Those warnings from the US are usually transparent geopolitical self interest. That’s not to say it’s incorrect, just that Europe does not need the US new world bumpkins to teach them about energy policy or dictate its foreign relations. It is perfectly capable of managing and mismanaging its own interests.
> Those warnings from the US are usually transparent geopolitical self interest. That’s not to say it’s incorrect, ...
All countries speak for their own self interest... but the warnings can also be correct.
If millions of Europeans freeze or starve, that hurts the US greatly too. Their economies are deeply intertwined, and there's enough shared history that many in in the US would feel it personally.
> just that Europe does not need the US new world bumpkins to teach them about energy policy or dictate its foreign relations. It is perfectly capable of managing and mismanaging its own interests.
All countries manage their own interests; no one would expect otherwise. But thinking "they're new world bumpkins, they have nothing worth listening to" is a terrible idea. Sometimes the new kid on the block has learned something. The US is often happy to steal good ideas from anyone, regardless of age. The US has lots of problems (who doesn't?), but it also has many advantages - not just due to the "luck of the draw", but due to careful investment to turn potential advantages into real ones.
Yes, along with a massive superiority complex that led the grandparent to ask “why didn’t those Silly Billies just listen to us?”
The US is not a purely good faith big brother of Europe, as much as Americans would like to think it is.
Saying bumpkins was a jest, but also true. The US has short and uneventful history in comparison to most old world countries. Its horizon ends at the ocean for the most part and for most US leaders, understanding the rest of the world is optional.
Saying “why didn’t you just invest in energy self sufficiency” is completely unhelpful. EU leaders know the value of energy, but realpolitik is a thing.
>Yes, along with a massive superiority complex that led the grandparent to ask “why didn’t those Silly Billies just listen to us?”
But that's exactly what this boils down to. Indeed, why didn't the Europeans (really, "Germans") listen to the Americans? No amount of "How uncouth of you to tell us the truth, and how unfair of you to tell us that we should have listened to you" doesn't affect the validity of the truth, or the wisdom in listening to it in the first place.
