David Brooks latest tour de force finds the link between the ethereal Anti-Americanism of the European elite, and the bloody Anti-Americanism of fundamentalist Islam.
They look at us uncomprehendingly when our leaders declare a global assault on terror and evil. They see us as a mindless Rambo, a Mike Tyson with rippling muscles and no brain. Where the Islamists see us as a decadent slut, the European etherealists see us as a gun-slinging cowboy. The Islamists think we are too spoiled and comfortable, the Europeans think we are too violent and impulsive. Each side's view of us is a mix of Hollywood images (Marilyn Monroe for the Islamists, John Wayne for the Europeans), mass-media distortions, envy-driven stereotypes, and self-justifying delusions. But each side's vision springs from a deeper bourgeoisophobia--the prejudice that people who succeed in worldly affairs must be morally and intellectually backward. This article of faith governs the way even many sophisticated Europeans and Muslims react to us.
While Brooks' piece suffers as usual from his penchant for glib oversimplification, he's hit upon something important here. As much as our pop culture can be vapid, our domestic policy short-sighted, and our global outlook simplistic, this country provides a much needed life-affirming bulwark against the world's cynics and would-be martyrs.
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