Europe, this time we’re counting on you to save us

Dear Europe,

You’ve heard us tell our lame joke over and over: If it weren’t for us, you’d all be speaking German now. When tyranny and despotism marched over democracy in World War II, we swept in to help you push back the flames of fascism, wipe out the enemy and rebuild the foundations of democracy.

Turns out the joke is on us. We’ve accidentally invited Russia into the White House. As we build walls and close our borders, we’re looking to you to save us this time.

For nearly 70 years, the United States was the keystone of the West’s security alliance. We proudly served as a bulwark against Russian aggression in Europe. As the biggest member of NATO, we have been the giant behind the guarantee of collective security, our enormous economy and mighty military always hovering in the background for our adversaries to see, winking quietly to tell them: The U.S. has Europe’s back.

We didn’t do this to lord our power over you, or to tell you what to do. We did it because the U.S. and Europe are compatible partners. We’re good together.

We understand some of your support for populist movements is genuine. You’re angry. That’s OK. Many of us were angry before our election, too. We all screwed up.

I know, our common values don’t always align. Left to our own devices, we Americans overcook pasta, drink Sprite with wine and play football with our hands. But despite our eccentricities, you, Europe, are the love of our lives, the only ones we could ever really make a long-term go of it with.

Now, Vladimir Putin and his populist puppets are trying to break us up, and the new American president seems willing to play along.

This is our fault. We Americans just voted ourselves into a hard place. And Donald Trump seems ready, eager even, to throw in our lot with Putin. As he has done often in his personal life, he is trading in a long-term partner for a newer model who goes around topless. He likes shiny objects, what can we say?

But many of us don’t like this new relationship. We recognize this new suitor is playing mind games and isn’t interested in a healthy relationship. We’re hoping you can be the strong and sturdy one now, maintaining the liberal democratic order while we go on a — hopefully temporary — Russian bender.

You still have that ability. Putin is playing the same game in Europe he is playing here. The Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy all face elections within the next 16 months. Russia has forged ties with your populist parties, generated financial deals with them and infiltrated the internet with propaganda aimed at disrupting and influencing your vote.

We understand some of your support for populist movements is genuine. You’re angry. That’s OK. Many of us were angry before our election, too. We all screwed up. We created new wealth but did nothing to spread it. Politicians, be they in Washington or Brussels, used a bloated bureaucratic system to make rules for others (but not for themselves). And global elites got richer developing impractical schemes to help troubled populations, then sipped expensive whiskey at Davos to celebrate how kind they were to the poor. All the while, war and corruption have created a steady stream of migrants that is putting pressure on the system for average Europeans.

Despite these problems — big problems, to be sure, and which certainly require solutions — the overall direction we were heading was good: toward a multi-racial, progressive, liberal democratic society.

The majority of us, Americans and Europeans alike, do not look to Russia to be our model for society, even if that country does have the “world’s greatest prostitutes,” as Putin recently asserted. Many of you already know what Russia’s heavy hand feels like, and once you were free of it, you turned to us. You chose our way for your future.

Please, Europe, hold Liberty’s torch for us until we can rejoin you in a progressive, democratic world. We the People are counting on you to save us.

Europe, you have the chance to safeguard the stability we Americans have just discarded, to man the helm of these uncharted waters until we can, hopefully, rejoin you.

Whether or not we can rejoin you requires your help, too. We know you’re in a tough spot. Given our new president’s predilection for parroting Kremlin talking points, you might be hesitant to continue working with us on security matters. But please remember, not helping each other will only make us less secure, and in turn will make it easier for those vying for power to chisel away at our checks and balances and move us ever closer to authoritarianism.

Once it starts, it’s a hard cycle to stop. We know you know what we’re talking about. Please don’t appease this guy, but don’t isolate us, either.

With you, Europe, we feel secure, and we both know we are better together than apart. Please, Europe, hold Liberty’s torch for us until we can rejoin you in a progressive, democratic world. We the People are counting on you to save us. All of us.

Alex Finley is a former CIA officer and author of “Victor in the Rubble.”  She tweets at: @alexzfinley