dan cliff – The people with the so-called “knowledge” of the rest of the world are usually the worst. Juan Coles and his ilk.

I know what you mean. I’ve met some of these Americans in Europe and they are worse than the jingo crowd, who are at least real. But surely there are plenty of worldly American patriots who could be useful for PR.

Incidentally, the anti-American Americans are not as worldly as they like to think and their put-downs of their own country won’t endear them to too many Europeans. The French, British, and other Europeans may not be extroverted flagwavers but they are patriotic in other ways. Most are determined to preserve their culture and are more likely to care about their roots than most Americans I’ve met. We may run down our own country when we are amongst ourselves but you are unlikely to hear us doing so when we are with foreigners. That would be like insulting your mother to strangers. Those “sophisticated” Americans who sit in a bar in Europe talking like Michael Moore about the US may please some Europeans but they won’t be respected or trusted.