A few weeks ago, George W. Bush visited London, marking the first time in decades that an active president of the United States has visited the capital city of our friends across the Atlantic.

The British people have, in large numbers, protested the presidential visit through minor acts of civil disobedience.

On Nov. 19, the date of Bush’s visit to Buckingham Palace, the Metropolitan Police of London arrested 25 people for offenses including public disorder, criminal damage and possession of a knife, the Independent reported.

The Independent also reported several protesters were arrested for blocking the route of horses sent from the Royal Household to accompany Bush’s motorcade.

In the same article, the newspaper said that protestors drove the route of the motorcade in black taxis, rode horse-drawn carriages with look-alikes of Bush and the Queen of England, and constructed a pink tank that pulled down a mock statue of Bush – a reference to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, in which a statue of the former dictator was ripped from its pedestal symbolizing the fall of that government.

Although no serious disturbance was reported in the major newspapers, the protests gathered significant strength throughout the day, according to witnesses.

One politics graduate student of the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a dear friend of mine described the situation poignantly to me, saying: “They all repeat the same buzz words. It’s a new form of a cult around here. And it’s very trendy to be anti-American.”

So why is it that us Americans are so criticized abroad? Have we really done anything that other nations haven’t done in the past?

I’d venture to say that for our overseas partners to hate us so clearly demonstrates a complete lack of respect for the lessons of history; a history in which we were responsible for saving England from the Nazis. It was apparent prior to U.S. involvement in World War II, that Britain could not go it alone in combating the rapidly expanding fascism sweeping the continent under the demagogic leadership of Adolph Hitler.

The U.S. not only saved Britain in this war, but was able to move into France – at much cost to American soldiers’ lives – push back the Nazis, as well as squelch the rise of Nazi Germany’s allies in two other remote extremes of the globe.

We’ve been friends with Europe ever since, and have worked in the spirit of collaboration and in the experiment of inter-governmental cooperation.

We have put our differences aside, crossed geographical barriers, cultural barriers and personal barriers to promote alliances and friendship between our nation and the European nations.

So it is amazing to see what the U.S. gets when we send our leader abroad shortly before the state opening of a new session of British Parliament, to affirm our alliance and our commitment to the War on Terror.

I may or may not support Bush’s initiatives in the War on Terror, his pursuit of Saddam Hussein, his domestic policies in economy, legislature and homeland security, his views on abortion or on stem cell research, his support of the Patriot Act and the new Victory Act, but this is not important to my point. I simply mention it so that those who read my piece can understand their irrelevance in a counter-argument to my assertions and exclude it as a shot against my argument’s legitimacy.

All that really matters is that we are acting – or attempting to act – out of a benevolent interest for citizens of the world who enjoy life, peace and security – principles that we have always advocated for.

When I see people gathering in protest against our country, many of whom I believe could not last five seconds in a political debate that was limited exclusively to the facts, I am greatly disappointed.

Perhaps we can learn a lesson from this as Americans: We have enough senseless opposition to our country from overseas. Let us not make the mistake of undermining our political legitimacy at home either. If there’s something we don’t support, as citizens let’s make that known. But let us not mimic the actions of our partners across the ocean. Let us not gather in protest against our country simply because, as I believe so many have, it has become fashionable to do so.

Morris Singer is a Collegian columnist.