>Can't have tons of culture when the country is only 400 years old at >most. I would second that, as well as your observation that our 'cultural' influence in the world revolves mainly around our movie industry. It has been my feeling for a long time that what passes for American culture is just 'Pop Culture' and the entertainment industry. Culture stems from shared history and experience, and that which binds people into a common system of values and behaviors - and it seems that in America, television, movies and the inescapable crass advertising that always accompanies it *is* that binding force. Regional dialects are disappearing as people - especially the young - seek to emulate the speech, appearance, and behavior of their favorite TV/movie stars. I'm afraid Hollywood and McDonald's *is* our culture. >So that's pretty much uniform. And this uniformity prevents people >from facing 'tons of culture'. > >As for the second point I mentioned, people having in general more >interests in things, this is very flagrant with the percentage of >Americans not caring what Bush has lead them to so far. Political >chitchat in America often boils down to echoing something heard on >TV. In Europe you at least get the feel that the individual has given >some thought to the matter. So true, and I would attribute this to our 'Hollywood' culture as well - it teaches people to be passive consumers of information and material goods and to conform to media-promoted images. Thinking is actively discouraged - I learned this the hard way in college and graduate school - especially by the rising would-be theocrats All my friends from foreign countries were so much more open-minded and willing to question things and consider alternative viewpoints. They demonstrated an individualism which while supposedly the hallmark of American society has all but disappeared. - Maluvia
