Criticise Donald Trump not the American people

Kenny MacAskill - Image credit: Holyrood

Anti-Americanism is in full flow.

It is understandable, given they’ve a buffoon as a president and there are threats posed to humanity by his elected kleptocracy.

It has been highlighted by recent anti-Trump protests and reflected in the everyday comments of ordinary people.

But it’s always been with us, and regardless of the fond memories that linger of the Obama presidency or the cult of Clinton, anti-American sentiment has existed for generations.

I grew up with the Vietnam War. Protestations were evident then and have continued in response to the US’s interventions in Central America, into Iraq and on until today.

Now this sentiment is no longer just reserved to foreign states or groupings but also to corporations.

But there’s a different America that many often don’t see – of its ordinary people, their diversity, dynamism and genuine warmth.

That was brought home to me a few months ago when I was over in New York getting married in City Hall.

It was the great American melting pot with every race, religion and sexuality evident, including one auld Scot and his younger bride, and all done in a remarkably egalitarian manner.

The venue is sometimes described as the flight deck of the Starship Enterprise, like the city itself, bubbling over not just with emotion but energy.

I’ve never subscribed to the virulent anti-Americanism that’s there’s been from some quarters, preferring to differentiate between its government and people, between the ruling elite and ordinary folk.

There’s always been a huge gulf and it is greater now than ever.

For all that I was appalled by Vietnam, I was inspired by the civil rights movement.

The absence of a welfare state disgusts me, but the vibrancy of its social and intellectual scene never fails to impress.

Actions of many administrations have often had few redeeming features, but the possibilities of the land are still limitless, even if the American Dream remains a myth.

Equally, though, I’ve never been an Atlanticist.

My many trips to the USA simply reaffirm my view that I am European and it’s on that continent that our interests lie.

However, it’s always been a country that’s fascinated me – the vibrancy of its cities, the beauty of its landscapes and the genuine openness of its people have always impressed.

I first went there in 1979 and like many, I travelled coast to coast on Greyhound buses, a great way then, as it is now, to see the land and meet the people.

More recent visits have been more refined affairs, with the opportunity to stay in some very fashionable and upmarket areas, though I have to confess that I often enjoyed the earthier parts more.

There’s a view that because of my decision to release Megrahi, America had me on some banned list or even hit list, yet that’s been far from the case.

My interactions with American officials, including Hillary Clinton and John Brennan, were always scrupulously polite, even if occasionally bizarre.

I recall a telephone conversation with the former Secretary of State calling me from Air Force 2 as I boarded a Loganair flight to Kirkwall.

What a coincidence, I said, without letting on the difference in grandeur of the respective planes!

But they were just going through the motions.

Information subsequently showed that they were already dealing with the Gaddafi regime, both courting him diplomatically and rendering prisoners to him.

A few individual politicians, such as Senator Menendez, fulminated for the cameras but schadenfreude has seen him crash and burn on corruption charges.

A few months after the release of Megrahi, the consul general made it clear that they just wanted to move on.

by Mark McLaughlin

Alex Salmond, Donald Trump and allegations of sexual misconduct

I’ve visited the States many times since then and always enjoyed it immensely.

However, you can’t get away from the fact that inequality is now more extreme, as it is here.

The sight of so much destitution adjacent to such opulence is truly staggering and distressing.

The bustling Motor City I saw in 1979 has been replaced by a poverty-stricken Detroit today.

The political climate has also deteriorated with a tone set from the top made so much worse than here through racial divisions and the gun culture.

Nonetheless, there’s still something about the place that never fails to impress.

New generations of immigrants come not just from Central and South America but from Africa and Asia, as Moroccan and Ghanaian taxi drivers confirmed on my recent visit – all of them bringing hope for themselves and their new land.

It won’t be quick, nor easy, but America is changing and even Trump can’t hold back the tide.

Change will come, not from the Clintons or any other ‘new contender’ but from the ordinary people.

For every George W Bush, there’s an MLK, for every Hollywood celeb, a Howard Zinn.

Whilst it won’t be Eugene Debs, change there will be and humanity requires that.

Trump is endangering the world, but the USA has the capacity to save it. Its people’s energy and skills make that possible.

Criticise the president, by all means, but remember the country’s potential.