Forty years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, one cannot help but be struck by the difference between the reception President Bush received last week in London and the reception JFK received when he visited Berlin in 1963.

In England, a country that has been America's best friend and steadfast ally, thousands of protesters turned out to topple an effigy of Bush and denounce his preemptive strike on Iraq, his policies on world trade and his positions on environmental issues. A far cry, indeed, from the bouquets of roses that the Germans offered JFK when he delivered his gripping "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech.

The stark contrast should be a jarring wake-up call to Americans lost in a dreamland of collective denial. America's friends are few, and becoming fewer.

Anti-American sentiment is nothing new. Whether it was the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon in 1975, the burning of President Jimmy Carter's effigy in Tehran in 1979, or the murder of U.S. soldiers in Mogadishu in 1993, foes have vilified this nation since its founding.

What is new, however, is that today, America's closest friends and allies are trashing U.S. presidents, policies and actions. To ignore the significance of this trend is to ignore the global groundswell of ill will that has made this nation, and all of its symbols, the target of rage and attack.

When Pan American flight 103 was blown out of the sky over Lockerbie, Scotland, many of us who worked for Pan Am knew that the attack was the mark of terrorists. We had seen our fellow crew members gunned down in Pakistan during a thwarted hijacking.

We also suspected that the Karachi attack and the 103 bombing were just the beginning of a carefully planned and professionally executed war on all things American. Sadly, our predictions have proven true. In fact, the United States -- in various guises -- has suffered numerous terrorist attacks. But not until 9/11 did America wake up to the unsettling knowledge that this country is not universally loved and admired.

Did we Pan Amers have a crystal ball? Of course not; what we had was an understanding of other nations, values and cultures. What we knew was that many around the world viewed U.S. policy -- and many things American -- with distrust and animosity.

We'd seen the fallout of American policies -- policies that showed scant understanding of or little respect for norms other than those made in the U.S.A. We'd taken note of the American arrogance that fanned the embers of hopelessness, resentment and revenge. And we feared the propitious moment of opportunity because we knew that the rising tide of anti-American sentiment would eventually batter the shores of our nation with a force never before imagined.

President Bush, and all Americans, would be well advised to listen carefully to the message broadcast by the recent events in London. When long-held and trusted friends rally en masse against U.S. policies, surely it is time to reexamine the problem and rethink the solution. Surely, it is time to listen. And listen carefully.

Catherine Ryan, a former Pan Am purser, lives in St. Paul and works for the Minnesota Senate.

© Copyright 2003 Star Tribune

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