Is anti-Americanism one of the last respectable prejudices in Australia, or are cries of anti-Americanism a way of silencing reasonable criticism? At the risk of being injured while straddling the fence, I will argue that, although the Bush administration has often behaved like an imperial bully-boy, the US has become the whipping boy for the anxieties of many nations and people. A broad anti-Americanism seems on the rise among Australians, possibly due to the resentment many feel about US power and the policies of this administration. Although I sympathise with many of its critics, the associated slide of many Australians into anti-Americanism is unfortunate. Presidents come and go, but America’s importance in our world and imaginations is much greater. Besides, the US is far too diverse to hate.

Salman Rushdie recently wrote that, whereas Muslim countries seem to resent US power and arrogance, Westerners outside the US seem more vexed by Americans themselves – their emotionality, patriotism and obesity. But which Americans are they referring to? There are 290 million of them. ‘America feels itself to be humanity in miniature,’ said the Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal. This assessment reflects the self-centred view of many in the new middle kingdom. Yet, the US has a strong claim to being the most multicultural society on earth.