...that everyone and their dog is suddenly an expert on Americans?
Seriously. I want to know. I mean, everyone seems to have an opinion on us. If a person hasn't been here, hasn't visited the US in depth, hasn't talked or dealt with more than a handful of us Americans, then how do they know so much about us?
I happened across this little piece of work and just shook my head. Obviously biased, if you look where the article came from (*coughMiddleEastcough*), but still I find it ironic that people call us ignorant and arrogant.
Let me clear a few of these misconceptions up:
1. Driving slowly in the fast lane. Americans consider it their privilege to amble along in the fast (left-hand) lane, while swifter drivers overtake in the near-side lane (for which European policemen would arrest them straightaway). Clumps of slower drivers impede traffic and set the stage for pileups. This is the sad result of misguided egalitarianism. Americans believe that they should be able to drive wherever they wish, whereas class privilege rules the road in Europe. Faster cars belong in the fast lane and nudge slower-moving vehicles out of the way.
Obviously, this person hasn't ridden in a car with me, or any of my friends (except J...who drives slow but keeps to the slow lane), or any other American. Wasn't "road rage" coined here in the violence of the US? The streets of America are AGRESSIVE folks. The minute you step in a car and pull out of your garage, you're taking your life in your hands. Everyone in this country is in a hurry. Everyone has places to go. Everyone is speeding, cutting each other off, swerving in and out of traffic. Everyone has to be first in line. Those slow put-put along idiots driving in the fast lane piss us other drivers off. THEY DON'T BELONG THERE! Get me behind one of them and I'll let go a stream of explicative and hand gestures that would make the devil himself blush. God, just thinking about it is making me angry.
Case in point. A good friend of mine was hit by a truck last year while riding his bicycle. Actually, the driver passed him on the road, in a hurry to pull into her drive way. She slammed on her brakes after going around him, turned to enter her driveway, and he hit her doing 30 miles an hour. Broke his neck.
Another example: The ominous Blue Bridge here in my city. Every week there are at least two accidents during rush hour traffic. These accidents are caused by people cutting off other drivers while hurrying to squeeze into the off-ramps that take them into the Highlands of our city. Note, this takes place on a highway, where the speed limit is 55mph. The highway where I live has a record of 17 head on collisions all ending in death in one year. Why? People passing on a two lane highway--because they were in a hurry.
So, no, misinformed author trying to reach for things to belittle us Americans. WE drivers loathe the slow jackasses who cause pile-ups and think they can drive anywhere they want just as much as you, or anyone else in other countries. In fact, here, in the US, people have been shot for it (road rage). Nice huh? *shakes head*
2. Burnt coffee at exorbitant prices. The most popular cafe chain, whose name decent people do not pronounce, burns its coffee beans to produce what Americans mistakenly believe is an authentic European taste. Proper coffee, by which of course I mean Italian coffee, is bittersweet, not burned. Americans evidently hate the wretched stuff because they drown its flavor in a flood of milk, in the so-called "latte", something I never have observed an Italian request during many years of travel in that country. By contrast, Italians drink cappuccino, mixing a small amount of milk into the coffee and leaving a cap of foam. If Americans do not like it, why do they buy it at exorbitant prices? They do so precisely because the high price makes it a luxury, but an affordable one for secretaries and shop girls.
Uh...I'm not a coffee drinker. I think all coffee, no matter where it comes from or what it smells like, is disgusting. My question is, who cares if Americans like to sweeten coffee or tea? I like my steak friggen bloody and think burnt meat is grotesque. I believe it's a matter of preference and has no reflection on intelligence. As for Italian names, I assure you, most of us could care less what our food is named or where it came from. Latte, cappuccino, coffee, tea, ocha, milk-tea...what ever. Why is this important?
One thing I've noticed about us Americans is we have a sweet tooth. When my friends from Japan, Russian, Denmark have sent me candies and such, I've always found them bland compared to the stuff we have in the US. A CULTURAL preference, nothing more, nothing less. I don't think less of them for candies tasting blah.
