center has gotten amazingly little play, both in the news and the blogosphere.
Pew asked 38,000 people in
44 countries (speaking 63 languages and dialects) what they think of
America. And the numbers aren’t encouraging, or all that surprising:
Nineteen countries with data available for comparison
showed antipathy to the US on the rise, and goodwill draining away.
Favourable ratings in western Europe, pretty consistently, were down
five or six percentage points over the last three years. That turned to
22 points in Turkey and 13 points in Pakistan. Just 6% of the Egyptian
public has a favourable view of the United States.
Is the spread of American ideas good or bad? Here in Britain, 50% say
bad. But this soars to 67% in Germany, 68% in Russia, 71% in France –
and rampant hostility the moment you get near the Middle East. Try
Turkey at 78%, Pakistan at 81% and Egypt at 84%.
Does the US “consider others: not much/not at all?” Fifty-two per cent
in Britain sign up on this line. But that’s 73% in Canada, 73% in South
Korea, 74% in Japan, 76% in France.
Do you reckon American policy towards Saddam is driven by getting its
hands on Baghdad’s oil? Forty-four per cent of Brits agree; 54% of
Germans; 75% of French. Would you let the US use your bases to attack
Iraq? Eighty-three per cent of Turks say no.
But maybe the most chilling question of the lot was reserved for Muslim
respondents only. Did they approve of suicide bombing in defence of
Islam? Seventy-three per cent in Lebanon said yes. Well, they would,
wouldn’t they? But what about the 43% in Jordan, the 44% in Bangladesh,
the 47% in Nigeria, the 33% in Pakistan? And in Indonesia (including
Bali)? Twenty-seven per cent said yes. Those are hundreds upon hundreds
of millions of people with a totally different take on what constitutes
terror. This is alienation on the grandest scale.
Well, it’s a little obvious we’re expereincing technical difficulties.
And we have a deep abiding sense of self. But if everybody’s telling us
we’re drunk with power, maybe it’s time to lie down.
Your moral relativism nauseates me. You are a traitor, on the level of
Hanoi Jane. Move to France, you stupid piece of shit.
Laughing at you:
A true American has the foresight to realize that America’s current path leads to eventual destruction. All the great empires have fallen: Rome, Greece, The Ottoman, Spain (used to be the number one world power), Britain (used to be the number one world power). The consistant trait in all of these countries is that they all developed a highly militaristic ideology and began taking over other countries. I believe that the eventual fall of America as the prime world power is inevitable, however we can remain at the top longer if we gain the support, not the contempt, of the world.
laughing at you:
My friend Glenn is not stupid!
On the other hand:
And we have a deep abiding sense of self. But if everybody’s telling us
we’re drunk with power, maybe it’s time to lie down.
When the Soviet Union was a world power, they were a threat. Everyone want us to around to keep them in check. Now that Russia is no longer the threat they used to be, everyone sees US as the threat. So the way we get everyone to love us again is to do what THEY want us to do. Ohhh! Now I get it.
You’ve got it switched around: Countries with highly militaristic ideologies became great empires. What country has there ever been that became a great empire by doing exactly what the other countries told it to? Just think a little bit more, that’s all I ask.