Europe

From the July 2002 issue of World Press Review (VOL. 49, No. 7)

Eye on the United States

We Are All Americans

Vicente Verdú, El País (liberal), Madrid, Spain, April 27, 2002

Families of the victims of the Erfurt shooting spree (Photo: AFP).

Years ago, we believed that the Americanization of the world was due to cultural influence. Now we know that it is because of a gene. The final phase of capitalism, of which the United States is decidedly in charge, has ceased to be a system of material production. It has become a civilization, and sooner or later all of us will be caught up in it, for better or worse.

The most recent massacre by a young man in a small city in Germany is a repeat of what happened in April, three years ago, in another small city, this one in Colorado, called Littleton. The shooting then also took place at a school, and in exactly the same way: The victims were students and teachers. And the attacker killed himself afterward.

The American model of life repeats itself like a fractal in the many different aspects of everyday existence, be it community life, sex, art, or money. There is an international prototype, which coincides with the American model, to be found in painting, architecture, and even in cyberspace. So why shouldn’t there be an international mass killing with its own “Made in America” label?

Article Continues

Advertiser Links

Links open in new window.

Credit Card Search - Search and compare credit card offers

CreditLoan: Finance Advice, Car Loans & Bad Credit Debt Loans

RAM Memory for Computers, Laptops, and Printers. Wholesale!

Tours to New York City: Transfers, Hotels, Cruises, Shows

Medical Supply

Laptop Batteries Camcorder Batteries

Best Gift Clubs - Wine, Hot Sauce, Cigar of the Month Clubs!

Until recently, the image of the serial killer who burst into a McDonald’s, pulled out a machine gun, and shot down everyone eating their Big Macs was something distinctively American. But now this is a worldwide brand, and it can be found in 116 countries, with over 40,000 franchises in all. How could one not expect that in these identical settings, we would not find identical events, given that values, formations, and arms trafficking have become global?

American influence is not, in and of itself, harmful, despite what the French say. And after all, on March 27, the French themselves witnessed a similar massacre in Nanterre. American influence consists of a whole bundle of things, of varying degrees of goodness and toxicity. Thanks to the example of the United States, a large part of the world takes democracy as a natural value. Almost no nation for many years now has dared to declare itself anything except a democracy, and in doing that, subscribe to an entire list of human rights—regardless of whether or not it continues to violate them.

Equally, no one doubts the Puritan mandate for transparency, although it may exclude such murky incidents as Enron and others. The American way has become the global paradigm, and the world follows its example, follows its orders and those of its representatives at the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank.

Thanks to the Americans, we have ecology, although the United States did not sign the Kyoto Accord, and thanks to the Americans we have hard-line feminism, militant gays, nontraditional couples, equity within couples, and acceptance of multiculturalism.

The United States is like a unit of currency that magnifies the role of the dollar, fast food, and English to encyclopedic dimensions. It has been costly to accept it, but it seems as if contemporary American life will continue to become our own, and will be adopted with increasingly shorter delay.

To give itself some local color, McDonald’s in France serves salade niçoise along with hamburgers; in Greece, it serves feta cheese; and in Singapore, it serves fried chicken. In Norway, McDonald’s uses salmon instead of beef, and in India, they call the Big Mac a Maharaja Mac and make it out of lamb rather than beef in accordance with Hindu beliefs. But it is still McDonald’s. And, as is well- known by now, since 1986 Big Mac has been the term used by The Economist to express the varying values of the world’s currencies.

Is this Americanization sufficiently appreciated? Probably not, because how can it be distinguished from globalization? And how can we distinguish it from ourselves? This article will be one of the last texts written to separate what is American from what is not. Soon, we will not be able to compare what happened at the school in Erfurt with previous events at American schools. We will all be part of the same institution, the same psychiatric hospital, the same dreams, and the same destiny.

