May 15, 2026 | My trip to Europe made something painfully clear: America is not the “greatest country on Earth.”
That phrase is not patriotism — it’s nationalism. It’s a lie we are taught through flags, bald eagles, patriotic songs, military worship, gun culture, and the constant demand that we treat America like it is above criticism.
But loving your country does not mean worshipping it. Patriotism means wanting your country to be better. Nationalism means pretending it already is. When you look at what America actually leads the world in, the truth is ugly: gun violence, mass incarceration, military spending, and white supremacy.
Meanwhile, many European countries have universal healthcare, minimal gun violence, affordable or free college, stronger worker protections, and a better quality of life.
America has convinced people that freedom means struggling to afford healthcare, working yourself to death, fearing gun violence, and calling it liberty.
We traded quality of life for capitalism — and then called it greatness.
This video is not anti-American. It is anti-lie. If we actually love this country, we need to stop worshipping symbols and start fighting for the people.
Since the last European parliamentary elections in 2014, nationalist right-wing parties have made significant gains in many European states. Does the growing influence of right-wing nationalism pose a threat to the ideal of European unity?
To understand what moves Europe's citizens, DW's Max Hofmann traveled around the continent seeking the perspectives of key players and those directly affected by the major issues of today. For example, how the migration drama on the southern coast of Italy originates and ends partly in eastern Germany. Or how right-wing populists in France try to lure in voters - and how comparable political forces in Poland have used similar tactics to gain seats in government. In investigating the topics of environment and climate protection, Hofmann visits the EU Climate Change Dossiers and the EU's largest per capita plastic waste producer: Ireland. Through each trip, Hofmann seeks to better understand the connections and centrifugal forces at play across Europe.
From Britain’s decision to leave the EU to the victory of Donald Trump in the United States, nationalist movements are gaining ground around the world. DW’s Fanny Facsar traveled to several countries in a bid to discover the driving forces behind the trend.
In Austria, conservative leader Sebastian Kurz has been tasked with forming a government after he won a slim majority in the snap elections earlier this month. His conservative party, which campaigned on an anti-immigration platform, is now weighing whether to form a coalition with Austria’s far-right populist Freedom Party, which won 26 percent of the vote in the Austrian elections. The Freedom Party was founded by former Nazis six decades ago. This comes as hate crimes in Britain hit a record high and anti-immigrant nationalist movements are surging across Europe. For more, we speak with Dominic Thomas, professor at UCLA who specializes in European politics. Thomas is chair of the Department of French and Francophone Studies.
