July 9, 2003 -- Are Americans loved abroad, hated, or both? Anti-Americanism has been a hot topic among US travelers for months; our message boards bubbled with discussions of Americans' safety abroad during the Iraq war, but how others see the US is still on a lot of travelers' minds. Two recent surveys crystallize that perspective.
The Pew Global Attitudes Project, from the nonprofit Pew Research Center, has been tracking the world's views of America. In an extensive, in-depth report released on June 3, the center says the world has a high opinion of American-style ideals like freedom and democracy but a declining opinion of America. "Since last summer, favorable opinions of the U.S have slipped in nearly every country for which trend measures are available. Views of the American people, while still largely favorable, have fallen as well," the Pew report says. (Read the full report at https://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=185).
In late June, the BBC did a terrific poll coupled with a talk show on this same topic, surveying thousands of people in 11 different countries (including the US), bringing in international broadcasters via satellite links and assembling a truly blue-ribbon panel of international experts to talk about foreigners' perceptions of the US. Many of the opinions expressed on the program are worth hearing.
You can watch the BBC show online in RealVideo at (https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/2997248.stm) or check out the BBC poll results at (www.abc.net.au/america/results/default.htm) or (www.cbc.ca/news/america/poll.html). Australia (www.abc.net.au/america) and Canada (www.cbc.ca/news/america) also put their versions of the program online, with fascinating essays from international figures (especially on the Canadian site) and viewers' reactions to the program.
The BBC's brilliant array of panelists included former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the brother of South African president Thabo Mbeki. Historian Donald Kagan, politico Pat Buchanan, and Newsweek International editor Fareed Zakaria (www.fareedzakaria.com) represented the US perspective.
America's Fans, and Everybody Else
Who likes America? Realize first that there's a difference between liking America and liking Americans. Most nations the BBC and Pew polled had harsh views of American leaders and America's foreign policies. But asked about Americans rather than America, respondents to the Pew poll gave a somewhat rosier picture for US tourists. Fully 77% of Canadians have a "favorable" opinion of Americans, along with 74% of South Koreans, 77% of Italians 80% of Brits, 67% of Germans, and 58% of French people -- but only 43% of Brazilians and 32% of Turks.
The country most consistently cheering for the US in the BBC's polling was Israel. As an Israeli broadcaster says on the program, Israelis view the US government as their one true friend in the world, and many Israelis spend time in New York or Los Angeles during their lives. Alas, that doesn't translate into Israel being a great destination for US tourists, until the violent conflict with the Palestinians calms down.
Some Americans may be surprised by several of the perspectives on the show. French commentators gave a nuanced perspective: they can disagree with US policies, they say, and still see Americans as friends. "Make no mistake, there is not only hate. Love is as important," says French broadcaster Alain de Chavron in an essay on the Canadian program's web site. That's what many Frommer's travelers on our community boards found as well.
And the Palestinian panelist waxed joyous about the melting-pot nature of American culture, making it clear that a specific foreign policy, not any clash of civilizations was at the root of Palestinians' gripes about the US. That perspective countered the Pew report's bleak assessment of Palestinians' attitudes towards the US -- according to Pew, 71% of Palestinians believe Al Quaeda's Osama bin Laden "does the right thing in world affairs."
Resentment from surprising quarters came from Canada and Brazil. Canadians, of course, have a passionate love and prickly fear of their gigantic neighbor; our two countries are dependent on each other like few other pairs of nations. Our boards have been exploring the Canadian-US relationship in depth for months now. The Brazilian complaints seemed harder to fathom, seeming to center around vague complaints blaming the US for Brazil's ills -- as well as a more concrete opposition to the Iraq war.
It's also clear that some of the policies aggravating the rest of the world fly completely under Americans' radar. Sure, we all know about the war. But did you know Canadians are riled up over a trade dispute involving lumber? And that South Koreans are rising up in protest against the US because a US Army vehicle ran over two teenage girls last year?
The Lessons for Travelers
Interpreting the poll results, it's safe to say you shouldn't talk politics when you're abroad, especially if you think President Bush is doing a great job. In fact, avoid political debates at all costs. Majorities in every country except Israel and the US personally disliked Bush in the BBC poll -- even in countries that supported our war in Iraq. When people who disliked the US were specifically quizzed by Pew, pluralities in most countries said their problem is with Bush personally, not America in general.
The consistently negative results coming from some countries -- namely, Indonesia and Jordan -- indicates that American tourists should lay low there. The US State Department seems to agree, saying that in Indonesia, "All Americans who travel to or reside in Indonesia are urged to exercise maximum caution and take prudent measures ... avoid locations known to cater primarily to a western clientele, including, but not limited to, hotels and resorts, tourist sites, nightclubs, bars, restaurants, and places of worship."
South Korea, meanwhile, is perplexing, because the polls say that most Koreans like us -- but that the ones who don't, appear to have really passionate negative feelings. In its advisory on South Korea, meanwhile, the State Department recounts anti-US protests through 2002 and says, "Although the Republic of Korea is generally safe, American citizens in the Republic of Korea can minimize personal risks to themselves and their property by exercising caution and avoiding areas in which demonstrations are being held, as well as by avoiding confrontation with protestors."
What's been your experience as an American abroad recently -- or as a "foreigner" greeting Americans? Did you watch the BBC program, and what do you think of the opinions on the Australian and Canadian web sites? Let's get to the bottom of this on our message boards.