A choice bigger than one country

During my trips to Europe when Barack Obama was president of the United States, I felt like a rock star because he was one, and some of that glory couldn’t help but rub off on any American. This was a point on which his Republican opponents attacked him, as if having the charisma of a celebrity was a bad thing. (If only members of the GOP could predict the future, when their own candidate was best known for having the TV show “The Apprentice” on his thin political resume.)

I fondly remember these trips where I got a few free drinks and lots of conversation. These Europeans admired that America, a country with a history of racial segregation and racial violence, could make enough progress to elect an African American as its president. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Obama was a man with extraordinary political and personal gifts and a picture-perfect family to match.

Although neither I nor any black American I knew bought into the fantasy of a post-racial America—our own experiences and U.S. history have taught us otherwise—I felt very protective and proud of my country. I knew that their own countries had no comparable achievement and did not hesitate to let them know, even as I enjoyed their hospitality. Perhaps our young democracy was as civilized as these countries imagined.

I was told that although our country’s politics can be chaotic at times, everything seemed to be working. The agreement did not eliminate America’s problems, but it did acknowledge growth.

Then came January 6, 2021. It wasn’t just many Americans who were shocked, internalizing the images of citizens pummeling law enforcement, setting up gallows, and flying Confederate flags as they marched through the Capitol in narrowly failing and tried to overturn an election. Many observers could not believe that even after this smear, a majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives and some US Senators agreed to support undemocratic lies.

For some Americans, the realization that we were ripe for the electoral unrest of the 21st century and that it would divide a country that prides itself on its unity meant that a narrative cultivated at home and abroad needed serious reevaluation.

The same outsiders who had to acknowledge, sometimes reluctantly, American exceptionalism were now able to overlook this mirage. They saw an America they didn’t know, even though many of us knew it was always there, just beneath the surface.

A recent luncheon sponsored by the World Affairs Council in Charlotte featured the discussion “Transatlantic Relations – A Fireside Chat with EU Diplomats,” bringing together 18 European Union diplomats from 15 countries with experience in journalism, public affairs, communications and media relations came together. The guest list also included students from around the world studying at U.S. colleges and universities. The Council, a member of the World Affairs Councils of America, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan outreach program of UNC Charlotte and its Office of International Programs.

It was perfect timing.

Since my last visit to Europe was a year and a half ago, I was interested in engaging with EU officials during this US election season. There was much to discuss, topics of interest to America, including trade, climate policy, fostering innovation and security. And it was refreshing to hear from the rest of the world that U.S. political rhetoric on global challenges seems to be more focused on both closedness and dialogue.

Whether it was about immigration, exports from North Carolina to EU countries and the associated investments and jobs, or shared values ​​between the EU and the US, the meeting covered key lessons and was a reminder that we are hardly alone in the world are. America’s actions have repercussions far beyond its borders.

What was remarkable was how big the war in Ukraine was. The issue is increasingly a dividing line between Democratic officials who promise to strengthen alliances and many Republicans who take the opposite view, following the lead of former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump last month in his meeting with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky boasted of his “very good relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a figurative swipe at an ally.

The latest U.S. aid package for Ukraine was delayed by partisan disputes that are far from resolved if “America First” and what that means is still at the forefront.

Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, counters with her own promise to maintain strong alliances, although that may not resonate with some voters. Americans who are rightly concerned about the economy, reproductive rights and immigration don’t typically put Ukraine’s predicament at the top of their list. But on the other hand, we also do not share closeness with a country led by someone who pursues expansionist goals, harbors nostalgia for the Soviet Union and maintains control through the brutal suppression of dissent.

Representatives at the lunch were predictably diplomatic about the upcoming U.S. election; EU countries will work with whoever American citizens send to the White House. This is their responsibility and duty. As one said, “Our position does not change.” What they can do is explain how U.S. actions or inactions may affect each member country.

But are Americans immune to such concerns? When I hear a presidential candidate reflect on how Trump, in a recent interview with Fox News, mused about sending in the National Guard and the U.S. military to retaliate against the “enemy within,” which is… would act who he thinks he is on a given day, then… The rhetoric of a would-be dictator doesn’t seem so far away anymore.

Mary C. Curtis has worked at the New York Times, the Baltimore Sun and the Charlotte Observer as a national correspondent for Politics Daily and is a senior anchor at the OpEd Project. She is the host of the CQ Roll Call podcast “Equal Time with Mary C. Curtis.” Follow her on X @mcurtisnc3.