3. Dishwater masquerading as tea. Order tea from an American, and you will receive a cup of lukewarm water and a tea-bag. No beverage on earth is more revolting than this. This and the previous item bring to mind a riposte attributed to Abraham Lincoln: "Waiter, if this is coffee, then bring me tea. But if this is tea, then bring me coffee."
Once again...tea isn't big here. Another cultural thing. I like certain teas (Green Tea, Oolong Tea), but it's not something us Americans go looking for or must have daily. Tea doesn't make a person cultured. It's just a drink. Don't like our tea...make your own.
Hell, we even threw the shit into Boston Harbor. That should give you a good idea of what we think about tea. :P
4. Wood-flavored wine. Americans know as little about wine as they do about coffee. California winemakers throw oak chips into vats of fermenting chardonnay in order to simulate the effect of aging in oak barrels. That is true only for the cheaper wines, but the dearer ones taste just as woody. The American idea of a "big wine" is to suffuse cabernet sauvignon (properly used to produce a delicate wine) with the taste of oak. At best, American wines offer a soporific sort of smoothness, but never achieve the quirkiness, eccentricity and character which make European vineyards an enchanted realm.
Ah ha ha ha! You silly writer you. (Ag student steps forward) You might want to do a bit of research before you start bashing American vineyards. To insult us, is to insult France, which is where the root stock for our vineyards originated. THEN...back in the day, when France was plagued with root weevils, guess where they came to get "original root stock" to replenish their vineyards? Hmmm...
Farming is a funny business, isn't it?
5. Shopping-mall architecture. Most middle-sized American cities have disappeared into a suburban morass, while shopping malls have replaced the old town centers. Americans in most parts of the US have no other place to congregate. Even churches are relocating to shopping malls in order to accommodate the habits of their congregations. Unlike European cities (and older American ones) the public aspect of cities is entirely absent: churches, public buildings, monuments and so forth. The omnipresence of purely commercial architecture depresses the mind; Europeans accustomed to viewing well-proportioned buildings in their daily perambulations find it difficult to spend more than a day or two in such places.
I have never, ever seen a church in a shopping mall. Perhaps a few blocks away, but there are churches all over the towns and cities of the US. We have no place to congregate? Uhhh...that's funny...because I seem to remember that many of the cities I've been to, including my own, are laced with clubs, HUGE ASS parks, amusement parks, churches, libraries, museums, movie houses, etc. What the hell part of the US did this yahoo visit?
One thing to remember about us Americans: We LIKE TO BE ENTERTAINED. We don't like being bored and we strive to have things to do with ourselves. Why the hell do you think Hollywood is so friggen huge? Or our music business? Or Disneyland?
As for shopping malls. Economics baby. We like to spend money. Shopping malls are convenient. Where you find a shopping mall, you find a plethora of other businesses, restaurants, movies houses, etc around it. Good Business. Smart Business.
6. A consensus national restaurant menu (Mexican-Italian-seafood-podge). A generation ago, one could be sure of obtaining sawdust sausages, Scotch eggs and pork pies in any British pub (and often a ploughman's lunch with Wensleydale cheese). Today, one can count on finding pizza, tacos, fried shrimp, Caesar salad and cheeseburgers in any American restaurant, as the American melting pot transforms various national cuisines into indistinguishable blobs of grease and dough. Unification of American cuisine is not much of a loss, as the local cuisine was wretched to begin with, but the result is nonetheless disheartening. Anti-globalists have made a target of the purveyors of fast food, but the chains have homogenized other cuisines, such as seafood, Italian, Mexican, steak and so forth. In the place of texture and flavor Americans receive grease and quantity, which helps explain why they are so podgy.
Heh. I'll agree that a lot of our "authentic foreign cuisine" has a lot to be desired, but us Americans expect that. HOWEVER, thanks to cultural diversity, if you know what you're looking for, you can get AUTHENTIC FOOD anywhere. Want Japanese or Chinese? Got myself a great restaurant here in town that is authentic. In Seattle, my heaven for when I want good Asian food, they're everywhere. In my home town, Mexican food made and served by Mexicans is on every corner. I'm fully aware the flautas I buy at Red Robin aren't authentic, but I know where to get real ones if I want them.
