America is Everyone's Business

Opinions are like hegemons: everybody's got one

Since the nonsense about Greenland in late 2025, and now the debacle with Iran, a lot of Europeans who previously supported the Trump government have begun criticising it. In response, a lot of right-wing Americans say something like:

Ha! You’re not even American! “Account based in Belgium”! Europoor! Mind your own business! Who cares what you think anyway? Why do you think you should have an opinion on America? It’s not your country! Opinion discarded! HAHAHA Cope and seethe, irrelevant Eurotrash!

Of course it’s the lower IQ Trump supporters who say this kind of thing, but there are many of them. I want to have a response here that I can link to, for convenience.

The United States is (at time of writing) the world superpower. This means that things it does, and even things that happen internally within it, have repercussions all around the globe. Other countries are affected, directly and indirectly, by the actions and tribulations of the hegemon.

With power comes responsibility. With superpower status, comes the fact that everyone else will be affected by your actions. You can’t have one without the other. If you are proud of America’s superpower status, fine, but understand that it means everyone else will have things to say, and that objecting to this only makes you look like an ignorant simpleton.

Me, enjoying American culture

As an extension to the above, I will point out the asymmetry of the situation.

When the BAP crowd suddenly spoke out against Restore Britain, it was very suspicious and also unwelcomed by us in Britain. BAP is a Romanian Jew so why he should be so interested in (and claim to be knowledgeable about) British politics is a mystery. When I told him and his (mostly American) hangers-on to mind their own business, people reminded me that I have often opined on the politics of a foreign country: America.

It is annoying that this needs to be explained, but here goes.

The two are not comparable. Britain is no longer a superpower, while America is (for now).

American politics is all over British TV, media and social media. We Brits cannot help but know about what is going on over there, how it is likely to affect us (or has affected us), who is involved, why they did it, etc. Therefore, inevitably we will have opinions. And those opinions will be backed up with knowledge (even if it is sometimes flawed).

The converse is simply not true. The vast majority of Americans will not be affected by British politics and will certainly not be informed about British politics. Therefore, when they opine on the same, it is aggravating and insulting. When BAP and his lackeys chimed in, it was obvious they didn’t know what they were talking about. It was obvious that America and Romania would not be affected by a Restore government in the way we in Britain are affected by any American government. It was therefore also obvious that BAP’s “interest” in the matter was wholly artificial, and that of his fluffers even more so. But perhaps most insulting was their insistence that they knew more about British politics than we British do. Of course, this is always possible, but it would have to be someone who had taken a lot of time to learn and understand - and they clearly hadn’t.

I am happy to hear foreign views on British politics, culture, etc. when they are informed, or when they are uninformed but offered with humility. Other than that, do the honest and respectful thing: remain silent.

At the same time, accept that we in Europe will continue to voice opinions about the superpower. If our opinions are uninformed, point that out to us, but try to keep it polite. And certainly, give up on the ludicrous idea that the United States is none of our business. It is everyone’s business, because it is so important.