Having spent the first 40 years of my life living in England I decided to come to America for a three month visit. Here we are 2 yrs later and I am still here.
Why?.you will ask. well I live in Los Angeles( About 10 miles south actually) Since coming to America I have found the lifestyle easy going and the people freindly and warm hearted. It is cheaper to live, (Gas in England is $10 a gallon).
However I have to agree with Kropotkin on the matter of your President. I am not at all interested in politics but I have to say the guy is an idiot.
My favourite George W quote “…more and more of our imports are now coming from overseas…” I laughed myself silly when I heard him say that. Anybody have any more?..
Does anyone else think the biggest reason for him invading Iraq was to prove he had bigger balls than his dad did?
Europe is more cultural, filled with history, art… the women are more sure of themselves, less self conscious, more fashionable, less oriented to noveau riche - more enmeshed in cultural endeavors. As an American, I am embarrassed by this sterotypical woman that I meet and avoid every day. I am an East Coast transplant to the Midwest and this has been a difficult pill to swallow. If this is most of the US, I find it sad to want to be a part of it. Sorry, but I call it like I see it. Being a musician, I hang with the underbelly of crazies, so I am happy-happy, but raising my kids in this sterile environment was hell.
As far as the president, a president is only good as those surrounding him… but frankly he does seem like an imbecile. Smart as a fox, I reckon.
“I’m the commander — see, I don’t need to explain — I do not need to explain why I say things. That’s the interesting thing about being president.”
So what if President George W. Bush is not a smartypants? I think that he is a great leader. Extreme intelligence doesnt necessarily yield a natural leader or a capable one. I suppose an example of this would have been Jimmy Carter. He was a really smart dude, prolly the second smartest in US presidents history, but he was a crappy leader. I dont think many others could do the things Pres. Bush does in so appropriate a fashion.
There are a million websites devoted to Bushisms so I do wonder about the purpose of this thread.
Nevertheless, I’ll put up one that I consider deeply ironic. I’m sure that you can all work out why.
Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.
I think so too, but now I’m not sure why, anyway, can you expand on that, I mean your experience, what do you think about it?
Because thats the only difference really between U.S and Europe.
Americans in my opinion deal less with culture(music, art, philosophy, history, beauty), but more with basic needs(like friends, relationships, career).
Having lived both in Europe and America I dont think either one is better than the other. Its two different life styles and outlook. It is also history. Europe has thousands of years of history, from wide and varied cultures. What does America have? 200 years with never a 50 year period when they weren’t at war with someone( I think, please correct me if I am wrong here guys)
Its not only that.
I joined ILP because I couldn’t talk about philosophy and stuff with my friends in Israel. Now because Israel is an American colony I know it is the same in America.
But being a Russian immigrant, I know that in Russia for example you can talk hours about philosophy, art, sophisticated movies, history, and so on.
There is definetely a major difference, and I’m not sure its just because America has less history to fall back on.
You are so amazingly right in my mind it is not even funny. My g/f begins talking about Brad and Angelina and a silent rage builds inside me…so sick of the superficiality. Not that I am too much better tho…
Yes, Russia, France, and most of eastern Europe are the bastion of 19th century thinking. In those times aristocrats were talking a lot about intereseting subjets like music,art,philosophy,history,psychology and so on.
I guess France is that way because of its long history and long chain of great philosophers, and eastern Europe is this way because they are developing countries and therefore still old fashioned.
I’m an American female college student whose major is English and whose minor is Philosophy. I’ve been busy reading about different philosophies and philosophers.
LMFAO, yes, many U.S. citizens are very shallow, and only interested in what the celebs. do, who cares, and leave them alone, and remember that they are actors, not experts regarding issues. Tend to agree regarding Bush, and I do believe him to be an puppet manipulated by Rove & company.
Glad you enjoy the states. I am sure you realize that the U.S. Southwest is a cultural wasteland.
Bummer, I find your media interesting. No discussion regarding the philosophy that the Kibbutz were built on?
Yes, and most of our culture is not based on academia, only hands on, jack of all trades survival instincts. Most of my father and mother’s generation were great multitaskers, builders, mechanics, seamstressess, etc., they could not really specialize to survive.
