by Craig Willms
I have been blown away by the sentiments coming from foreigners, especially Europeans upon visiting the USA for the first time. I can't be the only one scratching my head over this...
When the soccer (football) World Cup was slated to take place in North America I barely took notice. I'm not a soccer fan. I may be in the minority, but the generation born in America in the 1960s was not exposed to soccer at all. It just wasn't on the radar. Therefore I never understood the game or the fanaticism for it. Fast forward to the 2020's and soccer is everywhere in the USA. Still, when the tournament started here 2026 I didn't care at all. The highlight reels didn't attract my attention - because - I didn't care at all. For me the World Cup could have come and gone with barely a thought. It was the hundreds of YouTube videos made by Europeans that made me take notice.
In my YouTube feed I began seeing these videos within weeks of the opening of the World Cup tournament. The titles would draw me in because I'm not used to ANY praise for America, especially in the Trump era. These videos showered high praise on some rather unremarkable aspects of American life. I began to wonder how "modern" Europe actually is. They constantly remarked about how huge America is. They marveled at how big our stores are and how beautiful the stadiums are. They were amazed by the utter scale of our infrastructure. It was fun to see the things of our everyday lives through the eyes of strangers.
The constant refrain that revealed the biggest surprise of their American experience was our friendliness. It was genuine friendliness, they insisted, not a put on. Strangers would just strike up conversations and ask questions of the obvious foreigner. Offering advice or directions with a smile, Americans treated the visitor with respect and curiosity. Apparently Europeans were not expecting this. The folks from northern Europe were most surprised by this as they are unaccustomed to open public friendliness. They expressed some disbelief at first, but it happened all the time, day after day. Americans truly are friendly. In particular the visitors would comment on customer service, how great it was, how unexpected it was. The servers at the restaurants were attentive, genuinely friendly and helpful. Apparently you can expect a different experience in a European eatery.
The reason any of this is surprising is because the picture painted of America in the eyes the the European media and intelligentsia was that America was an awful place, a dangerous place, a place to be avoided at all costs. Alas, the draw of football, World Cup football, was too great and Europeans came to America anyway. They were blown away.
It is sickening to me that the media and the elites in these other countries would paint this awful picture of everyday life in America. But then, I thought, our own media and elites do the same thing everyday and in so many ways. America, like anywhere else, has it's dangerous places and should avoid places, no argument there. To portray the whole country, every city and town as a wild west shoot'em up is unconscionable. Europeans visitors felt safe when they were here, often commenting on things they would do here that they would never do in their own countries for safety reasons. The fact that the 'news' media lives by the old adage that if it bleeds it leads can explain the perception of violence and disfunction in our streets, but it's far from the real everyday experience of life in the United States.
The likelihood that this brief encounter here in America by Europeans will have any lasting effect on perceptions overseas is low, but the real America will stick with these visitors as they watch their slanted news programs. I'm seeing backlash by European podcasters (the ones who haven't moved to the U.S. already) that the friendliness of our servers at our restaurants is because they have to rely on tips for their wages. In oh so perfect Europe they pay the waitresses and waiters so much better than Americans do. Yeah, and they get terrible or indifferent, even unpleasant service every day. In the U.S. a good, attentive server can double their pay in many circumstances, and thanks to President Trump they are not taxed on their tip money - a secondary bonus. Not to mention most sit-down restaurant meals are a pleasant experience for us patrons.
There was also an expectation that millions of Americans were milling about the hospital doors because they didn't have universal health care. The the dying and indigent are piling up, wailing and gnashing, denied entry into hospitals, while the rest of us stepped over them to get inside. Yes, of course it's ridiculous, but that truly is the perception Europeans and Canadians (Australians too) have of American health care. The system here is far from perfect, I concede that, but no one is turned away at an American ER. Lost is the fact there are numerous systems and avenues for those uninsured through their employers to get publicly backed insurance, people are not dying on the hospital steps here. Canada is a perfect example of a great public health care system. Except for the fact that just over the border in the United States an entire health care system has been built to serve Canadians who need health care in a timely fashion because they can't get it in Canada. Not to mention - hell, I will mention it - the solution the Canadian government has for expensive public health care is to offer to kill its suffering citizens for free. MAID, medical assistance in dying is not just some end of life 'service' for the terminally ill, it is the first move suggested when someone calls a suicide prevention hotline. Oh you're depressed, let me connect you with MAID. Oh, I'm sure there are nuances I'm papering over but it is not far from the truth, and it's sickening. I'm assuming Europeans and Australians have some similar aspect of their wonderful health systems.
All in all, it was a very pleasant surprise to watch hundreds of videos of Europeans singing the praises of their American experience. It was a rare feel good viewing window into our own country that we are not used to seeing. Maybe it will have some lasting effect in Europe on the false representation of America, it's hard to say. What is telling is the dozens of Europeans who declared that they didn't want to go back, that they wanted to stay in America. That should make us feel a little better about the country we live in.
