Pax Americana: Was It Really That Bad?
As I reviewed this weblog’s statistics earlier today, I noticed a significant uptick in readers from outside of the United States. In the late nineties and earlier this decade, I had the pleasure of doing a bit of traveling overseas when the currency exchange rate still favored the U.S. dollar. On some of those excursions, I noticed quite a bit of anti-American sentiment. For example, in 1999, there was the graffiti in Barcelona that wasn’t too complimentary of President Clinton. Or Monica either. No mention of Hillary though. In 2001, there was the young lady in the Glasgow pub who I had it out with after she told me what she thought of Americans and President Bush. Interesting side note- the girl worked for a local politician and invited me to visit their office the next day. After things simmered down, of course. Splendid people, those Glaswegians.
Love us or hate us, after World War Two the influence of the United States around the world was significant, whether it was economic, military, cultural, etcetera. Some have even referred to the period in the West after 1945 as the “Pax Americana,” or “American peace.” Yet, what have we witnessed throughout time when it comes to the longevity of Pax whatever? Quite simply, what goes up, must come down. One day, Pax Americana will be a thing of the past too. Some argue that America’s “dominance” is already a footnote in the history books.
So, my question to our overseas readers is, was it really that bad living during Pax Americana? Is the following YouTube video a correct depiction of how you see the United States and its “influence?”
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