It’s the last day of Davos 2000, the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. Many people have departed, and the weather is so perfect outside that I suspect many others are skiing.
Throughout my week here I’ve been picking up some anti-American feeling. I’m not referring to the protesters outside on Saturday when President Clinton spoke, but rather to certain participants (and not just the representatives of non-governmental organizations, some of whom are extremely unhappy with the U.S. and its actions today).
Without a doubt, the large U.S. contingent among forum participants has raised some eyebrows. At one panel, when American after American got up to ask questions, the moderator finally asked, in obvious exasperation, if he could get a question from someone not from the U.S. At another session, a man from Europe said the topic these days isn’t globalization but Americanization. The dominance of global affairs by today’s only superpower is obvious at this gathering of the world’s elite.
Pete Seeger, the great folk singer and human-rights activist, had another way to put it. He said he feared the Coca-Colonization of the globe.
Note: I’m heading back to Calfornia — my next eJournal posting should come sometime late Wednesday or early Thursday.