Mr. Writer wasn't looking very hard.
7. Chewing tobacco. What more can one say? Heinrich Heine, the greatest poet of mid-19th century Germany, wrote, "Sometimes I think of emigrating to America, but I am frightened by a country where human beings chew tobacco."
We won't go here. :P But I will say, South America is just as bad as we are. At least smokers here aren't allowed to contaminate us non-smokers with their vile carcinogens in public. From what I understand, in many other countries, this is still allowed. Nothing sucks worse than trying to enjoy a meal while coughing up a lung because the people behind you can't refrain from smoking for an hour. A matter of culture...and preferences.
8. Hand-me-down high culture. Not to possess a high culture is no shame; the Pilgrim Fathers of New England rejected Western high culture as they found it in favor of a radical return to ancient Israel. Like Moliere's bourgeois gentleman, the Americans of the 19th century decided that a high culture suited their new respectability. Americans who would not recognize an allegory if it ate them alive by inches, and cannot read a line of Dante Alighieri or Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, gush over Herman Melville's confused and overwrought Moby Dick. American scholars who have not heard of the 16th century Lazarillo de Tormes claim that Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is a work of originality. Harold Bloom, the defender of the "Western Canon" against the barbarian hordes of deconstructionism, enthuses over Walt Whitman's onanistic (in the literal sense of the term) excuse for verse. Bloom dismisses the critics of the left as "resentniks", but is resentment not the other side of the coin of pretension? In any case, these are the embarrassing pretensions of two generations past, the putative classics beloved of American conservatives. University students today are more likely to wade through the works of black and feminist writers as a counterweight to the "elitist" high culture of Melville and Whitman, that is, if they are not occupied with courses on film and comic books.
Put down the purple pen, writer. You're making my eyes bleed. Silly bigot, making broad assumptions of us Americans. You'd be surprised at how many of us have read masters such as Dante Alighieri (glances at bookshelf). As for the American Classics that we gush over, like Huck Finn, we don't expect you foreigners to understand or appreciate them (I doubt you've even bothered to read them). We understand the allegories our writers have put in front of us and we love them, that's enough for us. Perhaps if they pertained to YOUR culture and history, they might have more meaning to you.
Anyone who writes professionally would know that borrowed ideas are nothing new to authors around the world. I find it extremely funny Mr. Pretentious would bring this up, considering the most borrowed from piece of literature in the world is the Bible. Especially when it comes down to the classics he so obviously loves.
Ah, bless our film students. If it wasn't for them, where would the world get their movies? Good ones? Hollywood rules the movie industry and everyone knows it. There are good films from other countries out there, but American movies bank the bucks world wide. As for comic books...once again...Spiderman? X-men? We excel in entertainment. Nothing to be ashamed of...though the Japanese have us cornered in the comic department, but until recently, they haven't broken into the world market. Silly writer. Do your homework. Once again, your idea falls flat due to your ignorance and sheer blind hatred of anything American. Bad journalism. Bad writing.
Gullibility. If Americans will buy chardonnay saturated with oak chips to the point of resembling turpentine, burnt coffee disguised by sweet hot milk, chain-restaurant parodies of Italian food, and hand-me-down literary classics, what will they not buy? Itinerant European academics turn up on their shores in emulation of the gypsy Melchiades in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, from Paul de Man on the left to Leo Strauss on the right.
Gullible? Americans? Please illustrate a point besides all the rife bullshit you've mentioned above. Ignorant? Yes, in some things. Arrogant? Yes. Gullible? No. We're opportunistic. Gullible is the masses of Islamic people cowed by their religious leaders. But hey, if they want to live that way, so be it. Gullible are the people who read garbage like this piece you've written and believe it. Anyone who knows an American knows we're stubborn and pig-headed to a fault--we like our freedom far too much to be gullible.
