Gee, how much cognitive dissonance can Sweig pack in a column? I see plenty
of evidence cited here for "why they hate us," but I see nothing to support her conclusion that the US is a "beacon" that "still garners grudging respect abroad." Where's the locus of that grudging respect, 10 Downing Street?
[WS:] I agree, I think the "beacon" resembles more a flashlight than a lighthouse. This is evidenced, inter alia, by the fact that despite the US hegemony, none of the "post-communist" countries that underwent systemic transformations adopted the US electoral model - all of them adopted variations of the European parliamentary model based on proportional representation and a much less powerful than the US presidency executive branch. Ditto for social spending in relation to the GDP.
As to the hatred, however, I do think that it is an expression of anything other than popular ignorance and picking on easy targets. My impression is that most people abroad, even educated ones, might have HEARD of the US, but very few actually KNOW something about it. One cannot hate (or desire) what one does not know. As a result, the US has been singled out and serves as Rorschach blots that attract popular attention and invite audiences to project their fears and expectations.
In the same way - France has been singled out as punching boy of many US-ers largely because many people here heard of France, but are barely aware of most other European countries, except perhaps Germany and the UK. Since France is often associated with "high culture" - hating it is an expression of intransigent anti-intellectualism rather than a result of anything that France actually did or failed to do.
Wojtek