Sitting in a café in Barcelona, Spain, we overheard the loud, animated conversation of the Spaniards at the next table. The tone of the conversation was one of everyone agreeing and sounding increasingly agitated.
Their speech was rapid and difficult for us to follow, but we clearly heard the word “Alemania“ (the Spanish word for Germany); the name of the Italian dictator, “Mussolini”; and the word “fascist.”
What gave us a shock of recognition was the phrase that ended the conversation, expressed as a group lament, “Adios, America.”
American democracy’s descent into authoritarianism is widely viewed as a tragedy. Almost everyone in Europe speaks or understands basic English, so we began to ask people in Spain and England the following question, “What do people in your country think about America?”
One Englishman gave us a detailed answer. He said the media in England report events according to their political bent. Far-right news presents a mostly positive view of Trump’s America.
Mainstream news uses facts and is willing to quote others but does not express outright opinions.
Liberal leaning news reports facts, then expresses opinions about how events in America affect the rest of the world. Our Englishman said the recent event uppermost in his mind was America’s willingness to let food shipments that were already purchased and delivered rot on docks, just meters away from starving children.
We spoke with people from Africa and Portugal, as well as those from Spain and England. Many said that America has lost its way or lost its mind.
Starting tariff wars with trading partners was mentioned several times, along with expressions of “what the hell?”
One of them asked why Americans are willing to put up with the chaos and craziness.
Having done research projects, we understood the need to keep our questions and expressions neutral, to support getting truthful answers. Several people said they had considered moving to America or visiting, but no longer. One was afraid of getting shot, with so many guns around. Of course our poll was not scientific, but we were surprised by how informed and troubled others are about our country’s withdrawal from the world and our long-held principles.
Our sad conclusion was that others perceive the loss of the “land of the free and the home of the brave” to be an international catastrophe. In their minds, the America they knew is gone. The overheard remark that drove us to talk to strangers can be used to sum up the answers we got.
“Adios, America.”