Example Of Research Paper On Why Is America Hated So Much In The Rest Of The World?

English

“Many of the people who are most considered anti-American would love to partake of the American dream: the unspoken slogan of many protesters outside U.S. embassies abroad is really: “Yankee go home, but take me with you.” These words of Shashi Tharoor depict the current situation in the world. It is believed that the USA is both worshiped and hated in the rest of the world. According to a public-opinion poll, an opinion about Americans of people who live abroad has been steadily aggravated during the last five years. What are the reasons for this habit and repute? In this essay, the possible causes and motives shall be looked through by means of investigating the different viewpoints of both the supporters of the USA and of their opponents. The research will be held in this manner in order to create a fuller picture of the current situation in the world.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA

  Before the analysis of the inner roots of the anti-Americanism, it should be said about the reason for its existence, i.e. “Americanism”, which came into existence at the same time with the emergence of the United States. Americanism is the idea that America must get rid of the Old World from that filth in which it is caught. The authors of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were keen of Messianizm; they saw themselves as deliverers of humankind from evil and vices. They wanted to build an American society that was based entirely on Christian morality and love of neighbor, and then to export this political model to Europe. Their will can be expressed with a phrase “Our destiny is to serve as a barrier against the return of stagnation and barbarism. Old Europe can rely on us in the struggle against the domination of kings and clerics”, if to paraphrase the basis of the Declaration of Independence (Whitfield 229). It can be stated without exaggeration that at the time of their birth, the USA were pro-American and roughly anti-European, because the whole of Europe consisted of large and small feudal states at that time. Moreover, there is nothing surprising that European diplomats began to call America a “dangerous nation” at the very beginning of the 19th century. This representation is still preserved by many Europeans.
Basically, the intelligent anti-Americanism has emerged as the antithesis of ideology, calling itself Americanism. It was the same as anti-communism emerged as the negation of communism. Obviously, there is a considerable number of anti-American in the USA too, especially among intellectuals (Whitfield 240). Conversely, there are many people among the Europeans (e.g. Thomas Mann), who believe that the world should be Americanized in a certain way in order to avoid future threats of dictatorships and wars. Thomas Mann came to this conclusion after the collapse of the Third Reich.
Anti-Americanism did not appear yesterday. In 1899, Pope Leo XIII issued an encyclical “Testem benevolentiae”, which was directed against the pernicious doctrine of Americanism. The principles underlying the Declaration of Independence were declared as false in the papal appeal, and, above all, the fact that only through freedom a person can come to comprehend the truth. So it should seem right, but what was wrong? However, the Pope saw a frontal attack on dogmatism and the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church in the Declaration of Independence. It is a well-known fact that the Declaration of Independence was created by Protestants, but there was not a single word directed against the Catholic Church. It is thus, there is talk about freedom of religion, which, in fact, led to a sharp rebuke to the Pope. The basic principles were firstly developed in America, which later formed the basis of the constitutions of all civilized countries. These principles are the inviolability of human dignity, equality before the law, regardless of the rights and responsibilities because of a skin color, nationality, gender, physical, educational and social status. This also includes an unconditional acceptance and respect of different life settings, free exercise of any religion, as well as the inalienable right to the disclosure of the properties of the human person. Today, all of these provisions seem self-evident, but it was not always. Even today, the recognition and implementation of these provisions is a matter of a very distant future in many countries.

MODERN CAUSES OF HATRED

The group of experts in Washington tried to identify the causes of the growing unpopularity of the US in Europe. Pew Research Center conducted a study to determine what kind of perception of the United States exists nowadays. The data of this work revealed that the attitude towards America since the beginning of the century was sharply deteriorated. During the meeting in Washington, the American experts have tried to get to the roots of the anti-American sentiment. Pew Director Andrew Kohut believes that Europeans perceive the USA as a strong country that is concentrated only on its problems and does not respect another countries: “The United States always act without regard to anyone, and this was partly due to anti-Americanism in the world” (KOHUT 69).
However, there is a number of other reasons. The fact that the US is acting from a position of strength, is the basis of differences between Europeans and Americans. Researchers have noted a significant difference between the attitude of Americans and Europeans to use of military force. When the question “Is it worth it to go to war for the sake of establishing justice?” was asked, 78% of Americans answered “yes”, while 64% of Europeans said “no” (KOHUT 71). Many Europeans do not accept the methods that are used by the USA in order to enforce that progress. However, they recognize the overall outstanding service in the development of America’s global progress both material and spiritual, and political.
It is also believed that Europeans perceive the use of American force as the US desire to solve any problem without settling with other countries. Europeans believe that the US is waging a war on terror in order to establish its control over the world. Anti-Americanism in Europe is growing in “waves”. In the 80s of the last century, Europe criticized Ronald Reagan, but in the 60's -70's, during the Vietnam War, they vilified US Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon (Fred Alford 205). Today, the US military situation is pilled with hatred in the Russian Federation. US aid to Ukraine is regarded as an attempt to return to the Cold War period.
However, it is believed that modern anti-Americanism oversteps the limits of political problems. Moreover, it happens because of the growing differences in fundamental values. There is a huge gap between the Americans and the Europeans. Americans are individualists; they actively resist any restriction of personal freedom than Europeans do. The last explosion of negative feelings toward America was linked to demographic changes. A new generation of Europeans no longer remembers that the United States is a country that brought freedom. The researchers claim that a whole generation of young people around the world, and especially in Europe, were brought up in the photos from the prisons of Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, and it is not so easy to fix (Fred Alford 207).

THE INNER PROBLEM

The American public organization Southern Poverty Law Center monitors manifestations of hatred in society and keeps track of extremist “patriotic” groups. According to statistics, their number has increased almost 10 times in recent years - from 149 in 2008 to 1360 in 2012. Of course, there is no ideal nations and states (Whitfield 231). The USA is not an exception. The USA and its people have a lot of positive characteristic and many negative traits. Naturally, each person in this world can produce their own perception of the US; they select those features that are no longer impressed by their worldview. However, people should not forget that the US did not only give the world the Declaration of Independence and, accordingly, the political situation, which is considered the alpha and omega of modern democracy, but nowadays, it also provides sanctuary to millions of refugees from dictatorial regimes.

Conclusion

In conclusion it should be noted that despite the fact that the United States is perceived as the autocratic power everywhere in the world, the Americans do not want to be the world’s “policeman”. The experts cite polls that Americans welcome the greater involvement of Europe in international affairs: “If you listen to Americans talk about global leadership in Europe, you begin to understand that this idea is strongly supported by them” (Fred Alford 206).
According to experts, the world’s attitude toward America ranges historically from extremely aggressive to indifferent. Nevertheless, despite the ebb and flow, the transatlantic allies throughout history have successfully retained their unique relationship. The United States is a country of contrasts. It is impossible to say with certainty that there is a clear hatred of the United States throughout the world. Political and ideological differences are present in all countries, and it is not appropriate to base an opinion on an existing template because the world situation is changing every second.
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Works cited

Fred Alford, C. "Voting Against One's Interests: The Hatred Of Big Government." Psychoanalysis,
Culture & Society 19.2 (2014): 203-208.
KOHUT, ANDREW, and RICHARD WIKE. "Positive Aspects Of US Image." Harvard
International Review30.4 (2009): 68-72.
Yanay, Niza. "Understanding Collective Hatred." Analyses Of Social Issues & Public Policy 2.1
(2002): 53-60.
Whitfield, Stephen J. "The Theme Of Indivisibility In The Post-War Struggle Against Prejudice
In The United States." Patterns Of Prejudice 48.3 (2014): 223-247.