Undone

No one is talking about an important result of the USA’s midterm elections that is already in.

When either of my countries has a big election or a large political event, I feel obligated to acknowledge it and say something about it. With the USA’s national election outcome still up in the air, all the news and talk revolves around which political party will control each house of Congress.

But out here in the rest of the world, the verdict on the American people is settled.

As I’ve mentioned before, the people of the United States and their government are often seen from outside as separate. Until 2016, that was mostly beneficial. Government swung wildly back and forth, but the American people had a consistent reputation.

It wasn’t angelic. From a foreign perspective, Americans are loud, arrogant, rude, rule-breaking, lacking discipline, too narrowly and shallowly educated, ignorant about the ways of other peoples and unwilling to learn about any culture other than their own. The stereotype of the Ugly American tourist sprang from truth. We really do tend to behave like that. Not all of us, but enough to make the stereotype.

However, there’s another dimension to the stereotype. Generous, willing to put ourselves on the line for others, breaking rules in attempts to make something better.

This side of our reputation was epitomized by a news article many years ago about a house fire in Germany. Everyone was standing outside, waiting for the fire brigade like the rules said they should, agonizing about a child still inside. A young American man happened along. Upon learning about the child, he ran into the burning house, found the child and carried the child out. By local norms, it was completely wrong for him to risk his life for that rescue instead of waiting for proper authorities to attempt it, but authorities might have taken too long to get there. A grateful parent was quoted in the newspaper as shaking his head and saying, “Only an American…”

Notice I used the past tense for all of that.

It’s undone now.

The 2016 elections were as much of an earthquake out here as they were inside the USA. Everyone hoped that was a one-time aberration. The 2018 elections made it look like maybe that hope was well placed.

Then the 2020 elections triggered violent insurrection. The insurrection has gone mostly unpunished. Only a fraction of the small fry involved have gotten slapped down for their roles. Nearly all the insurrection’s leaders skated through unscathed. Many even ran for office in this election cycle. Too many won or got too close to winning. Non-partisan election officials have been hounded out of office. Violent threats against officeholders who aren’t in the insurrectionist camp have become commonplace.

Out here, people are accustomed to swinging between liking or disliking the current government in the USA but having an enduring reluctant respect for the American people. Now, out here the USA’s current government is widely liked and respected. If this election cycle had produced a blue wave, our reputation as a people could have been salvaged. If we are who the world thought we are, this election shouldn’t even have been close.

Regardless of which party gets control of the houses of Congress, respect for the American people is shattered. We cannot be trusted. Hostility to democracy, truth and other people now look like perhaps the dominant characteristics of Americans. The previous image of us was a mirage.

Because of all this, political parties in a number of countries that are also hostile to everyone and everything except their own most elite power-holders have been emboldened. I could say more about how the GOP echoes in the Tory party here in the UK, but I will leave that for you to see in the news.

The main point is that the USA’s midterm elections this week finished the undoing of the general image the American people had around the world. We won’t be able to get it back. If we want a reputation for our best side again, we will have to earn it again.