So, when all is said and done, what we have here is an article that is full of anti-Americanism. It's a sad, pitiful, piece of work that was written to spread hate and misconceptions. Stereotypes are ugly things, and anyone who has an "anti-people" attitude is a dangerous being indeed. Instead of trying to take the time to learn and understand, they billow out junk like this to feed their loathing and vileness.
So you don't like Americans. Fine. I just find it really sad that people are willing to lump an entire group of people together and hate them equally when they have little, to no, understanding about them. Nor do they even try.
It's easy to hate someone. It's harder to understand someone. It's human nature to take the easy way out; and when we boil it all down, we're all just human. A sad, but solid truth.
Posted by Zoso at June 10, 2005 04:12 PMWoah, seriously, this person needs to watch some American stand-up comedy. They point out all of those things (plus very much more), and make it funny. I think it was Patrice O'Neil who said, "It's not that we don't know, we just don't care."
As for the driving slow... They should have mentioned that 99 times out of 100, it's old people. Most people I know strain themselves to stay within 10-20 mph of the speed limit. And...well, I certainly haven't been everywhere in Europe, but it seemed to me that, outside of busy cities, most roads were two lanes, right? By the way, my step-dad did the driving when we were in Europe last year, and he had to bring his standard driving speed down a couple notches. ;)
I think it's hilarious that at least half of those complaints were about food or beverages (I don't like coffee, wine or most items from fast food restaurants, anyway--and I only drink tea because it's the lesser of several evils). Er, and how do they figure expensive coffee shops are affordable for secretaries and shop girls? Last I saw, the amount they made was pathetic. And "American cuisine" CAME FROM OTHER NATIONS, you...tch.
I just spent about ten minutes picturing a church in a shopping mall...and laughing the whole time. Outside of that, everything is progress. Town squares and "well-proportioned buildings" are cute and all, but hardly efficient. You can't keep doing something just because it was done in the past (well, you can, but it makes me angry).
For the record, I myself find Mark Twain a rather dull writer, and I hate pretty much everything I've ever heard about him. The only kinds of classics I like are typically quite, as in centuries, old (and heaven forbid we read black or feminist literature!). Oh, and I also hate most American comic books. I am obsessed with manga, but I loathe most comics produced here. And I'm completely American. =)
As for being gullible... Tch. If anything, that's human nature in general.
Oh, and I'm fairly certain chewing tobacco went out of style around WWII. ;) I can't recall ever witnessing in person the use of chewing tobacco.
Okay, I'm done. -__-
Posted by: Sharon at June 11, 2005 12:52 AMYou know, as an English girl, I probably wouldn't have touched on those subjects if I wanted to "make a comment" on Americans. I guess over here it's all in jest of "Oh yeah, the Yanks, well they're all arrogant and obese now. And they have an annoying accent." *shrugs* Except that we're catching up in obesity and some of our accents are probably just as "annoying" as Americans. But *cough* you never heard that. *cough*
If that dude came to England, or perhaps anywhere in Britain, they'd find a LOT of things to get used to here. (Although mmm... Scotch eggs and pork pies...) They think American driving is bad, they've never driven in London! (I have no intention of doing so, since taxi drivers are out to get me.)
Why on earth would you be -frightened- by a country that chews tobacco? Unless, of course, your skin is made out of tobacco, in which case you can start worrying about cannibalism. =D Over here, we have designated areas for smokers and non-smokers alike in restaurants... it doesn't usually bother me.
Some of the worst wine I ever tasted was in France... HMM.
Mmmph, I could make many other a comment, I suppose. It sounds to me like the person who wrote that had a bad holiday in America or something! I don't know that much about American culture anyway, having never been there.
Posted by: DR at June 11, 2005 01:01 AMI think it was Patrice O'Neil who said, "It's not that we don't know, we just don't care."
Ha ha! I was going to mention this, but forgot. I think that's the root of everything. Us Americans just don't care about stuff like this and it irritates other cultures to no end. *shrug* We're more worried about making money and being entertained than to fret about classical literature or coffee beans.
