Russia Policy Asinine: No to Singers, Yes to Oil

There was a time during America’s war in Iraq when Americans traveling to Europe had to endure occasional eye rolls, sighs, and unwelcome political commentary from the locals. I remember enduring just a little of this myself and talking to others who had endured it.

I believed the war was a blunder, that George W. Bush was a fool, and that America had kicked over a hornet’s nest in the Middle East, one that continued stinging us and others long after Bush had left office. But when in a foreign country, hearing even an echo of my own sentiments said to me imperiously in a foreign accent, my instinct was not to agree and curry favor, or protest that I’m one of the “good Americans,” but to defend my country and my countrymen.

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Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is a senior writer at National Review Online.

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There was a time during America’s war in Iraq when Americans traveling to Europe had to endure occasional eye rolls, sighs, and unwelcome political commentary from the locals. I remember enduring just a little of this myself and talking to others who had endured it.

I believed the war was a blunder, that George W. Bush was a fool, and that America had kicked over a hornet’s nest in the Middle East, one that continued stinging us and others long after Bush had left office. But when in a foreign country, hearing even an echo of my own sentiments said to me imperiously in a foreign accent, my instinct was not to agree and curry favor, or protest that I’m one of the “good Americans,” but to defend my country and my countrymen.