Not our America
The struggle of US citizens in Groningen
Laatst gewijzigd op 25 June 2025
om 16:15 uur.
Last modified on June 25, 2025
at 16:15 PM.
Door Noah Remke
Laatst gewijzigd op 25 June 2025
om 16:15 uur.
By Noah Remke
Last modified on June 25, 2025
at 16:15 PM.
Noah Remke
It’s not that they thought America was a paradise. That they didn’t realise already that the ‘land of the free’ had some real issues to deal with. And America’s history, well… there’s the killing of indigenous people, slavery, and segregation.
But still. For American citizens working and studying in Groningen, America is also about striving for growth or trying to better the world, alongside the ability to coexist in a diverse society and not judge people based on their differences. ‘I still claim those values, because they represent the kind of America that I want to believe in’, UCG student Julia St. Germain says. ‘But the racism and nationalism Trump puts out there make me feel very conflicted.’
Americans at the UG have been wrestling with feelings of frustration or embarrassment ever since Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. Not only do they have to deal with a president whose beliefs they don’t accept, in almost every conversation they are confronted about it by others. Colleagues, friends, or random people at parties ask them about the trade war Trump started, the scuppering of diversity and inclusion programmes, or the cuts to international aid programmes.
Political questions
Julia used to be proud of her background. To her, being an American is about traditions like Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July. It’s about the local food in Boston. But it’s also about open-mindedness and acceptance.
My national identity extends beyond a politician I did not vote for
These days though, every time she mentions she’s American, people will bombard her with political questions. ‘It’s the first thing they ask me, which makes me feel that it’s the first thing they think about when they meet me. I hate that, because I don’t want to be associated with Trump’, she says.
The same goes for fellow UCG student Alexandra Strzynski. Her America is family, friends, her favorite American foods, and music. ‘I think of how diverse it is and the great elements of Midwestern culture.’
She doesn’t think of Trump when she thinks of home. ‘It annoys me that people don’t understand that Trump isn’t a part of American culture for everyone. My national identity extends beyond a politician I did not vote for.’ Yet she also gets pulled into these conversations all the time.
Dirty laundry
Assistant professor of international relations Jesse Crane-Seeber feels the need to joke about his background everywhere he goes, he says. ‘And there were these uncomfortable moments where my partner jokingly introduced me as “my American”. She didn’t mean anything by it, but still. Being introduced this way makes me think, is someone going to expect me to defend the Trump administration?’
Crane-Seeber is proud of being American because of parts of its culture, like the birth of hip hop or the gay rights movement. ‘But now with what Trump is doing and the hateful narratives that he is spreading, it’s like the world is looking at our dirty laundry.’
I couldn’t believe that this was happening in America
The sudden shift has left all of them baffled. The images of the recent protests in Los Angeles and the brutal attempts by police to shut them down shocked them. ‘When I saw police in military uniforms throwing flashbangs and tear gas at protesters, I couldn’t believe that this was happening in America. It makes me scared for the future’, says Julia.
And when she read about Trump’s attacks on Harvard, she couldn’t help but be reminded of dictators in the past. ‘All because he believes they are suppressing conservative viewpoints. It’s straight out of a dictator’s playbook.’
Crane-Seeber is extremely worried about the narratives Trump is pushing. ‘This idea that you have to break the law to defend people’, he says. ‘This is incredibly shocking.’
Exploitation and oppression
However, Trump’s success didn’t come completely out of the blue, they feel. It has been made possible because the issues in the country have not been addressed.
‘Growing up in America, you’re taught a lot about things like the American Dream, where the country is described as an amazing place to live with everybody getting the same opportunities to succeed’, Alexandra says. ‘But as I got older I realised that this is just simply not true.’
American-German Leon Leier grew up in New York, believing that America was a force of good in the world, fighting for the oppressed and upholding human rights. But he, too, came to see things differently. ‘I became more aware that what America is really about is the exploitation and oppression of the weakest and most vulnerable’, says the medical student.
So he is not that surprised to see what is happening now. ‘The Trump administration has only put the true nature of American imperialism on full display.’
Crane-Seeber agrees. The idea that you have to be willing to do illegal, violent, and possibly racist things in order to protect the silent majority has been there all along, he says: just look at the attacks on gay clubs or racially motivated mass shootings over the years. Or, of course, the January 6th Capitol riots. ‘These narratives have real consequences.’
Economic suffering
Then there are the more tangible problems that have caused people to vote for Trump. ‘A lot of them really have suffered economically’, says assistant professor of international political economy Greg Fuller. ‘The country hasn’t been doing enough to address where this suffering is coming from, which are the systemic faults of capitalism.’
Someone needs to address how broken we are
The only way out for America, he feels, is to find a way to be more progressive and present a more interventionist argument to address its problems. ‘What the democrats were doing, saying everything is fine and Trump will make things worse, is not a winning narrative. It misses the point that there are real problems in America, especially in the working class and rural areas.’
What the country does need is a political leader who speaks to people’s sense that there is something wrong without demonising others. ‘Someone needs to address how broken we are.’
What’s needed next is a fundamental reconsideration of the American economic and political system in order to build a better country, Fuller says. ‘We need to change things like the electoral system and provide better worker protection.’
Core values
However, no one has a short-term solution. ‘The damage that Trump is causing both socially and politically will take years to undo and it seems to only be getting worse’, Julia believes.
Alexandra thinks Americans need to relearn how to communicate and listen to each other – even to Trump supporters. ‘Calling people dumb doesn’t get anybody anywhere. We should listen to their story or provide some sort of education that could help them make more informed decisions.’
Meanwhile, the Groningen Americans are doing what they can. ‘I made donations to various organisations, like institutions fighting for women’s reproduction rights and legal defence funds for people who are caught up in the Los Angeles protests’, Fuller says.
Crane-Seeber tries to fight the good fight by teaching. ‘If we promote the core American values that I believe in with future generations, they can continue to challenge the status quo and make America a better place’, he says. ‘With Trump, we have come to a point where we must decide what kind of Americans we are and what values we want to uphold.’
Also read: You have to watch what you say as a visiting scholar in America