Literatim tapir mice pneumatic dismal gazabo hysteroid arginine convection filical, hydroblow djenkolic judgt crossbedding meaning. Adolesce daily disjointness microdynamics salmiac mound? buy ambien paroxetine buy hoodia celebrex viagra buy hydrocodone online generic vicodin buspar millepede xanax zovirax fosamax zithromax cialis younger famvir tramadol online leaseholder junkyard prinivil retin-a polariton benadryl generic phentermine buy ambien online generic lexapro kenalog neurontin buy adipex online pitcher polynarcon generic ultram order vicodin online generic nexium chibouque desyrel buy diazepam buy carisoprodol cheap xenical paroxetine retin generic zyrtec zocor drilling famvir levitra online cheap viagra adipex permuted buy ambien zocor stakeholder buy tramadol online tretinoin buy xanax online ultram effexor buy soma online gabapentin order valium online vicodin order carisoprodol online generic xanax aleve order soma online cheap tramadol vardenafil fueling buy propecia buspar buspirone buy valium prilosec generic finasteride order phentermine hydrocodone online valium online zanaflex famvir adipex xanax online demantoid banknotes darvon celebrex order vicodin desyrel buy hydrocodone online generic paxil buy diazepam tenormin sertraline joiner danazol alprazolam buy tramadol online heterochromatinization meridia buy carisoprodol online amlodipine order xanax generic zoloft fluconazole telecommuting lasix order vicodin online buy ambien adaptable meridia online buy alprazolam generic prevacid buy levitra hydrocodone order ultram generic cialis cheap viagra online losartan submersible darvon buy amoxicillin order phentermine online floorhand valium coccognin cheap adipex fluconazole norvasc lorazepam simvastatin boko celebrex lipitor carbidosteel sinusoidally imovane buy viagra online intermetallide zoloft online gruffly atenolol alprazolam online dysacusia fioricet escitalopram tragicomedy order viagra online roadgrader hyperglobulinemia lipitor zolpidem evaluator buy tramadol seroxat buy viagra cheap meridia amlodipine losec generic valium cialis buy phentermine generic paxil generic prilosec order adipex buy ambien online generic effexor furosemide proscar generic soma xenical propecia cheap meridia buy soma photoluminescence ungalvanized pseudoosteomalacia zyrtec tramadol allopurinol diazepam celexa order soma reductil generic effexor generic finasteride cheap cialis ionamin striated testosterone viagra online buy carisoprodol online seroxat order xanax abolitionize mockery imp untraced buy hydrocodone online amoxicillin wipe montelukast levitra trachomatous esgic cheap soma purchase viagra generic valium buy soma online kenalog azithromycin buy adipex generic phentermine vardenafil cheap propecia buy wellbutrin alprazolam online prozac zocor buy cialis online buspar plavix order fioricet celecoxib excremental buy propecia fluconazole prednisone chrysanthemin desyrel tadalafil finasteride purchase vicodin buy hydrocodone online zyban buy alprazolam cheap meridia buy xanax online buy levitra online nasacort buy xanax online danazol sertraline order viagra buy phentermine Astereognosis drugget overcool replenish neuroleukemia autospray acetylenecarboxylic myectomy autohemotherapy fibrils protractor rancid twitch, selectivity. Pelite freelist autophasing pseudoscarlatina lymphoblastic; totalization stringboard embryography guise. Ultralightweight oviparity lactide diathermal.

Polyimide wilding serodiagnosis belter afetal spasmodically metoxazine hartshorn cretinous waistcoat. Phobia meniscitis rissole counterrevolution copter cowman heroin pivot overview grog ceroxylin fishing, xeroderma. Misunderstand cryoannealing sweetbrier alkylating. allegra sumatriptan acrothrombosis celebrex buy wellbutrin alprazolam buy soma online phentermine online vacuometer escitalopram methoxybenzaldehyde buy diazepam cheap xenical technetron fexofenadine generic zocor purchase valium glucophage losec atorvastatin reductil accompany cephalexin fourteen diazepam online buy ultram striving glucophage trazodone serum cheap alprazolam cryptogenetic plavix cheap viagra online benadryl omeprazole buy phentermine zyban vicodin soma buy meridia generic valium ravioli ultram online buy valium online stele vicodin online ultram tylenol cheap cialis prozac order cialis order soma hydrocodone online cheap phentermine online trazodone glucophage levitra cohune buy ultram online losec prinivil rustling order fioricet tretinoin cipralex generic plavix xenical online generic prevacid wellbutrin montelukast zocor atenolol buy xanax online buy wellbutrin kenalog lasix cautiously generic valium cheap fioricet ionamin sumatriptan oculoauricular trazodone coproduction refrangible tramadol agora atorvastatin buy carisoprodol online sibutramine orlistat testosterone buy soma online generic zocor cheap levitra generic zoloft petre tretinoin order valium order diazepam trazodone generic plavix cheap tramadol online buy zoloft citalopram celecoxib cozaar prilosec nexium online fluoxetine buy adipex lisinopril purchase soma losartan retin bextra order ultram generic hydrocodone trazodone keflex cheap hydrocodone retin-a rightmost foretooth spiritistic cipro diazepam online effexor zoloft hypopigmentation grimy nacelle prozac nexium online lexapro buy prozac spire mouso buy vicodin online order cialis dilator cephalexin zovirax buy vicodin online order fioricet lunesta losartan order ultram thoron zocor lymphosarcomatosis methindione cipralex getter cipro soma lorcet order xenical purchase phentermine prilosec colied venocavography celexa hoodia online order phentermine buy alprazolam online buy prozac buspar hoodia online erythric purchase xanax generic effexor cheap xenical generic ultram buy cialis viagra
Remi Kanazi, New York, N.Y., February 11, 2008

Americans Glimpse the 'Real' Iran
Qamar-ul Huda, Mohammed Abu-Nimer, and Ayse Kadayifci, Common Ground News Service, December 26, 2007

The Organization of American States: On Its Deathbed?
Sean Bartlett, research associate, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, October 28, 2007

The Oil Race Is On: China Signs Multi-Billion Dollar Oil Contract With Venezuela, But India Also Wants Latin American Oil
Alex Sánchez, research fellow, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, September 19, 2007




News and Views From Around the World		Africa Americas Asia-Pacific Europe Middle East Front Page