TESTY:

You calling me anti-American?: Matthew d’Ancona has prepared a quiz for those who are wondering whether they are Americo-sceptics, or just a bit wet (The Spectator, 11/29/03)

Let’s face it: these are tough times for us Atlanticists. People fall quiet at dinner when we say that we admire America. They shuffle their feet, splutter into their soufflés and tap their watches when we suggest that President Bush isn’t a moron. They shake their heads and catch each others’ eyes as if to say: he just doesn’t get it.

And the sad thing is that they have fashion on their side. You see, Euroscepticism is so 1990s. The new and most virulent cultural contagion to grip the nation is Americo-scepticism. Taking a pot shot at Uncle Sam — kicking a Black Hawk when it’s down, as it were — has become as, Quentin Tarantino would say, too cool for school. It’s everywhere. Everybody’s doing it: Damon Albarn, Noam Chomsky, Max Hastings, Matthew Parris ...you know, anybody who’s anybody. No middle-class gathering is complete without a papier-mâché effigy of the President to pull down.

But are you an Americo-sceptic? To help you evaluate your position, The Spectator has devised the following psychometric test:

Here's the funniest, because most true:

7. The ‘spell-check facility’ on your computer will not accept that the noun ‘practice’ is spelt in Britain with a ‘c’, not an ‘s’. The red curly line that says ‘you are thick’ refuses to budge. Do you
(a) Write an angry letter to Bill Gates
(b) Ignore the provocation
(c) Accept that this is a small price to pay for the spread of freedom around the globe

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 29, 2003 5:15 PM