Why Do Europeans Hate America? Jean-Francois Revel Explains

Crosswalk ^ | November 11, 2003 | Albert Mohler

[archy]

One very intelligent Frenchman
(there are two or three)

Military leader and theorist and sometime French spook Roger Trinquier and author Jean Larteguy come to mind. Might even be able to think of 5 or so if pressed.

And I think I'd count the late Antoine de Saint-Exupery....

-archy-/-

[mrustow]

What I find ironic is that these same leftest intellectuals who detest America seem to always want the good things that come from our shores. The computers and Internet they use to spread their claptrap is the direct product of the US space and military programs.

1. They ain't the brightest lights; and 2. They expect such "luxuries" to be limited to their cadres, while "the little people" are taught why they must make sacrifices.

[RightWingAtheist]

Albert Camus, Raymond Aron, Francois Furet...

[Riemann]

I propose that we refer to Europeans, left wing ones, at least, as "Overseas Democrats", or in Freeper terms, "Overseas DemoRATS".

[Mr.Atos]

I'll definitely second the Saint-Exupery nomination... always one of my favorites. Good addition.

If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.

[Mr.Atos]

...Victor Hugo, Fredric Bastiat.

[Billthedrill]

I read How Democracies Perish when it was new, and was very impressed by this gentleman's grasp of the issues at hand, that played out in the succeeding couple of years in a way that neither he nor Hayek nor Hook nor any of the other luminaries addressing them could have hoped. We won that one and the French academy disdained to notice.

The latter tend to be a brittle bunch, if my acquaintance with a small handful of its members is any decent sample, ao addicted to a specific theoretical approach to how societies operate that contraindicative evidence is trivialized, twisted, or simply dismissed. They who deride arrogance and inflexibility in us uncultured rubes are, in fact, the most arrogant and inflexible of minds. Well, the ones I met were young and hopefully will learn better, if they believe their eyes and not their prejudices. At least I hope so. Someone who can never be wrong is exceedingly unlikely, in my experience, to ever be right.

[PFKEY]

"What we end up with in what is conventionally called Western society is a topsy-turvy situation in which those seeking to destroy democracy appear to be fighting for legitimate aims, while its defenders are pictured as repressive reactionaries."

So it goes. Just watch the evening news on any of the alpahbet networks and you too can see the topsy-turvy rationale of the Left.

Great post, thanks!

[archy]

Albert Camus, Raymond Aron, Francois Furet...

d'accord! Though they're outside my own areas of stuidy or expertise.

[archy]

And BTW please add me.

Now, in addition to Santa Claus' list of good girls and boys, you are on the CWII ping list.

-archy-/-

[DJtex]

Revel wrote a beautiful and brilliant analysis of the USA that explained how we were unique in the developed world to have built our society Without Marx or Jesus--with freedom of economy and freedom of religion. I so admire this man and have hope for Europe, even France, since there is a core of common sense over there.

[MHT]

Thank you for posting. He mentions two demonic regimes within 30 years-Hitler and Stalin? Hitler and the Kaiser? Looks like there are a few to pick from.

Also, Europeans are wasting their time hating America while, once again, they should be looking at the troubles in their own yards. The influx and coming influence of Muslims on their perfect little world is something that cannot be forestalled much longer. Some parts of France are 30% Muslim and no doubt about it, there is a major movement to make the UK an Islamic state. The sequel to this book should be "While Europe Slept".

[GeorgiaYankee]

bookmark

[Brian Allen]

<< Maybe we bathe too often for them. >>

There's that.

And envy.

The only one of the Seven Deadlies without an upside.

And whose Absolutely-guaranteed consequense is the projecting and distorting lens of hatred and rage though which the denizens of all of the world's squalid s...hole states feel -- none of them "think" -- they "see" US.

[nutmeg]

read later bump

[Conservative4Ever]

Maybe we bathe too often for them.

LOLOL...Damn...you beat me too it. Freepers are just way to sharp. My second guess would be..we can produce just as good wines as they can.

[WaterDragon]

It is very much worth it to read Revel's Anti-Americanism. He's no 'deconstructionist.' He writes like Thomas Sowell -- very simply and clearly but with devastating force. Only very, very intelligent, skillful writers write this way.

I have read that when Revel's book Without Marx or Jesus came out, the intellectual elites in France and the U.S. didn't like it, gave it bad marks. But what is interesting, especially for France, is that it became very popular in both countries. It may be that the common people of France would like to hear more of reality and less of the socialists' fantasies.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

European and other Transnational Progressives hate us because We're the biggest roadblock in the way to establishment of the international transnational system they want to establish. We're the only ones who have been standing up and saying "No", and unfortunately we're strong enough and influential enough so that our "No" carries what they think of as undue, disproportionate and undeserving weight. They refer to us as a "rogue nation" and "the world's greatest terrorist" and "the biggest threat to the world" because from their point of view we actually are.

The Democratic wing of the Democratic Party is the Transnational Progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

[tjwmason]

>>>>>Professor Revel is brilliant. What he failed to ask is the following question, "What will happen the next time Europe hosts a war and the United States of America refuses the invitation."

PS
My remarks are not directed at the United Kingdom. <<<<<

The point is quite simple, when American goes to fight for what is right, we [the British] stand alongside you; then when we go to fight for what is right, America stands alongside us. Meantimes, Europe moans about the U.N. and cuts its defence budgets even more.

It is good to see that Freepers realise what seems to have bypassed our leftist political masters, that the U.K. is not European.