Do you listen to progressive rock, jazz or classical music often?
Do you know in which periods dinosaurs were roaming the earth?
Do you know what is the age of the universe?
Do you create art/music/books/movies?
Do you travel a lot?
Do you know the names of the plants that grow in your vicinity?
Did you eat Dolma or Falafel or any other ethnic food?
Maybe you did, maybe you didn’t. I am sure that 99% of Americans didn’t. Maybe 95% of New Yorkers, and probably 80% of the citizens of Saint Petersburg.
People these days have shallow life. I’m not completely sure its bad tho, because if you enjoy watching “Lost” for the third season, maybe thats what important. I can’t say I always enjoy reading historians or philosophers. So I probably enjoy life less than an average person.
Aspacia
Kibbutzim are a wonderful example that not all hope is lost. Kibbutznikim are usually much more intellectual people that the average Israeli. They have ideology and are usually interested in culture.
Now about America being based on “jack of all trades” ideology. Well, I’d like to read a good article about it. But you are probably right. Its also has something to do with the fact that there was never an aristocracy in America, so the little people had no cultural model.
Of course it’s not. Neither are all the things you mentioned.
The latter two more often than the first one.
Off the top of my head, the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. I’d have to look up any others.
I know the number is, at least, 12 billion years old, but less than 20 billion. How about we settle of 14/15 billion?
I create art and I create stories. I can sing a bit, but I don’t play instruments. I don’t make movies.
I only travel when I have money. I don’t have money often because of other obligations. I don’t travel as often as I’d like.
There aren’t many plants in my neighborhood, unless you count the bricks outside of my building.
The food I eat least often is American food. I enjoy ethnic food. Indian and Thai cuisine are two of my favorites.
I’m not too concerned about what they know or don’t know. I focus on what I need to know and what I should know.
This is correct. I don’t think that this applies only to Americans. I’ve met plenty of people from abroad who don’t strike me as knowing very much either. I try talking about certain things. Maybe they’re ignorant or maybe they don’t bother with me because I’m American and in their eyes, I’m just a dolt.
I can’t make that judgment about you and what things are important to you. You seem like a nice enough fellow judging solely by your posts.
We were not hamstrung by the European guilding system for the trades. In order to survive the early settlers had to master carpentry, hunting, ranching, farming, making candles, spinning and weaving, sewing, making shoes, and many of the tools needed to complete these tasks.
Even my fathers generation were able in many trades. He was a machinest by trade, but build a large log cabin playhouse (10 x 12) for me, a double car garage, installed electical outlets, poured a very large driveway, built a pink brick wall around the backyard, built a patio roof, converted a single-car garage into a bedroom. My father-in-law designed and built the home they currently reside in, dabble in mechanics and has several antique cars including a Model T that he keeps running for parades and car rallys, and he has a large garden which we reap the benefits of. Nothing like fresh bell peppers, tomatoes, corn, etc.
I could not find an article, only references to a television series, but history is one of my gigs.
Come on, look at the list of bestselling movies. The first 30 are total crap. The 30 bestselling albums? Again: Cold Play, Muse, 50cent, and the ugly list goes on.
So what if the restaurants have a good choice of food?
When you go the restaurant, do you always try something new, or you eat again the steak with the fries?
Just the fact that America is the most religious country in all the western world speaks for the ignorace of most Americans.
I don’t have the statistical facts, but from what I heard from Americans who live in Israel - most Americans don’t even know where Israel is, or any other country for that matter. Most never left America even tho they have enough money to travel abroad each year.
Watch “Friends” or “Seinfeld”. Both are considered the most elitistic of the sitcoms. Ross Geller is a scientist and therefore is considered a geek. He can’t even tell a story about dinosaurs to his friends. Jerry Seinfeld is interested only in cartoons and superman, and George Constanza is all about women and toilet paper.
They are all in their 30s.
By the way, yes, Israel is a very bookish country, and jews have always been. But its mostly the older generation, and the books themselves are usually narrow minded and mostly about jews. We are very ego-centric. Maybe 1 out of 200 Israelis will know which Roman emperor preceded Tiberius.
