Europe/United States

The differences between the French and Americans were quickly brought to my attention when I arrived in July. Aside from the obvious factors of ancient history, a truly unique culture, and one common language, I think that the prime difference between the French - and indeed, Europeans in general - and Americans is priorities. In my experiences, Europeans are far more pragmatic and adaptive than Americans are. Take, for example, the issue of prostitution as it occurred in Germany; prostitution has always been around, and always will exist in one form or another. People know this. People understand this. Germans accept this. Americans deny it.

The Germans - and the Dutch, for that matter - decided that since it will always be around, they may as well accept it and find a way to adapt to have this former problem suit their interests. Now, prostitution is a legal occupation in Germany, federally regulated, and a far safer enterprise than it was before; not only that, but the German government receives money from this new business, so it has actually taken a formerly hated social problem and made it profitable.

This, of course, is but a single example of what I call European Pragmaticism; were I to try to record all other instances of this relatively new way of thinking, I would be bored out of my skull. But for the sake of presenting examples of European Pragmaticism, I will list the most pertinent forthwith:

1) Politics - A dirty word in American culture, yet a necessary one in European. The current American administration - and essentially all American government in the 20th century - commits itself to fighting a political and moral ideal with military force: an enterprise which is impossible to achieve, as only ideas can combat other ideas. Ironically, the American government does espouse an idea that fights the "terrorist" idea, and I believe it has proliferated terrorist activities.

The idea is that of "The American Dream," that formerly lofty goal of a peaceful materialistic has been replaced with an American nightmare that instructs its citizens that materialism alone will satisfy all human urges, and that all other cultures should believe this as well. Naturally, other cultures tend to find this "Dream" to be quite contradictory to America's nominal values of "Liberty and Justice for all" and react in a rather hostile manner. Americans should not be surprised at such behavior, as their nation was founded by men who reacted in the exact same manner as the Muslim militants of the current age.

What then, is to be done to solve this bloody problem? The American approach has been to militarily invade countries thought to harbor terrorists, in an attempt to cut out from below the support for militant groups. The problem, however, is not only will countless other militants fill the ranks of those killed by American smart bombs, but will actually encourage Arab states to unite against a common threat to their way of life: America.

Some European states were bullied into this American aggression, but those states that asserted European Pragmaticism objected not only to the baseless American accusations of WMD but to the ideology that military force can quash anti-American feelings and terrorism. I think that Europeans saw that only by recognizing WHY people hated their country would they be able to make the necessary changes to make people cease hating them. And, not surprisingly, countries that pledged complete support to America for the Iraqi War - Britain, Italy, Denmark - have all received either terrorist-based attacks or threats as a result. Countries that abstained from such a venture are strangely ignored by terrorist attacks: France, Germany, Sweden

It should be noted that Adaptivity, the key ingredient for survival and evolution, is present in European Pragmaticism, and is becoming decidely unpopular in American culture, as it relates to morality, politics, and priorities. Cultures and civilizations that lacked the ability to adapt have died out throughout history; recognizing this, one must ask, is America next?