LuS1fer said:
I think you're labouring under a misapprehension that Europeans want to live in America. A lot do but they also like line-dancing and wearing cowboy hats. I love the cars but I'd rather live in France or Spain. It's true to say that a lot of people fled to America to escape oppression in Europe but that was a long long time ago. Illegal immigrants flock to the US because (a) it's nearest and (b) they live in poverty. To be honest, there are just as many people fleeing to the UK in terms of illegal immigrants (from former Communist countries) because eventually this Government will give them a house and free benefits. Personally, whilst I defend this country's achievements which still rank with the best, I have long since lost the will or desire to actually live here. Sad but true. I have lost faith in this country just as we have lost the point of your argument which has long since passed me by (probably in one of those Boeings...)
I would like to point out that many Europeans in fact want to move to the United States. I won't speak for our friends in the UK, but it isn't uncommon for German and Italian women to marry American soldiers for the sake of moving to the United States. So certainly there is a population that wants to move to the US, and none of which like line dancing or wearing Cowboy hats. Which you aren't denying, but the line-dancing thing bothered me a bit.
Similarly, there is still undoubtably a European infatuation with US pop culture, specifically music and clothing styles. I'm an American who has done significant travelling through Europe (hell I live here in Europe) and everything from radio stations to clubs, for example, play 80% American music. Nor do you have to walk very far through most European cities to notice how many people where blue jeans, as another example. I think there is still a perception that America holds something more exciting for Europeans, generally speaking of course. Maybe not in terms of religious freedom or all the things that drove Europeans here during the 1600s and 1700s, but more exciting in terms of less tangible things like pop culture, materialism, entertainment, etc.
I come from California, my state is arguably one of the most racially diverse places in the world, and there are plenty of immigrants that come from all corners of the world there. It is our neighbors to the south (Mexico) that get most of that attention, because of the illegal immigrant problem. For instance, where I grew up there were sizable populations from Southeast Asia (Cambodians, Hmongs, Vietnamese), Indians, Assyrians, and of course Hispanics from Latin countries other than Mexico like Argentina or Colombia. None of which are anywhere near the United States.
The only other places where I've seen any substatial diversity are places like Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Perhaps London, but I haven't been there yet. Either way living in an area of California where the decendants of Europeans make up less than 50% of the population gives you a perspective of what real diversity is, and I just haven't seen that here in Europe.
Anyway, it is my opinion that many Europeans don't like to acknowledge the influence and the reliance they have placed upon the United States for nearly the last century (most notably from 1941 to 1991), but even afterwards when one considers conflicts like Bosnia and Kosovo. Europeans especially don't like to acknowledge the contributions of the US now that the Cold War has been over for 15 years, and especially in light of the last 6 years of the current Presidential administration. However, it is also that very same reliance that makes many American's cocky about our position as a world super power. Which is why we get internet arguments like the one we just had.
The fact is that the United States and Europe both belong to the same basic civilization known commonly as "The West." The problem is that we are two sides of the same coin with significantly different outlooks on the world around us.
Now we are way off topic, but I felt like sharing.