When I was younger, I would constantly wonder why my mother cared so much about what was going on in the neighborhood families’ lives. Did the Martins finally repave their driveway? That new door down the street looks hideous! I couldn’t understand, I didn’t care.
If we’re talking about me not having to pretend I care about my neighbor’s newest additions to her flower garden or make small talk about how fast her kids are growing up, I’m on board with this isolated foreign policy. Her kids aren’t that cute.
But when we’re talking the sphere of the world that has become so interconnected in the last hundred years that isolation is impossible, it becomes difficult to not understand other countries’ worries about the current state of the United States.
Julia Barbuscio, a junior studying history and economics at the University of Pittsburgh, said she has noticed more and more throughout her travels in Europe.
She said it has been hard to ignore the reality of U.S. politics while abroad with graffiti stamped on most streets she passes in Europe, often using profane language against President Trump.
“It rubs me the wrong way when I see signs like that because in my opinion it’s not that they don’t have a right to complain, but they have no idea what it’s like for an American right now when it’s directly affecting us every single day," Barbuscio said.
One of the biggest obstacles in communication between countries is understanding the dynamics at play in any government.
During a walking tour of Prague, our guide told us the last two presidents of the Czech Republic both have famous YouTube clips of them doing idiotic things, like stealing a pen from an international meeting or getting drunk during their presidential duties at an event.
Barbuscio’s point is if we hadn’t ever heard that story, we never would have known. It’s the opposite for American politics. She said you rarely hear anything about another country’s politics, people only seem to want to talk about Trump when you meet them.
When I walk past a newsstand, I see front pages plastered with Trump’s mug. There is something to be said about European countries’ fascination with American politics.
Finding the line between fascination and obnoxious disapproval is difficult. Barbuscio said having these signs of graffiti and rallies against Trump in Europe are acts of aggression that hinder not only the U.S. moving forward as a country but the world itself.
This can either be argued as a naive approach to world politics — which many say is controlled by a domino effect — or a smart approach to keeping domestic affairs intact: live and let live.
For the generations paying attention to the political world around them, it can be frustrating to leave the U.S., a place where they have been built up in their history classes where the U.S. is the hero of every story, where the states are and will always be an important country.
To come to Europe and feel like a joke, to constantly be scrutinized for being American, it’s a reality check. Though there is an angry initial reaction when we, as Americans, see these negative signs toward a leader that may not directly affect European life just yet, we have to remember it could, and soon.
Here’s a suggestion though, instead of these people lashing out through hate speech toward our country and its unfortunate circumstances in their eyes — do something about it. They have a right to be worried, but the only way they can truly have a voice during this time is reaching out to their leaders.
If they are so concerned they must continue working to better themselves as countries, whether it be Great Britain getting back on its feet as the effects of Brexit continue — I’ll admit I’ve used as a comeback if a Brit tries to start a fight about my messed up country — or the goofy Czech president many don’t take seriously — they should take some stock into their country.
World conflicts begin when an extremist in one country influences another, and another, until they have too much power. But if these countries can’t be influenced, then they have no ground to stand on.
haask@umail.iu.edu
