This Washington Post article
highlights some of the more extreme responses - both from the racist
New Right that always threaten to creep right into the centre and take
hold of the heart of European politics - and from the anti-Zionist left
that never miss an opportunity to fire on anyone deemed not
sufficiently stern towards Israel.
The reality is that the vast
majority of Europeans love Obama. Never before, not even with Kennedy
or Clinton, has an American choice of president been this popular.
Never has Europe been this susceptible to Americanism and the Cult of
Presidency. For good and bad. But racism is real. It is felt by anyone
that does not belong to the majority of the population in any European
country. Racism is only a minor problem, when you are not exposed to it.
What
USA did in November 2008 is mind-blowing: Minds are blowing up all over
the world. I dare say few are aware of the seismic impact of
"Obamania", one that will send shock waves through politics, through
business management and through cultural movements all over the world.
A few days before the election I spoke to a businessman. He said:
"It's no longer the White House. It's going to be the Black House."
This
guy is not particularly racist. He employs people of all backgrounds,
also Arabs and even Muslims. He is just very representative for the
kind of low-brow, non-aggressive everyday disdain for other races and
cultures that characterize large segments of the Caucasian population.
USA
was ready for change, but to be honest: Europe is not. Large parts of
Europe only want cosmetic changes. We want to be able to maintain our
sanctimonious attitude of knowing better, having higher moral
standards, under the protection of USA's mighty military power. We
don't like wars that unnecessarily disrupts the equilibrium we try to
establish with other world powers.
And essentially a lot of
Europeans would have preferred that a white Democrat had shut down
Guantanamo and promised to steer the world back to the path of peace
and negotiations. Obama - his mere presence at the centre of the world
stage pokes our guilty conscience.
Make no mistake: Most
Europeans are happy, and many even overjoyed. But I also get too look
at a lot of angry faces with cramped up smiles on TV, stating that they
respect Obama, but that McCain would have been a really nice choice
too. And I know these politicians and what they stand for; I know what
they are really saying in code to their constituencies, about Iraq,
about the Muslims, about the skin colour of Obama.
USA took Europe by surprise. We were invited to be a part of the
change, and with the co-dependency of the two power blocks, we really
have no choice. I find that strangely uplifting, come what may.
It
will be tough for us, as tough as it will be for USA to admit its
dedication to imperialist policies around the world, a historical
lesson most Europeans have already accepted and internalized. It will
be tough, because Europe has never really dealt with the issue of
co-existence in a multi-racial and multi-cultural society. We are light
years behind USA in that regard, left to marvel at the speeches of
Martin Luther King, reminiscing on a past that is not ours.
USA chose change. Now Europe must follow suit. Well done, America.
-Spencer
