American Views Abroad

 
Isabel Allende, writer and US citizen, admits in an interview in the newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau feeling almost embarrassed to show her passport because she is absolutely opposed to the direction the country is going in. More to the point, she was surprised Bush won the election because, though he presented himself as a strong leader, the war in Iraq is, in her opinion, a disaster for the US. She uses the term 'Christian-American Taliban' when discussing the role moral values played in the election outcome and describes how very sad, disappointed and angry she is that so many women voted for Bush this time. When asked if America has now completely turned its back on 'liberal America', she replies that she has lived long enough to see how the political sides are always swinging back and forth. After all, she adds, US democracy is based on the strict separation of church and state. When asked if she feels, as many other US artists traveling in Europe these days, the need to apologize for the election results and if she feels patriotic doing this, her answer is: I stand for the other America. I belong to the other half. It means something that half the country did not vote for Bush.

The interview can be read in German at www.fr-aktuell.de.
- posted by Gloria @ 6:19 PM