I see the relationship between Europe and the US as one between a mother and a child. A troubled child.
As the mother, Europe needs to set aside its pride and stop taking its son’s actions personally. We need to understand the many problems the US is facing today and acknowledge our own responsibility for many of them.
I might be oversimplifying, but here are the conflicts that define American society, conflicts we often judge without truly understanding:
First, the religious wars. We must understand that America wasn't just a place to seek fortune; it was a sanctuary for those the Protestant Reformation left with no place to go in Europe. For centuries, European kings used the colonies as a dumping ground for radical sects so they could pray however they wanted, as long as they didn’t cause trouble at home. This religious diversity is in their DNA, which is why there are over 30,000 different denominations today. This religious identity is such a powerful pillar that it has evolved into ideologies like the modernChristian nationalism that explains much of the MAGA movement.
Regarding social and institutional racism, from 1619 until the abolition of slavery in 1865, the British, Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch turned the African slave trade into a business; they were the "startups" of that era. For centuries, Europeans stole people from their homes, leaving a legacy of broken societies in Africa and a state of tension between Black and white Americans. Later, we washed our hands of it and began criticizing them from the sidelines. This historical fracture has led to cycles of violence and confrontation that are very present today, like the recent deployment of the National Guard against movements like Antifa or social protests
On the economic front, the decline of their working class is a direct result of free trade and globalization—ideas born from European thinkers like Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Hayek or Mises. While Europe adjusted these ideas to fit social realities, the US applied them with a "lethal purity" that devastated regions like Appalachia. Entire white populations are now falling into drug addiction and despair, blaming the UN and international organizations for problems that actually began with European diplomats and thinkers obsessed with productivity at any cost.
Even their role as the world bully against Russia, China, or Cuba is a defense of capitalism against socialism—another European invention, courtesy of Marx and Lenin. The US has become the armed wing of a bar fight that we started in the 19th century
What I am trying to say is that we cannot blame the US for all its problems when Europe is the mother of almost all of them
If we want to get along with them and, above all, if we want to help, we have to change our perspective. To me, the US is the world’s laboratory of ideas. Only a society built from scratch has a mind open enough to import concepts from everywhere, put them into practice, and see what happens
We must recognize the immense value of a place where no idea was considered too stupid, while in Europe, those same ideas could get you sent to the stake, to war, or to a gulag. The US teaches us that we must have the courage to experiment, fail, and try again
In the end, the son we criticize so much is actually our mirror. When we look at the US, we see a reflection of Europe. Of who we are, what we have contributed to the world, and the real consequences of our actions
The new Europe can only exist when we are able to understand the USA and the impact we have had on other communities around the world
