The US and Europe, once close allies and friends, are moving away from each other.
One of the strangest experiences is seeing old high school friends after a year of college. In high school, they did everything together. From sharing lunch and any free time to always going out or doing sports together, these friends were inseparable. And then they went to different colleges. Each made new friends and started new lives. When they finally met up again, sure, they were still friends, but the close camaraderie and shared experiences were no more. After one more year, they stopped getting together and would not see each other until their first class reunion.
JD Vance went to Europe. His visit was as strange as that of the protagonist in Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Vance spoke of freedom and abandoning censorship. He spoke of America leading in AI and the freedom of expression needed for such leadership. His hosts may have understood the words coming out of his mouth but did not understand the concepts he so eloquently put forth. The Europeans and Americans are experiencing a cultural and social divorce. Vance’s talk might have been a smash in the 1950s, but no longer. The Europeans are going down a dark path, one the Americans only missed by the Obama-Biden-Harris train being derailed. Those three would have loved to make America into Europe. Those who would like to make Europe more like America—Farage, LePen, AfD—are mostly out of power or run smaller countries like Italy and Hungary.
While the US and Europe have much-shared history—from waves of immigrants who came to and built America to shared military challenges and victories—the last few years have shown a fissure that appears to be growing wider. The election of Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s force for free speech via X are shocks to the European system. We know that the British not only monitor online chatter but are prepared to arrest old codgers for not saying the right things on their “private” Facebook pages. The EU is enamored with vaccine passports, the kind we needed during Covid. They would love to enforce a Chinese-style social score and do everything the World Economic Foundation (WEF) tells them. They are reducing farmland, they wish to cull large parts of their herds, and, of course, they are allowing near unfettered immigration.
So, while the US is doing its best to tighten its borders and begin the process of throwing out millions of illegal aliens, Europe is instead preparing to lose its identity to millions of unvetted immigrants who have made it clear that they don’t like their host countries. Sure, they love having nice things like expensive smartphones and designer clothes. But they hate their new countries and the permissiveness they sense in the freedoms that in the past allowed people to live their own lives and express themselves within reasonable bounds. Seeing thousands upon thousands marching over the Thames in favor of Hamas terror or Muslim immigrants taunting and harassing German women on a subway should cause the locals to say, “Enough!” But it often does not. One of the big differences between the US and Europe is pride. For nearly a decade, Donald Trump has been running and leading on a platform of “Make America Great Again”. The slogan has several implications. Firstly, that America was great. Whether the intention is from the Revolutionary period or during and after World War 2 is irrelevant. Those who voted for Donald Trump believe that by any reasonable standard, America was great, even taking into account slavery, racism, and other negative aspects of American society. Overall, America was a winner. Number 2, it’s worth making the effort to make America the best it can be again. Whether the subject is military strength, economic power and opportunity or personal freedom, there is work to be done and it’s worth the effort to do it. And while every European country has its patriots and pro-state leaders, overall Europe has given up on itself. Religiously, it is a shell of its former self. As to freedoms, they were always granted by the state, which meant that the state could take them away. Today, the state does so and many—possibly a majority—support the effort.
When growing up, Europe always held a strange spot. It was not like the communist countries behind the iron curtain, but it was also not the freewheeling, go-get-it land of America. It was socialist and so most people took trains or buses. The apartments were small, as were the cars. Medicine and other services were socialized, and as one can see that only one European company (the maker of Ozempic) is in the top 20 companies in the world by market value, it’s clear that Europe did not have the take risk and success or fail ethos of the United States.
Here in Israel, while Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu’s economic reforms moved a sclerotic socialist country more towards free markets and high-tech success, the country still cannot fully shake its roots. There is no Uber or Lyft in Israel, as the cab unions will not let them set up shop in the country. Taxes are high and cause many people to either buy while overseas or order from companies like Amazon or AliExpress. Israel feels a strong kindred spirit with America, and it is the top destination for Israelis, price and length of flight put aside. Israelis love America and believe in the idea of having a shot to go from nothing to great success. Still, it has its socialist past, which it has not fully exorcised.
Europe today is as beautiful as it always has been. One can find idyllic lakes or the mountains of the Alps or Pyrenees. Europe lacks belief in the individual that is the center of America’s God-given rights. It also has lost its belief in itself, history, religion, and contributions to history and mankind. That is the only logical explanation for countries across the continent taking in so many immigrants whose goal is to make those countries as we have known them for hundreds of years simply disappear into a Europe-wide caliphate. The EU was brutally aggressive against Poland and Hungary for not taking in huge numbers of immigrants from the Middle East. Those countries understood the risk and they chose to keep their countries just like they enjoy them. They are far better off today because of their obstinacy.
JD Vance came to a Europe that looks like the Europe of old but has changed socially and politically to the point that his hosts did not understand him. I would rather have the same passport as JD Vance than one from any of those countries that are presently committing national suicide.
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