This is a paper about my life as a translator and the global changes that I have experienced over the past four decades. I will talk about Europe's future, too. But, as my life on both sides of the Atlantic has taught me, any paper about translation services as they relate to Europe must also be about America. Believe it or not, this paper has been in the making for two decades. During the years of the cold-war, the 1970's and the 1980's, I was a young man of Texan origin, who was living and working in a London translation agency and who was of the opinion that he had heard the answers to all problem Europe might have. In fact, I had probably heard them all in every language too. It was not surprising that like many young Americans I had accepted the Reagan ideas and the respective view of the world. These were also the years when I considered that Europe and America had similar interests. Primarily, this involved a determination to stop Soviet influence in Europe.

While I worked for a Washington D.C. Translator company in the 70s and the 80s of the 20th century, I had the chance to see and hear the things myself. Almost every day I communicated with influential Washington research organizations and research workers. There I met the impressive breed of conservative, and more specifically, neo-conservative, thinkers and strategists, who were beginning to influence the Republican Party. Not one or two of them worked for George W. Bush, too. What was interesting was that some of these people used to be social democrats. Their international intelligence was impressive.

The sudden collapse of the Soviet Union brought the cold-war world to an abrupt end. At the time, my job required frequent travels from th U.K. to Oregon and back to the U.K. As a Portland Translator worker, my German Translation skills often sent me to Europe. So I was lucky enough to witness the demolition of the Berlin wall in 1989. Many Europeans reckon this act marked a new step in world history. That’s because Europe without the Wall ushered in more than just a new future for Europe - it changed the character of the Atlantic world. For, with the Soviet threat removed, Europe, suddenly, was no longer dependent upon the USA its security. Europe could now put an end to its dependence on the USA. German media discussed this dependence extensively, calling it "unhealthy dependence". Many believe this contributed to the growing anti-Americanism at the time. Regardless, Europeans now felt that they were free to unite, develop towards a federal future and eventually become a world power.

But when I went to Washington in 1990s, I realized the feelings and the beliefs had changed. I could perceive it among conservative policy institutes and neo-conservatives, people who advised both Bush father and son, even among some Democrats around Clinton. Even in Seattle Translator company where I worked I could feel this change. For example, one of the features that made Americans appealing was that during the cold war they were humble in their behavior and attitude. This was not one of the features Europe's political grandees could be proud of. But, America’s ‘victory’ in the cold war introduced a new culture. By the late 90s no one would get impressed when hearing strong terms like ‘hegemony’ and "dominance" even in everyday communication.