Shut up, Europe

The British are coming! Unfortunately, this phrase is just as true today as it was when it was first coined during the Revolutionary War. This time, instead of sending soldiers, the British are sending letters which may prove to be just as harmful. \nWhy is a British newspaper encouraging its readers to write letters to voters in Clark County, Ohio? The answer is to encourage them to vote for Sen. John Kerry. One need only look at the newspaper and other sources of opinion throughout Europe to know that some parts of the world have an axe to grind against Bush and America's efforts to defend itself. Europe is trying to influence the U.S. election -- and it shouldn't be.\nGuardian Unlimited is encouraging its readers to send letters to Clark County, Ohio on the basis that whoever is elected Nov. 2 will influence the direction of Britain. On this point, I agree with them. It states it wants to influence voters and are barred from doing so by U.S. election laws. On this point I also agree with it. What I do not agree with is its statement that it is unbiased in WHO it wants elected.\nIn the now infamous article encouraging the letter writing, it also tells voters how to give money in an effort to skirt U.S. election laws. For example, it suggests giving money to a "non-partisan" group like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Give me a break! The NAACP is probably the most partisan group there is. It has all but outright endorsed every liberal Democrat running for office, including Kerry.\nOther articles in The Guardian, Guardian Unlimited's newspaper, show exactly what kind of publication it is. It has an ad for a documentary titled "The Power of Nightmares," which claims that al Qaeda is only an illusion. It has an article titled "How Bush's Grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power;" another titled "My fellow non-Americans," which details what foreign citizens can do to defeat Bush, and "It's about the Middle East, stupid," which encourages America to drop its support of Israel. Need I go on?\nThis is in fact part of a larger effort to not only defeat the president, but curtail American power in the world. Bashing America is now the popular thing to do in Europe. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Gerhard Schröder largely owe their electoral victories to a platform of anti-American ideas and sentiment. They worked to curtail U.S. influence at the United Nations and it has worked so far. In the case of Iraq, Europe let the business interests of a few override the security concerns of many. The people of Europe are free to hold any beliefs they wish, but they are not permitted to tell us how to think.\nI have been to Europe, and it is a lovely place. However, it is extremely apathetic and in denial about the problems facing the world. How can people fight terrorism when they deny that terrorists exist? The majority of the Sept. 11 hijackers came from a terror cell in Germany, some of their members were educated in Britain, and the hijackers went all over Europe for various planning meetings. It is a dangerous form of denial for Europeans to think they don't have a terror problem.\nThe issue of European influence in American elections and political posturing boils down to one thing: jealousy. Europe simply does not have the influence and authority over world affairs that it did 150 years ago. Most of that power now resides within the United States. Zapatero, Schröder and Jacques Chirac have all been positioning themselves to gain greater influence in world affairs. The current posturing in the U.N. General Assembly, the ideological establishment of the International Criminal Court, political instability in NATO and efforts to mobilize the EU into a military power are all steps taken in recent years by those who are jealous of America and want to curtail our authority around the world. Are these the people you want telling you how to vote?