Month: December 2017

Let’s officially rename these crazy things “narcissi-sticks.”

 I’ve just completed a 40-year study of “Ugly Americans” in Europe. I’ve concluded two things: If you’re being treated like an Ugly American, it’s because you are one; and (thankfully) Ugly Americans are much rarer now than they used to be.

Ugly Americans are not bad people — just ethnocentric. And, being ethnocentric gets you into a vicious downward cycle in your travels: You complain when things aren’t what you think of as proper, so you see fewer smiles and worse service, and you complain even more. You end up going home in a bad mood.

Of course, with an ethnocentric, “me first” president who sees the world as a zero-sum game (and is scaling up the “lawyers, insults, and intimidation” approach he uses in his personal life into America’s approach to the family of nations), Americans dreaming of a European vacation might wonder if we’re not all going to be treated as Ugly. Happily, the answer is no. While Europeans are sad to see our suddenly less-gracious country no longer a moral leader and an inspiration around the globe, they still welcome us as individuals. (But if you have a MAGA hat, I’d recommend leaving it — and the attitude it symbolizes — home if you want to enjoy the same warm welcome other Americans receive.)

For those of you that want to be seen not as an Ugly American, but as a beautiful one, here are a few things to think about before your next trip.

More money than many Americans make in their entire lifetime. That’s what Congressional Republicans are voting to give me as a tax break.

That’s right: If Republicans in Congress get their way, I just saved a couple million dollars on the change in the inheritance tax alone. What about you?

Our government already spends more than it takes in, and this tax giveaway will make it worse. But that plays right into Congressional Republicans’ strategy to shrink the government: First, they cut taxes by $1.5 trillion (mostly benefiting the rich). Then, to balance the budget, they’ll claim that the only solution is to gut programs (such as Social Security and Medicare) designed to protect America’s poor and working class.

I once asked my Swiss friend Olle, “How can you Swiss people be so docile about paying such high taxes?” Without missing a beat, he replied, “Well, what’s it worth to live in a country where there’s no hunger, no homelessness, and where everyone — regardless of the wealth of their parents — has access to quality healthcare and education?”

I believe a national budget is a moral document. It declares who we are as a nation. Decency requires compassion and help for our poor. Stability requires a healthy middle class. The Republican economic agenda both hurts the poor and further weakens our middle class — all to give wealthy people a windfall of cash they don’t need.

So what am I going to do with all of the tax revenue Congressional Republicans want to save me? I’m choosing to provide, as an individual, what European societies would provide collectively: housing for otherwise homeless single mothers and their kids, helping to build senior centers, and paying the rent of our local symphony orchestra. These are basic services — not extravagances.

While Republicans might argue that I’m proving their point — that charity from the wealthy will come to the rescue — I believe that such services should be paid for not by the odd millionaire who doesn’t have a taste for golf clubs and yachts, but collectively, through progressive taxation. While lowering my marginal tax rate from 39.6% to 37% will have no impact on my privileged standard of living, it will ultimately have a huge impact on millions of struggling people.

As a proud American and a student of Europe, I care deeply about the cost to the fabric of our society that this windfall for the wealthy will bring. If you believe you’re being represented by a Republican Congressperson who votes for this plan, you are mistaken. It costs them a lot of money to convince you to vote for them, and this tax bill is their way of paying off their major donors. And if I lived in your district, I’d raise bloody hell.

(By the way, our Christmas fundraiser for Bread for the World was a huge success this year, raising more money than ever. Thank you to the 2,376 who contributed, collectively raising $311,700. With my $250,000 match, together we raised $561,700 to empower Bread in its work — to speak up for those who don’t have private lobbyists driving our government to re-write laws in their favor.)

Flying us musically to seven different countries, my one-hour public television special Rick Steves’ Europe: A Symphonic Journey celebrates how, in the late 19th century, Romanticism and nationalism mingled together, as music partnered with freedom-lovers. This final clip from the special features a rousing composition that, while dating from the 19th century, still carries special meaning in the 21st century, as the official anthem of the European Union: Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ode to Joy.