I was acting crazy in North America, and all the crazy people there took it seriously.

Chapter 126 Old Europe: America on the Verge of Collapse

How popular was "Big Bird"? So popular that the whole of Europe knew the name "Big Bird" from America!
It all started with a photo of him surrendering by holding up his underwear. The effect of this photo was so amazing that it spread like a visual virus throughout Europe!

From London to Paris, from Berlin to Rome, almost every major newspaper published the stunning photograph of "the most candid surrender in history" on its front page, sparking an unprecedented wave of attention.

—Wait, something seems off?

I'm talking about you, London!

The Sun is still being shut out of Great Britain. Where did you get your photos from?
Okay, let's skip the British media that "stole the photos" for now. Europeans were first subjected to a visual shock, and then everyone was asking, "Is this New York? What happened in New York?"
After related reports came out one after another, everyone finally realized what was happening in New York!

Gangs demanded heavy weapons from the government? And the government actually provided them? Gangs then engaged in a large-scale brawl in the city using heavy weapons?

Old Europe was deeply perplexed!
Although, as a global metropolis, New York City has a resident presence of journalists from mainstream European media.

But the messages sent back before were nothing more than "gangs exchanging fire and threatening each other" or "tanks being modified into demolition tools," which are quite common, aren't they?
Well, the latter is not very common, but people didn't take it seriously and just laughed it off after reading the report.

When all of this was pieced together, the Europeans learned the details of the entire "demolition war": from the government providing military equipment to the gangs' ideological manifestos, and finally to that legendary surrender scene.

Europeans were deeply shocked!

This is completely beyond their comprehension!
How could a government allow, or even condone, gangs exchanging heavy weapons in the city? Oh, they seem to call this "demolition"?
Screw your "demolition"!
Don't think that changing the name will make people stop finding it absurd.

No, it feels even more absurd. Who needs cannons and tanks for their own "demolition"?
Demolishing "other people's" homes is understandable.

I have a feeling that we don't live in the same civilized world!
But one thing is certain: we all live on the same planet.

So—ultimately, are Americans normal?

This issue quickly became the focus of discussion in the media across Europe.

After careful discussion, European media quickly reached a consensus: Americans have gone mad!

Then a British tabloid proudly declared: We knew all along!

Ever since the Chicago gangs challenged the U.S. military, and the U.S. military lost and blamed Great Britain, we've thought Americans are abnormal and predicted they'll become increasingly insane.

Look! Hasn't this come true?

Another British media outlet systematically reviewed the various strange events that have occurred in the United States in recent years—

The idea of ​​gangs fighting the US military is ancient history!

Later on, there were headlines like "Criminals are hailed as heroes," "Fire tornadoes ravage the Midwest, the whole nation saves cats," and "Government provides heavy weapons to gangs"...

These events, occurring in old Europe—or rather, just in the context of old Europe—already plunged it into a sustainable dilemma.

This British media outlet conducted rigorous research and finally reached a flawless conclusion—America is experiencing a collective mental breakdown, and it's getting increasingly abnormal! —Hmm, looks like you've been paying close attention to The Sun, haven't you!
—Hey, what's wrong with you British?! Didn't you say you wouldn't allow a single punctuation mark from The Sun to enter the British Empire?!

But that's not the point. The point is: everything was fine, and no one was harming it, so why did America go crazy?
After another round of intense thought and debate.

Finally, German media offered a geopolitical explanation: "It's all Britain and France's fault! These two old empires firmly held global hegemony, kicking America back to its homeland after the war. These energetic Americans must have been going crazy at home!"

French media, however, analyzed the situation from a historical and genetic perspective: "The earliest immigrants to America from Great Britain were mentally ill! Puritans, criminals, social outcasts... their descendants naturally carry the genes for mental illness, and it's perfectly normal for them to be having these episodes now. So it's all Great Britain's fault!"

British media retorted, "Well said, but when we wanted to clean house and teach these mentally ill and unfilial children a lesson, weren't you French people supporting their independence behind the scenes? Blame yourselves for being blind!"

As they continued to mock each other, the British and French media began tearing each other apart, from the Hundred Years' War to Napoleon, and from Napoleon to the recent European wars, each accusing the other of various underhanded tactics.

It was media from other countries that reminded them that America seemed to have gone mad, and then what?
Hmm, that's a good question.

European media fell into deep thought.

First of all, how can a crazy country be the world's leading economic power? That doesn't make sense.

But the British media had their own explanation, solemnly declaring: "The American economy is experiencing a serious false boom. Our analysis shows that this boom based on bubbles and speculation is unsustainable and is expected to collapse before 1930."

Although the economy across the Atlantic is still growing rapidly, technological innovation is advancing by leaps and bounds, and the living standards of ordinary people are continuously improving... but that's not the key point!
The key point is that the British said, "America is collapsing!"

French media echoed this sentiment, stating, "A crazy America will become the new epicenter of the global crisis, and their madness will spread throughout the world through their economic system!"

Even in Germany, which was plunged into unprecedented turmoil and hardship after World War I, with its people helplessly adrift in the vortex of the times, the media couldn't help but conclude: "The model is coming to an end! Free capitalism has shown its fatal flaws!"

When news spread that "Big Bird" had become a "superstar" in America, the prevailing view in old Europe was that "America is about to collapse"!

How can such a disgraceful "gangster" be hailed as a "big star"? If America doesn't collapse, who will?

As a European historian wrote, "America is repeating the decline and fall of the Roman Empire—moral decay, entertainment to the death, and rampant violence..."

A sociology professor lamented, "The Protestant ethic is dead in America; the civilization of this New World is heading towards self-destruction!"

This summer, more than one political scientist or historian in Europe is writing books such as "The Collapse of America" ​​and "The Twilight of Empires"!
These theories effectively soothed the bewildered minds of old Europe, who were increasingly unable to understand the New World.

Otherwise, what else could it be? That old Europe has gone mad?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Interestingly, all of these analyses heavily cite reports from The Sun!
So, regardless of whether America collapses or not, The Sun's influence is still steadily increasing?
I've heard that madness is contagious?

So……

……

(End of this chapter)