Fawning over Barack Obama as they did during his recent overseas campaign swing, those cheering multitudes of Europeans said much more about themselves than they did about either Illinois Senator and Democrat presidential candidate or the best course to chart for the future of the United States. Somewhat surprisingly, and despite all of the dutiful and harmonious consensus of Obama’s lackeys in the American media, his campaign gained little credibility from the venture.

 

Something is amiss on the European Continent, and Americans know it. For reasons of sheer survival, most of Western Europe understood the magnitude of the Cold War and the necessity of remaining solidly aligned with the United States throughout the latter half of the Twentieth Century. Even as the continent was resurrecting itself from the devastation of World War II, the specter of likely Soviet dominion over Western Europe kept sufficient numbers of Europeans on their guard, and thus in support of the line of defense established and maintained by the United States. The “North Atlantic Treaty Organization” (NATO) was, in its original form, a direct offspring of this common understanding.

 

In contrast, the real encroachments of the Islamists in recent years, even including the 2005-2006 Parisian riots, do not resonate ominously across the continent as did the prospect of Russian tanks and troops assembling and operating just across the boundary in East Germany. So, in naive indifference to the burgeoning Muslim subculture, much of Europe hopes in vain that it can indefinitely ignore the problem with no repercussions.

 

“Business as usual,” in total disregard of looming threats, has yet to result in any cataclysm, so much of the populace comfortably pretends that no danger exists. Within the boundaries of its own commerce and industry, Europe has even proven to be a viable economic force. The collaborative strength of the “European Union” has advanced its standing among world markets. And if the entirety of any concerns for their future were purely monetary, the citizens of European nations might happily pursue their present course with no expectation of negative side-effects.

 

When assessed from such a myopic, perspective, the United States represents merely an economic and political competitor. Thus, a continually diminished America would, in the long run, only expand the opportunities for worldwide European supremacy. And the leftist ideologies of Barack Obama fit perfectly into this scenario. Yet this notion excludes critical elements which, if indefinitely ignored by the Europeans, could spell their doom.

 

Obama has bluntly stated that his chief anxiety over rising energy costs pertains to what he considers the unfair profits of the oil companies. In his world, some collectivist scheme to essentially bankrupt “Big Oil” would address his primary concern which has everything to do with redistribution of profits while deliberately ignoring any possibility of expanding the availability and lowering the cost of fossil fuel.

 

The average price for gasoline in Europe is currently the equivalent of $9.28 per U.S. gallon. In Obama’s world, this is not necessarily a bad thing. He instead chides his own countrymen for what he believes is their excessive consumption of gasoline and diesel fuel. From a European perspective, this could only mean that an Obama victory would weaken the economic engine of a free and robust America, against which the European nations could compete at a greater advantage.

 

With the collapse of the USSR in the late 1980s, the threat of global communist domination abated, the free world breathed a collective sigh of relief, and much of Europe presumed that life would be ever after free of danger or encroachment from hostile outside forces. But many events have occurred during the intervening two decades to signal another looming danger. Chief on the list is the influx of militant Islamists who make no secret of their intention of establishing in Europe an Islamic beachhead of a scope that previous Muslim invaders of the continent would never have imagined.

 

Irrespective of the military readiness of any particular countries within its realm, Europe’s cultural defenses of former centuries are down. Yet the continent seems intact for the moment, remaining blissfully unaware of the looming danger of its eventual undoing. Thus, its ideological movers and shakers perceive the resilience of American tradition and morality to be little more than a stubborn remnant of a less enlightened era. An Obama presidency, and the ensuing societal earthquake it would herald, could conceivably move America out of such perceived “dark ages” and into the era of post-nationalist European illumination.

 

However, the apparent calm of the moment belies the cultural collapse that, if left unchecked, will consume western civilization just as surely as it has every other social structure in history that ever forsook a stabilizing grasp of its own heritage.

 

Europe, if it is to survive and flourish, will need to address much more than just the empty dreams of its utopian leftists. Having abandoned its cultural moorings of past centuries, it simply cannot hope to contend with the ferocious belief system of militant Islam by confronting it with the insipid and effeminized banalities of “political correctness.” Nor does any latitude exist for an amicable coexistence of the two.

 

Similarly, America in the aftermath of 9-11 cannot afford to toy with leftist notions of appeasement or concession to its mortal enemies. Neither can it indefinitely pursue a national energy policy or worldwide diplomatic stance that foments vulnerability to ideological forces which are, at their core, hostile to its foundations, its heritage, and its aspirations for the future.

 

Europe, in short-term and short-sighted service to its own well-being, may fervently hope for Obama’s election as the next president of the United States. But America, if it is to maintain its strength, sovereignty, and national integrity, had better place a higher priority instead on American interests.