Caitlin Hall

Those of you loyal readers who had the pleasure of working or attending school at UA during the summer may have read, or at least witnessed the backlash to, a certain column written by my right-wing comrade in radicalism and illustrious editor, Shane Dale. The column, entitled "A dose of Western European hypocrisy" is a tour de force in the skewed logic of conservatism, which I will address here in general terms to avoid losing my job. It is this conservative logic which seeks to explain the world's disdain for America as a combination of simple factors ÷ greed, jealousy, and naivetˇ ÷ and paradoxically diagnoses Western European nations as envious of our freedom and yet too supportive of individual liberties.

That type of reasoning has always been a fixture of American politics, one made tolerable only by its relative obscurity. What is truly unsettling is that, since Sept. 11, such a mindset has been slowly overcoming the stability of moderation in this country. And it's not just for conservatives anymore: Ever since we came under attack, "They hate us because they hate freedom" has become a rallying point and, yes, war cry for so-called liberals and conservatives alike.

With that in mind, I thought it appropriate to address the roots of such sentiments before the surging tide of conservatism overwhelms another hapless victim.

Conservative logic, with the help of representatives such as Shane Dale, tells us that Western Europeans as a whole lack faith in the ability of the individual. This shortcoming is evidenced by extensive government regulation, high taxes and broad social welfare programs. The failure of this rationale, however, lies not in any inability to prove that European governments are more intricately involved in the distribution of wealth than their American counterpart, but in a misunderstanding of the definition of "ability."

When we speak of ability in America, we essentially mean the capacity to be financially successful. But think about it: Is that really how we want to define individual ability? Is it not equally legitimate to measure it in terms of one's capability to help others and contribute to the world in a meaningful sense? If so, it seems that high taxes and extensive social welfare programs would be indicative of true governmental confidence in individual ability.

Conservative logic also tells us that, knowingly or not, the world's grievances with U.S. foreign policy stem from envy of its fiscal success. Never mind that global qualms have persisted unperturbed through the bleakest economic times. Let's just examine the self-aggrandizing logic of such a belief ÷ that any group expressing dissent of a wealthier body does so simply because it has been unable to obtain similar financial success. It implies that it is impossible to have genuine reservations about the way prosperity is attained, which certainly isn't the case.

If Western Europe's objections to U.S. policies aren't a symptom of its jealousy, what could their causes be? Here's a thought: Maybe they're actually legitimate concerns.

Our country continues to ravage the environment and consume the world's natural resources at an unparalleled rate. Our welfare programs are so meager that we are essentially practicing social Darwinism. Time and again we promote our own economic interests above those of the rest of the world and turn our recessions into ruinous global cascades through absurd policies such as the recently instated steel tariffs.

We drum up a War on Terror with rules perverse enough to simultaneously necessitate an invasion of Iraq and alliance with Saudi Arabia. We continue to undermine the International Criminal Court, a critically needed body, by our demands for immunity from prosecution. We are the only major world power to actively practice the death penalty and have been condemned by the United Nations for being among a very small group of countries ÷ all the rest of which are on our list of "terrorist" states ÷ to execute people who are mentally incapacitated or were juveniles when they committed their crimes.

It is a basic tenet of American capitalism that hatred stems from wanting what we are unable to have. But what is American is not universal. There is a wholly different type of disdain for those in control which we observe every day in the world's reaction to our nation; there is hatred that stems from witnessing true abuses of power.

And that, my friends, is the real source of European contempt for our great nation. Not jealousy, not greed, not failure or resentment, but true social consciousness.

Western Europe isn't green with envy. It's just plain Green.