I was born in Europe and have been there several times as an adult. Americans weren't well-liked when I was little. Yes, they were greatful to the GIs for shedding blood but resented the fact that Americans seem to think that they were the only ones who died in WWII. There was the added factor that the war was fought on their soil, not America's. This dislike has turned into hatred by many. It is partially fueled by the simple fact that many Americans go to a foreign country and are downright arrogant -- they really do yell at people for not speaking English; they want McDonald's over a five-star restaurant; they don't bother learning conversion rates, rather expecting others to know what "real" money is worth; when the dollar is strong they gloat, when the dollar is weak they whine. Cliches? Yes. The truth for enough to make people flinch when someone is American? Also yes. It doesn't help that we push our form of democracy down the throats of people who truly don't want it.

People may take our aid but that doesn't mean they don't resent needing that aid. Just a fact of human nature. It doesn't help that we frequently have a lot of strings attached to our aid (even if the cause is just such as the stopping of apartheid).

I was in England shortly after 9/11. The majority of Brits expressed sympathy or simply said nothing. There were two who told me flat out that America got what it deserved. There were a few, though, that said it was about time that terrorism hit the United States, not because America deserved it but because maybe now America would take off its blinders and help go after the bad guys.

To blame American media for people of other nations' hatred is not realistic. To state that Europeans loved Saddam, Putin and that "jerk in Iran" (which one, the Ayahtolleh or Shah Pahlavi?) is small-minded. At one time, we loved Saddam. We backed Shah Pahlavi even though he was a despot. Heck, we even gave financial aid to Idi Amin Dada.

If we want others to like us (and that is important to most Americans), we need to treat other nations and their politics and belief with some respect. We need to accept that English is not the only language in the world and that US dollar is not the only currency. Our politicians need to be willing to send aid to a country that needs it without interfering in internal politics. We need to quit being rude, arrogant bullies!

Sorry, Hancle, on this one I respectfully totally disagree with your comments other than Reagan was not well-liked in many corners of the world.