Sea Change

My experiences studying and travelling abroad have made me realize, above all else, how much the continent of Europe scapegoats America. If you have not been paying attention, much of the world seems to be in utter chaos -- and for better or worse -- the rationalization that America is in part to blame predominates over here.\nIn Paris, right after the Madrid, Spain bombings, I read a story with a headline reading 'Has Bush's War on Terror Made Us All Targets?' The overwhelming answer in Europe is YES, and the people will let you hear about it. The Parisians let you know how they feel through scowls. Five minutes in Paris and I find myself in a staring contest with some crotchety women who could sense 'Bush' at the corps of my soul. The rebel force that is Kieran won the showdown.\nEvery day I am reminded of this overriding sentiment. When I walk into campus (in Galway, Ireland) I pass 'U.S. out of Shannon' (the international airport in Ireland) tagged on a campus wall. Many of the Irish feel this airport, due to its American links, has become a terrorist target. If you are an American Republican in Ireland, you might want to hide that cute little fact. Not only do many of the Irish equate Bush to 'the serpent,' the term also holds some controversial connotations within the country as well (does the Irish Republican Army ring a bell?). I have also seen much of the three P's in Ireland (parading, picketing, and protesting). The Irish love to make use of their freedoms to call out America and Bush whenever they can.\nFeeling the invincibility that always encircles me, I travelled all around Spain just a month after the Madrid bombings. Two bombs were recovered on train tracks by authorities while I was there. Those crazed loons couldn't get to Captain America just yet. Keep rolling them dice. En route to Nice, France, from Spain, I had an hour layover in Marseilles. Sure enough, more parading. At first the parade was just a workers' rights parade until ... you guessed it -- anti-war shouts and anti-Bush shouts (but we already knew that). Feeling headstrong and proud to be American, Destiny called me by name to get those pesky French back -- In McDonald's (seemed like the American thing to do), I had the nerve to order 'freedom fries.' Shits yeah -- Rock on America! Who knew the fry could be such a powerful symbol for freedom?\nI spent three days down in Amster's Dam in The Netherlands where red lights should mean 'stop' but don't -- I have come to the conclusion if the topic does not concern drugs, sex or a combination of the two, then the people simply don't care (and like I said, I spent three "daze" there -- obviously this wide-sweeping statement holds completely true). \nThen on to Venice, Italy, a city littered with 'gangster Bush' graffiti. The 'City by the Sea' is sinking -- or at least the water is rising. I guess my friend Beck was right when he said "In the sea change nothing is safe." \nIn Rome on Easter Sunday, right after seeing the Pope give mass, I'm hanging out in Piazza Novona when all of the sudden, some street vender starts yelling at me -- in other terms unprintable -- that I am incestuous with my mother, grandmother and sister because I am an American. Hmm … Feeling all blessed, I walked up to him smiling, put my hand on his shoulders and said "God bless you." He walked away befuddled. \nWith all of this said, what should America's role in the world be? Should we ignore anti-American sentiment and watch it spread like a wildfire or try to stomp it out? While I do feel everyone can rest a bit easier knowing ole Saddam has been dethroned from his dark pit, does this mean the end to malevolence in the Iraq? Clearly not. Did his ousting cause anything more than another crazed uprising in Iraq? \nSo far, yes. The result of which will inevitably color how the rest of the world views America. Saddam's ousting has helped to create a power vacuum many are competing to fill -- some through violent means. By the way, God bless the real heroes fighting for America, especially those who have passed -- Pat Tillman (ironically enough a 'Sun Devil' reigning from the desert school of Arizona State) -- you're my boy. \nFurthermore, was all of that Iraqi oil worth the U.S. ignoring and therefore diminishing the power of the U.N, seeing the U.S. invaded Iraq without the U.N.'s approval? Most of Europe certainly doesn't think so, and Europe is consolidating. May 1 marked the arrival of 10 new countries into the European Union -- a growing political force. I feel European countries will fall like raindrops during Vietnam's monsoon season as they continually drop any support and ties linked to the U.S.\nTwo and two are starting to add up to five in this new era. In Northern Ireland, Catholics and Protestants are seemingly always war-gaming against each other over subtle differences in religion started because a few priests were a little over-indulgent about a thousand years ago. And so on. The religious parades over the holy lands in the Middle East between the Muslims and the Jews (and ironically where the supposed Christian 'Son of Man' came from) don't seem to be anywhere near over. North Korea, Chechnya, Iraq, Afghanistan and so on. The bulls are on parade.\nAs the world's strongest economic and military power, is it America's role to try and mediate some of the madness? While I claim to have no political savvy or revolutionary insight (I'm the guy who, after the last disastrous presidential election, rocked a bumper sticker reading 'Don't blame me, I voted for Phish front man, Trey Anastasio), the world is in desperate need of some guidance. However, the more the U.S. seems to get involved, the more madness seems to emerge. With that said, do we sit down or stand up? Are we war-mongering or establishing peace? Remember, hate begets hate and vice versa. Two wrongs make right, one attack justifies the next, and so on. The socialization of sin is a downward spiral that is very hard to escape. \nMoral #1 of the story: Don't let the bastards get you down. Keep living, keep loving. \nMoral #2: Travel abroad -- if you decide it's too risky, then the loonies really have begun taking over, and we don't want that. It's the most worthwhile thing I will probably ever do (at least until I marry my beauty and raise a bunch of little Kieran's, at which point the world really will be crazy). \nMoral #3: The world is a crazy landfill growing with terror, and the blanket of being an American has lost its warmth. \nShould the U.S. continue to act as the world's defender of freedom? I don't know, I'm just a kid -- you figure it out. \n-- Contact staff writer Kieran Dunn at kcdunn@indiana.edu.