The real America
A strange phenomenon has accompanied the arrival of the World Cup in America this month, at a fitting time on the eve of our 250th birthday as a nation. Coming to our shores with the great, world-class soccer of the preeminent global soccer tournament is a horde of European tourists come to watch the games. Arriving here in America, these tourists are overwhelmingly surprised and pleased to find out our country is a wondrous land of freedom, opportunity and – to them — amazing examples of innovation, opportunity, cleanliness and bounty, and social media is lighting up with their first-hand accounts of their wonder.
The subtext to this story is, of course, that the reason they are all so universally surprised is because back in Europe, the only accounts of America that they have access to come from state-run media like the BBC, from UN and NATO leaders, from American journalists and late-night hosts, from American movies and the actors and directors that make them, and from elected American Democrats who frequent Davos and other international conferences. Based upon the accounts from all of the above, the average European was led to believe that America is a land of racism, oppression, riots, uncontrolled illegal migration and chaos. They now know that that version of America only exists within the minds and cities of American Democrats.