They should have mentioned that 99 times out of 100, it's old people.
Yes. Or large women driving mini-vans (at least in my experience). I'm a horrible driver. Not that I get into accidents or such, but I get angry really quickly when someone cuts me off, drives 10 miles under the speed limit, etc. I spend a lot of time yelling at idiots who can't hear me while I'm driving. People who jabber on their cell phones while driving piss me off big time too--especially when they sit through traffic lights--or drive in the fast lane.
I think it's hilarious that at least half of those complaints were about food or beverages
I know. As if those are so important. LMAO@shop girls and secertaries. I guess it depends on where you work. Last I heard it was between 15,000 - 25,000 a year. I don't remember what poverty level is these days...
One of the things that really bugs me is people picking at the US for being a "made" country. WTF do people expect? I mean, the minute my French and Irish ancestors stepped foot on American soil, the suddenly didn't become "American"--they were still immigrants from Europe, with their own customs and culture. If I remember right, it was really difficult for certain groups of immigrants to leave their cultures behind and begin new (Italians and Irish anyone?). Why should they have to? Over time, people began to change and so did the things they brought over with them. *shrug*
Sorry we aren't "Pod People", but this is what happens when you get thousands of people from other nations fleeing their own country in hopes of finding something better.
Get over it, is all I have to say.
I just spent about ten minutes picturing a church in a shopping mall...and laughing the whole time
I know! I read that and went W.T.F? As if our religious community would actually stand for a Mall hosting a church. LMAO LMAO LMAO Oh dear God...they'd be protesting in the streets and performing exorcisims in the parking lot. *shakes head* Then some maniac would burn down the mall and take the church with it. Ha ha! Ah...the US...
I enjoy the town square atmosphere on occasion. When I visited Portland, Maine, I fell in love with the city because it was so beautiful and so old. All the small shops, eateries, etc. It was nice. But after a week, I was ready to come home.
I'm not sure how to explain it...I love the East Coast for its oldness, and the West Coast for its newness. *shrug* Oh, and I love the South for their food! ;) Grits, fried green tomatoes, okra, biscuts and gravy! YUM! YUM!
I'm fairly certain chewing tobacco went out of style around WWII. ;) I can't recall ever witnessing in person the use of chewing tobacco.
It's still fairly big over here on the West Coast (not sure where your at) and in the South. Mainly among the hicks, farmers, and "cowboys".
I only drink tea because it's the lesser of several evils)
Soda or water for me. Occasionally I'll drink tea, but not too often. I've never been a big big fan of any hot drink (including hot chocolate).
I guess over here it's all in jest of "Oh yeah, the Yanks, well they're all arrogant and obese now. And they have an annoying accent.
Oh, we all make snippy comments about other countries and cultures. What bugs me about this guy is he takes his opinions seriously enough to write a column on it and publish it. And he has the nerve to call us arrogant?
You should hear what we say about the Canadians here. *laughs* And in turn, what they say about us.
(I have no intention of doing so, since taxi drivers are out to get me.)
Aha ha ha! Do I sense a story in this comment. The ONE TIME I rode in a taxi, I was scared shitless. He drove like 100MPH, swerving through traffic, just to drop me off a mile from the airport. Next time, I'm taking a bus....
Over here, we have designated areas for smokers and non-smokers alike in restaurants... it doesn't usually bother me.
There are still a few places that do this, but they don't actually seperate anyone. There's no door, no wall, nothing to keep the smoke away from the non-smokers. It bugs me, since I honestly don't believe non-smokers should be subjected to experience another persons habit, even if by accident. *shrug* I have no problem if I'm eating outside, but indoors...I just find it incredibly rude.
However, if I'm in a car with someone who happens to smoke and they light up, I won't say a word (if it's their car). Same goes for their home. Who am I to push my preferences on someone else in their personal space?
*gets off soap box* LOL
It sounds to me like the person who wrote that had a bad holiday in America or something! I don't know that much about American culture anyway, having never been there.
