I think in order to have Anti-Americanism, you must first have a clear
idea of what it is that you're "
anti-"...
A*mer"i*can*ism (#), n.
1.
Attachment to the United States.
2.
A custom peculiar to the United States or to America; an American characteristic or idea.
3.
A word or phrase peculiar to the United States.
(thanks, Webby!)
Hatred of defintion #1 is generally nothing more than short-sighted foreign nationalism, and hatred of defintion #3 generally springs from mere annoyance, so I'm assuming any kind of meaningful argument against Americanism is directed at definition #2, American ideas and customs.
What exactly is an American idea? According to Spuunbenda, it's a lack of moral authority over the rest of the world. To me, this sounds like more anti-superpowerism than anti-Americanism. The Roman and British empires have spent enough time on the top of the heap in the last two millennia, and they seemed no less cruel to foreign culture. (Conquering continents is real friendly...)
It's no big secret that America works foremost for the betterment of America. In that regard, the US is like each and every other country on the face of the planet Earth. For a country so important to the world's economy and so powerful militarily, the United States has performed rather admirably. Like past superpowers, America could easily march into another country, steal that country's natural resources, and enslave the people (or turn them into colonists). If the US invaded Belize, what's the worst that would happen from America's standpoint? The UN would say we're naughty? France would make empty promises about stopping all trade with America? It seems like a good plan, one that the England of the 1700's or the Rome of 1 BC would leap at! Hell, I'm sure there are some countries that would still take much more devious advantage of their power if they were in America's position.
The American government has a mandate to serve the American people. Not to serve the world's people. For all the "citizen of the world" talk, your taxes still go to Uncle Sam. It's not pretty, but that's the nature of government. If the German people don't feel that America is being charitable enough, even to its own people, why don't they have Bayer or DaimlerChrysler spend billions of dollars to help the American homeless? I expect the answer would be something along the lines of "well, that's America's problem, we have our own..." This is the precise position the US finds itself in. Children starving in Sudan are not the business of the American government. As it is, America spends billions on foreign humanitarian aid. America rebuilt Europe after the Second World War. Our government does not have to do that. Most other countries don't. The American government cares for the American people, by design. I know of no country which operates differently. People just don't like to say that out loud.
So maybe it's the filthy rich American private sector which is being stingy with funds and corrupting tribal culture. I think any careful analysis will similarly prove this false. Nike doesn't force Indonesian kids to put together sneakers. McDonald's doesn't force Moscovites to eat Big Macs. If a foreign country wants to be free of American intrusion, all they have to do is say no when Texaco wants to drill for oil there. It's pretty rare that we actually spend the money and time to set up a puppet government. ;)
One might say that all of the aid and charity America provides is really only to indirectly help America. Maybe. But would it have been better to let the people who we help starve, get murdered by their own government, or earn 3 cents a day selling coconuts? Would it have been better to leave Europe in rubble after WWII, for fear of corrupting their culture with American ideas? France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and many more are strong allies of the United States. Obviously, they must feel that some good comes from their relationship with America, or they'd tell us to fuck off. Hey, Iran's still around. There are options.
So to...
Who the hell are we to prop up one regime and let another fall because it serves *our* interests? It's that "to hell with the rest" attitude that accounts for Anti-Americanism.
I say... "Bayer, I'm hungry!"