Bewildered and concerned. That's the general reaction to the shutdown of the world's most powerful government. In a spot-on editorial last week, USA Today wrote:
'When Congress proves incapable of even its most basic functions â?? keeping the government running and paying its bills â?? it undermines the American brand abroad, and with it the nation's ability to be the shining beacon to which others look.'
Correct. Indeed, publications all over the world are expressing similar sentiments.
The British weekly magazine, The Economist, wrote:
'AS MIDNIGHT on September 30th approached, everybody on Capitol Hill blamed everybody else for the imminent shutdown of Americaâ??s government. To a wondering world, the recriminations missed the point. When you are brawling on the edge of a cliff, the big question is not â??Who is right?â?Â, but â??What the hell are you doing on the edge of a cliff?â?Â'
Similarly, the German publication Der Spiegel opined:
'Many Germans have found it hard to understand American lawmakers' inability to resolve their budget disagreements in time to prevent a shutdown of all nonessential government services, which went into effect at midnight on Monday night. "What Washington currently offers up is a spectacle, but one in which the spectators feel more like crying," writes the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.'
Our friendly neighbors to the north echoed some of the more practical concerns that many people all over the world are having. According to Maclean's:
'Every single time the American economy faces some kind of crisis, people in Canada get nervous. Any risk south of the border threatens our own economic good fortune. '
Most interesting -- and unexpected -- is China's reaction. Although Chinese media is expressing concern over America's ability to repay its debts, the tone has not been one of mockery, as we might expect. Instead, as Foreign Policy explains:
'Americans would be forgiven for assuming that observers in China, whose government is not averse to showcasing U.S. government failures to burnish the ruling Communist Party's image, are watching all this and indulging in schadenfreude. Instead, both China's state-run and private-but-state-supervised mainstream media outlets have thus far reacted with restraint.'
The article goes on to detail the reactions of various Chinese citizens. Many of them do not think a government shutdown reflects poorly on democracy. Some even believe that the fact mass chaos didn't follow the government shutdown speaks to the strength of the United States as a nation.
One thing is clear: Any Americans planning to do some international travel in the near future should be prepared to answer some questions.
(AP Photo)