Following up on yesterday’s post, I would like to speak on behalf of all the Americans living overseas, be it temporarily or permanently, to look at the current situation and provide a response from a realist, and positive perspective. So without further ado, here we go:
Coming to Germany almost 27 years ago, I walked into a world that was far different than the world I grew up in, in rural America. It was a world full of people of multiple nationalities, having different social and religious backgrounds, and having different viewpoints. We came from different aspects of life and still all we did was sit down for a good beer at the Irish Pub, talking about sports, culture, our childhoods, and talking about the futures. We contributed our deal to Europe in terms of our expertise and the like, opened our own businesses, had our children go to school in a European country, learn multiple languages and integrated ourselves into society. No matter where I went- Paris, Geneva, Berlin, Copenhagen, Malmö, London, and even small towns like Jena, Flensburg and Bayreuth, it was all the same. We came, we made friends, and we became a melting pot that makes Europe not only a great federal state, but also a poster boy for democracy. With all the advantages that Europe has, including a prosperous life, we have become a large community as colorful as ever.
Unfortunately, despite our successes, we’re being threatened from both sides. On one side, we have the Russians who want to take back what was lost, see Ukraine, for example. But now on the other side, America wants to grab Greenland, despite Denmark and the EU sending a clear-cut message of “NO and that is an order!” It’s no secret that America sees Europe as a thorn in its eye because they do not view Europe as we do. They would like to see a fascist Europe where it is cleansing the country of non-natives, intellectuals and those who do not see Trump, eye-to-eye, let alone those from the far-right parties; in Germany we have the Alternatives AfD.
But what happens if Trump did indeed take Greenland, and how would it impact us American expats? Would we be expelled as it happened with the Germans in Eastern Europe after WWII? Would we have our assets frozen like we’re doing with Russia? Would we lose our jobs just because we originated from the wrong country?
From my point of view, it would be impossible to cull the ranks, especially as the majority of Americans have settled down and have families and lives of our own, myself included. One also has to add the benefits of doing business in Europe and contributing to the state social systems, such as health care, taxes, social security and other items. And Europe has imported a lot of American culture that has become part of European fabric, be it with food, American football and basketball, plus our flexibility, kindness, and creativity, three of the many traits that have broken down many barriers between natives and foreigners and within two different foreign entities. Discriminating Americans, let alone throwing them out, would uproot European culture in ways unimaginable. Imagine the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan in WWII and multiply that by two per country and add the population of each one! It would definitely put Europe back 200 years to times where nationalism and nativism would balloon out, and the European Union, let alone any form of internationalism, would cease to exist.
The creation of the EU was made with the promise where we would integrate our ideas, language and culture into one entity with the purpose of creating a democracy that functions on all levels of government and people are allowed to have a say in them. From my point of view, subtracting Hungary and Slovakia, we’re doing just fine. But as we see in Budapest, Viktor Orban’s era is about to come to a close in April and it has to do with the people wanting the democracy Europe has to offer.
So learning our lessons from WWII, where expelling people created psychological effects that are still lingering to this day, we should come up with a plan to ensure that Americans who wish to stay in Europe can do so without facing any backlash. After all, 80-90% of the Americans living here are against Trump, his policies of expansionism, his Donroe Doctrine, let alone his marketing of fascism around the world. We have seen a sharp rise of Americans protesting the Trump regime here in Europe, no matter where, with Europeans joining in the cause. It was clearly noticeable when my family and I were at our last demo in Frankfurt last fall, and was talked about at the book fair even. And there are people, like yours truly, who have taken to the laptop to express our disgust in the media. If we were all pro-Trump, you would not see this. Americans have capital and can help Europe thrive. The military would still be part of NATO, even if they cut ties with Hegseth. We would live as if Trump never existed. We are the engines that keep Europe in tact, and the far-right activists out of the state parliaments. And there will be more coming to help us, for they too are fed up with Trump’s America and would like to have a better life. Perhaps we should all work together to make that happen and make Europe strong and a beacon of democracy for years to come.
What can be done to ensure that Americans feel like home and not discriminated? There are several options but I will name three for starters:
- Accelerate the citizenship process in European countries. Instead of a five-year waiting time, like in Germany, make it one year after arrival with proof that people can work and make a living. For students, they could qualify automatically under similar conditions.
- Provide start-up benefits for Americans wanting to start a business with favorable rates for paying them back. At the same time, provide incentives for those who want to go to college, let alone continue their careers, from back home.
- Integrating them through foreign language courses, first as the language of the country of residence and then others to follow once they have achieved proof that they can use the language to take care of the basics, including some of the bureaucracy. But as a reciprocal, make English the lingua franca and second language for all countries, especially when dealing with the bureaucracy.
But the last one should be the most important: stand together in solidarity. What we are seeing right now in the US is Un-American in every aspect. Europe has gone through centuries of war and the people there feel our pain. But what I find great about Europe is that they have learned the lessons of war and how it can impact lives in so many ways possible. They know that walls have never worked, nor will dominance by another country. They also know that American kindness and empathy have solidified Europe and its culture to what it is today. We help one another, we make Europe stronger, and we make sure everyone has their place where they want.
And that is why I will always be a European. We have what America should have too.
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