Vacation Report (Europe's Retort)

Well, I had planned on sitting out a blogger's vacation for as long as President Bush stayed in Crawford, Texas but, alas, I must desist and admit him as the winner of this contest. I have been away to Europe on business (Madrid and London) and am now about to re-embark for London.

On this last trip to Europe, I had occasion to have several conversations with thoughtful individuals, ranging from a journalist to a baker of bread, on their attitudes regarding these United States of America. First of all, let me be perhaps the first to report to you that we are no longer considered to be "The Leader of the Free World." To wit: The other free nations of the world no longer look to us for protection and guidance; in point of fact, they are, in this Bush era, prone to the opposite course.

And why shouldn't they have had this epiphany of disillusionment? They see an America which disregards their collective wisdom at every turn, be it what to do about Iraq or global warming, or any of a number of common issues. They see an America that, by nearly every yardstick (or meterstick) is inferior to them -- be it the achievement levels of high school graduates, our national debt spiraling out of control, ever-larger U.S. trade deficits of gargantuan proportions, violent crime, homelessness, and disease levels several multiplications higher than what they have, or other things that could be listed. (Plus, I have to mention, they're starting to chortle about how we're bogged down in Iraq, after the Bushies bragged in advance about how easy it would be.)

Compounding this to the extreme, especially for those who travel here or have verbal contact with Americans, is the almost surrealistically misplaced arrogance of many of our citizens, who insist on trumpeting the belief that the U.S. is the greatest country in the world. The common reply to this statement in Europe, Canada, Australia and around a globe we once bestraddled with our military, financial and, yes, moral might, has become, "Based on what?"