Ever since the United States’ invasion of Iraq, a certain segment of the population, specifically liberals and left of center individuals have pointed to poll after poll, stating that anti-Americanism is on the rise or at all time highs. Some have gone as far to suggest that international travel could be perilously for US citizens. I think that this line of thinking oversimplifies international relationships.
I have traveled to several countries after 9-11 and the Iraq invasion and must say that I am either blatantly oblivious, which I doubt, or this anti-Americanism where I must feel threaten has not materialized … at least in the countries that I have visited, which included North America, South America, Europe, and Africa. As an aside, I did not masquerade as a Canadian, nor did I wave the US flag at every opportunity. Bottom line, when asked where I am from, I proudly said the US without sounding boastful.
Conversely, I am not naive enough to believe that a lot of countries and their citizens are unhappy with us, primarily because of our Iraq policy. I give people in other countries much more credit than some alarmists. People in other countries can understand the difference between a government policy and its people. Perhaps, people in other countries are more tolerant of different views and ideas than we are here, while they disagree with us, they are not going to spit in our face.
The four continents that I have visited since 9-11 and Iraq, I must say that everyone has been courteous and friendly. But I always try to comport myself in a non-arrogant way, remembering that I am a visitor. I am also respectful of local customs to the extent that I understand them and make a serious effort to speak and understand the language. I remember being in Portugal in 2006 and receiving compliments on my Portuguese. My Portuguese is terrible, but I tried, and didn’t just assume that everyone would speak English, which most people did.
So, maybe how we conduct ourselves abroad has much more to do with how others perceive us than our foreign policy.