He's just a bigot and an idiot. I found the article over at asiantimes. He's also wrote some stuff about the Middle East and our involvement. That throws up the red flag right there--
I would be very, very surprised if this person has even been the the US. Judging by this arcticle, I would say NO. It was full of so much untrue garbage, it wasn't even funny (which is why I didn't ignore it as I normally would). And I'll the first person to pick at the dumbass things us Americans do. The author is pertentious, arrogant, and a hypocrit.
We Americans have our quirks, just like everyone else. There are good people, there are bad people, but I'd like to think that on an average, we're pretty friendly and easy going (except when driving or shopping). We just want to live our lives. I think it bugs many intellectuals from other countries that have older histories that we honestly, and truely, don't care about high culture. It's not important to us. We want to work and play and that's pretty much it. *laughs*
Posted by: Zoso at June 11, 2005 08:11 AMHeehee, maybe I should ask one of my cousins. Although, I have heard a few things before. XD
The taxi story? I've only ridden a taxi twice in my life. No, they're all out to get me judging by the way they try to plough right through me whilst I'm crossing the road. Don't cross roads in London. Take a pair of wings.
Oh, and it's the bus drivers that do the speeding over here. O__o
I totally agree with you on the work and play and live life thing. That's a good attitude to have. We travel to experience different cultures, although I suppose people just assume that nowadays different culture = different language and thus America should be the same as any other English-speaking country. That, it ain't.
Posted by: DR at June 11, 2005 10:20 AMVery true. Just because we speak English doesn't mean we have to be like English, Austrailan, etc. *laughs* I get annoyed when people dog us for being a young country. It's not like we can help that or anything. So we don't have hundreds or even thousands of years of culture. Oh well. We've made leaps and bounds during out time and that's all that matters.
Speeding busses scare me. They're so big! Everyone speeds here (read J's blog...he just got a ticket for speeding...which is surprising since he drives like a granny). I've had one ticket and been in 3 accidents (one was solely my fault). I'm an agressive driver, but I usually stay within 5 to 10 miles of the speed limit now.
Different cultures intrest me. I'm always curious to know what life is like for people living far away (even inside the US). Down south, they eat supper fairly early compared to here. When I was visiting my family, supper was ready between 2 and 4pm. Here, up north, we eat between 6 and 8pm. I imagine it's different for different families too, but my grandma told me the practice is fairly normal in the southern US. *shrug*
Different strokes for different folks! We're all people in the end though. Despite culture, there are always similarites between us and those similarities are the kind that will never go away.
Posted by: Zoso at June 11, 2005 08:49 PMexcuse me...one ticket for speeding and one ticket for NOT wearing my seatbelt. Dumbest law ever, making a grown person wear a seatbelt. I think I'm old enough to decide if I want to go through a windshield or not...but alas, we have to cover for the gouging insurence companies...
I actually witness an accident several years ago where a car rolled about eight times and the seatbelt was partially responsible for the lady dying. It was sad. First time I've ever seen a person die. :S
Posted by: Zoso at June 11, 2005 08:52 PMChurch in a mall? I can only imagine what that might be like. Hopefully there was a hidden reference to malls being our religion, otherwise this lacks any true reflection of American Culture. When was the last time you heard church bells chiming noon while you were in Victoria Secret? And how would they hear the sermon over the Marilyn Manson playing at Hot Topic? Or focus on preachings while I stand outside talking noisily on my cell phone about some illinformed foreigner writing a fanciful piece of fiction and labeling it a truth.
Speaking of speeding... I got a ticket days ago for doing 18 over in the fast lane. I don't drive slow, I drive 3 miles over the speedlimit, but I do so in the standard lane. Had this author ever been to America, he might note that driving the speed limit in the fast lane, or traveling in that lane for anything other than passing is against the law, and will earn you a ticket. Most highways have posted advisories of this.
