Talk:Anti-American sentiment/Pro
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This is the text of the deleted "Pro-American" article. This can be used for source material in balancing the "Anti-American sentiment" article.
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Pro-American sentiment exists in many countries, especially those who participated in emigration to the United States. The US also shares much cultural heritage with European States in particular.
However, these feelings are not universal or unmixed, and many groups and individuals feel some degree of Anti-American sentiment.
The US arguably has a disproportionate influence in the world compared to the size of its population, mostly due to the size of its economy and its prolific media output. This probably explains why more people have strong opinions about it, both positive and negative, than most countries.
Many Europeans are still grateful to the United States and other allied forces for their participation in World War II and the sacrifice of so many American lives in defeating Fascism in Europe[1]. Political representatives in many European countries are in favour of close ties with the USA.
Many people admire the United States for its tradition as a pioneer of democratic politics, its status as a republic, and historical openness towards immigration. Many people still regard the American dream as something to be admired, and also admire the American tradition of entrepreneurship.
Many people admire the apparent idealism of projects such as the space program (although some do not share this admiration, regarding the space program as principally political and military). Since the sun will eventually die[2], interstellar space travel will be necessary to avoid the extinction of humans.
People's opinion of the US is often colored by their relative situation. People in countries with similar levels of personal freedom and standard of living are less likely to have a strong positive opinion of the US than people in poor and/or repressed countries.
In post-communist states some people credit America and its allies with helping to accelerate the fall of the Soviet Union[3]. During much of the Cold War the US and their allies were seen as preventing the ambitions of the Soviet Union from extending to the rest of mainland Europe.
In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, there was a great deal of sympathy for the United States, with world opinion generally behind the US in its attempts to seek out its attackers, with widespread support for the US invasion of Afghanistan, which was seen as a legitimate attack on the Taliban, who were actively sheltering and supporting America's enemies.
Arguably unjustified American foreign policy, in particular, has led to a reduction in pro-American sentiment. Foreign adventures such as the Vietnam War (in particular, events such as the bombing of Cambodia and the My Lai massacre), the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the Iraq prison abuse scandal that followed it, have alienated many people around the world.
In other traditionally friendly States, such as Canada, Britain, or Ireland, public opinion is more divided than in the past, with both ardent Pro-American and Anti-American sentiments expressed.
See also:
