The author wishes to make it clear that he is an Anglophile, who admires and appreciates everything British, even though historically, as with any country, there are certainly criticisms that can be made of a nation’s sins in its past!
Therefore, it is very shocking to the author to witness the depth of the resentment expressed in the British media toward the United States, over the Oil Spill Crisis caused by the accident involving British Petroleum Corporation!
The BP mishandling of this environmental and economic disaster, and the insistence of the US government that BP is totally responsible for all costs of the resolution of this matter, has managed to cause a rift unseen in a long time!
The US and Great Britain have had a special relationship for a long time, going back to World War II. While the two nations have not always agreed on everything, and sometimes their leaders have been on different wavelengths on different foreign policy matters, it is something new to have the British media, famous for being extremely emotional on many issues, to make the United States government and its President the center of harsh criticism over something that even they should realize we as a nation have every right to be furious about!
To be demanding answers from BP at a Congressional hearing is not unreasonable! What is unreasonable is that BP acted in a totally aloof, evasive way, and has conducted terrible public relations on the Oil Spill Crisis in the past two months! 🙁
If Great Britain had suffered the same tragic economic and environmental disaster as a result of the mishandling and abuses of an American corporation, would not they be just as furious and demanding of action as our country is with BP? 🙁
Therefore, the British media reaction arouses resentment and anger in this country, rightfully, and it seems to the author, that their conduct is reprehensible!
Thank goodness, the British government has been more circumspect in its behavior, even thought it is obvious that British Prime Minister David Cameron is certainly uneasy and uncomfortable with how the United States citizenry, media and government have been expressing growing frustration with BP!
Neither nation, however, should allow the Oil Spill Crisis to undermine relations between two countries, which have been as close to “bosom buddies” as any two nations could possibly be over a long period of time!
The anti-Americanism in Britain is not just connected with the BP oil spill. That topic is but one example of the anti-Americanism now festering in Britain and Europe. The Brits now express their anti-Americanism over an endless variety of topics. They will take any opportunity to spew anti-American hatred, no matter how minor the topic.
You can get a good sense of the shocking extent of the anti-Americanism among the British people by reading the reader comments on the various British news sites, including the Daily Mail, Sky News, BBC, Guardian, the Independent, the Telegraph. There is not a lot of dispute among the British posters when it comes to America. They are quite united in their hate and anger towards us.
The most painful example of this anti-Americanism at work can be seen in the case of Seattle college student Amanda Knox, who made the mistake of going to Italy as an exchange student. She is going through a long criminal trial and appeal process in Italy for allegedly sexually assaulting and killing her roommate, a female exchange student from Britain. Large numbers of people in the US see the charges as trumped up and concocted. There is no credible evidence connecting Amanda Knox with the crime. The guy who actually did rape and kill the roommate had already been convicted, and Amanda had no connection to him.
Senator Marie Cantwell of Washington released a statement saying that the guilty verdict in the first trial was influenced by anti-Americanism.
The Brits have been having a field day with this case, using it for political purposes. There is a group of Brits obsessivley posting horrible things about Amanda Knox, the entire Knox family from Seattle, and the supposed vulgarity and immorality of American culture, all over the Internet. Some Brits are involved in a well organized campaign to make Amanda Knox out as the poster child for everything vile and evil about America. They claim she is the typical sex crazed, immoral, vulgar, drug addicted, spoiled, rich kid from America who should be locked up for the good of the world.
Nothing could be further from the truth because Amanda Knox is a good kid from a good American family, an honors student who had never been in trouble before.
Anti-Americanism makes it unsafe for Americans to travel abroad. It also leaves us vulnerable in world affairs. Americans need to inform themselves about the anti-Americanism that is evident on many sites all over the Internet, including British and Italian sites. Anti-Americanism is not something you will hear much about on the evening news. It is up to each of us to keep ourselves informed, and to bring the issue to the attention of our elected officials.