If you think American cuisine sucks, you've never been to Texas. Especially if you believe we don't know how to make a quality steak. However, to enjoy it, you might need a little more diversity than a non-american culture is capable of. The south makes foods that explode with flavors that reflect the deep British and French roots of the southern states, and the influence of Mexican and Spanish spices, and the beef that Texas is famous for. Guess that wouldn't fit into your uni-cultural "set" beliefs on what is or is not " a cutural meal." I'm curious what culture you seem to think America should have... it is, after all, the most diverse country in the world and has been since the age of empires.
However, if you are talking about things like McDonalds, you should note that fast food is an American phoenominan because we work more than any other nation. The French probably wouldn't understand the concept of a 40 plus hour work week, considering theirs is standard at 36 ( possibly 38 now, I haven't checked in a while), and we don't take ciestas or large breaks for lunch. Most Americans have to work through their lunch hours... and so fast food thrives because it is... fast... Most Americans will tell you that they long for "real food" when they are buying fast food, but the option isn't available in most scenarios. We don't prioritize food, we eat it. Although it sounds like this author fails to recognize America for anything but culinary culture. Perhaps he overlooks the fact that the entertainment industry world-wide is driven by America (with the exception of decent music, the British are simply best in rock music).
Another interesting note about our cultural ( which the author is trying to barbarize), you will never see Americans enjoying a "death to (insert country) day." We don't believe any culture is evil... just different. We don't bring out the guns until you do something wrong.
To the europeans out there, don't give me crap about Bush's conquest in Iraq... I may be forced to remind you of the crusades (AKA the original holocost)
Oh, and about our Coffee, you are very mistaken, we don't drink coffee for pleasure. We drink it to stay awake... again, while the French are lounging in cafes enjoying their minimal work week, I'm in need of something brisk with ample caffeine to keep my eyes open so I can finish working on something for my corporation which fuels a need for a product worldwide... because America appears to be one of a select few countries who can operate a business successfully in more than their own country or town for that matter.
BTW Mark Twain's story's are a study in regionalism, nobody regards him as a highbrow author. Perhaps we simply enjoy Mark Twain because he reminds us of what it was like to be young... ponder that as you focus on your mono-cultural differences, gourmet coffe, and obsession with legacy and names. We'll be making money, dominating politics, and fueling aide around the world. We don't focus on family legacy because we believe that every individual has the capacity for success or failure. This country doesn't give a damn who your father is, you better prove to us who you are. Above all, we are American and there is no finer disposition that could possibly come out of any name.
Posted by: J at June 11, 2005 09:08 PMVery true. Life is fast here. It's all about work, school, and home. There's little time for much else. When we do have time, we want quality entertainment.
I average 40 hours a week at work. I'm usually there by 7:30am and I leave anywhere between 3:30 and 5pm. Before, it wasn't unusual to work 50 or 60 hours a week (when I was managing). My record is 71 hours. No lunch. No breaks.
Food is for eating. Drinks are for drinking. I can't remember the last time I sat down to enjoy a meal. Eat one, yeah. Enjoy it? Nope. I watch the food channel sometimes and see gormet food and think that looks good, but who in the heck would take the time to make something like that? *laughs*
Another thing that bugs me is when people bitch about us not knowing the capitals or all the friggen countries and their borders. WTF? I wonder how many people could name all our states and their capitals, as well as all the presidents we've had. But that's not important, right? It's much more important to know where Ladvanistan is and how many goats live there...stuff like that makes people smart.
Different cultures. Different lifestyles.
*laughs* I saw your ticket story, J. You DO drive slow! You do! Like my mom! Ha ha! Then again, I give you kudos for scaring the shit out of me by running obvious stop signs and redlights...without even realizing you've done it. LMAO Despite your usually obedient nature on the highway, driving with you is always an experience. ;P
When was the last time you heard church bells chiming noon while you were in Victoria Secret?
I think this is in Revelations. It's suppose to happen right before the world ends. Anyone handling thong panties is going straight to hell.
LMAO
Posted by: Zoso at June 11, 2005 10:46 PM