The End of the Americanization of Everything
The most significant fallout from the Iraqi war and the extremely unpopular Bush administration may be the halt of the cult of the U.S.. It's less popular today to be American, act American or buy American than it has ever been in my lifetime. For those of us who travel overseas frequently it's become difficult, at times embarassing to be a stranger in a strange land.
Canada, for instance, is waking up from it's little sister status and will, I suspect, continue to move in its own direction, regardless of how this war turns out. Their ant-Iraqi war stance may define them going forward just as much as Blair's pro-war position has Britain.
American products are moving lower down and further back on store shelves around the world. Competition is springing up everywhere to fill the niches. Clothing, electronics, furniture and other finished pieces of consumer goods are becoming truly global. Don't be fooled by brands like Coke, Ford or Mickey-Ds. These are not companies, these are countries. Hell, McDonalds even has their own flag, university and an army of clowns.
When this craziness is over, I hope that we Americans can get back to doing what we do well, marketing dreams, building archetypes like Marilyn and Elvis and cowboy-like innovation second-to-none.
Posted on December 06, 2005
