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Well, the British have been accused of this characteristic for years too.Originally posted by Adrian Wallace:
Another characteristic of American culture (or should than be charicature of American culture) often considered would be the inward ego-centric view of the world.
Clothing wise - The only thing I can think of as being considered American culture would be a baseball cap - worn high enough to have air between the top of your head and the top of the cap - I dont think anyone else in the world does this!
Originally posted by Paul Wheaton:
For a while I thought it was "McDonalds" (which I always refer to as "Scottish Cuisine").
The only people I've seen wearing overalls in the UK are painters and pregnant women!Originally posted by Paul Wheaton:
it makes me wonder what are the things that define us as Americans? ...
Do folks in other countries wear overalls?
There will be glitches in my transition from being a saloon bar sage to a world statesman. - Tony Banks
Originally posted by Paul Sturrock:
Oi! We wouldn't touch the stuff. Not till they start deep frying the Happy Meals.
Originally posted by Ben Souther:
What about the McHaggis meals?
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We seem so void of it - we're always admiring/emulating other cultures.
Could this partially be because of the age of the US? It is still a fairly young country, and it takes a while to build up cultural traditions. At the moment many people in the US may have a couple of hundred years of American tradition in their family, but that is preceded by several millennia of (often European) tradition. In time American traditions will become a bigger proportion of that, and foreign traditions will merge with American ones.Originally posted by Paul Wheaton:
I guess that's why I was asking about American culture. We seem so void of it - we're always admiring/emulating other cultures. So many people from all over the world live here. It seems that almost everything interesting here came from some other country. I feel a bit like we are the borg.
There will be glitches in my transition from being a saloon bar sage to a world statesman. - Tony Banks
I feel a bit like we are the borg.
Tony Alicea
Senior Java Web Application Developer, SCPJ2, SCWCD
Tony Alicea
Senior Java Web Application Developer, SCPJ2, SCWCD
Originally posted by Tony Alicea:
I's not a caricature, it's a reality. We Americans have always though that out culture is the superior one and that everyone that's different, by definition, needs some kind of adjustment.
I don't think that's a specifically American characteristic. If you asked most Brits whether it would be better for France to change to become more like England, I think most Englishmen (especially those educated before 1950 -- before political correctness) would say yes. If you asked most Swedes whether America would do well to become more like Sweden, most of them would say yes.Originally posted by Tony Alicea:
"Another characteristic of American culture (or should than be caricature of American culture) often considered would be the inward ego-centric view of the world."
I's not a caricature, it's a reality. We Americans have always though that out culture is the superior one and that everyone that's different, by definition, needs some kind of adjustment. With the advent and presumed adoption of "political correctness" we no longer say so aloud; we just continue to think it, and act accordingly.
...foreigners who don't give a fig whether the Portugese become more like them do feel irritated at Americans' refusal to do so.
Originally posted by Max Habibi:
Paul, be honest. Did you just want to post a picture of a hottie?
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(Then I guess I was misinformed about, say, Canada and Japan hoping to impose firearms registration on American states via U.N. declarations and agreements.) :-)Originally posted by Adrian Wallace:
You may have misread world public opinion there! I think most of the world is fairly ambivalent when it comes to America (or anyone else) being more like them or not, as long as they arent expected to change THEIR culture then people are generally ok with whatever others do -
Yes, in most countries, including the U.S., you do get both -- people wishing to copy aspects of other cultures, yet also having people believing that other countries would do well by copying _them_.Originally posted by Adrian Wallace:
..and I actually think there are a whole lot of countries out there who *would* look at others and wish they could be more like them! Here in Australia for example Sweden is often held up as a shining example of how society *should* be organised! ... I'll grant you that in most of the world there is a certain amount of pride in some aspect of their own culture - but *most* of us are capable of admiring aspects of others.
I would say that this is NOT a fair characterization because many Americans have and do admire aspects of other countries. I can give many examples: American socialists likewise see Sweden as a model for the way society should be organized. For over a century Isolationists have wished America would imitate Switzerland's neutrality. Economic liberals have often wished that America's business laws could be more like pre-1998 Hong Kong. American racists and antisemites in the 1930s admired aspects of German racial policy of the time. Libertines such as Hugh Hefner have expressed a desire for America to be less puritanical about sex and nudity. A great many American physicians today advocate changing our diet to be more like that of the olive-and-wine-growing areas of southern Europe.Originally posted by Adrian Wallace:
The popular representation of American culture (whether fair or not) suggests that this ability is not present and this is seen by R.O.W. as extremely arrogant and misguided - a major character flaw.
Many Americans whose jobs force them to travel do indeed resent and resist the pressure to learn other countries' language and customs, and wish it weren't necessary to do so. That's not motivated by arrogance so much as by intellectual laziness. Many of these differences in language and customs are so complex that it's very difficult to navigate them without going to the extreme of, say, reading a book.Originally posted by Adrian Wallace:
What annoys people is the current American obsession with travelling the world trying to make everyone else behave more like Americans. ...
You may very well have been misinformed about that. I know Canada was involved in having the U.N. put the kibosh on land mines, but I can't recall any gun-registration initiatives.Originally posted by Frank Silbermann:
Then I guess I was misinformed about, say, Canada and Japan hoping to impose firearms registration on American states via U.N. declarations and agreements.
I guess so.Originally posted by Frank Silbermann:
(Then I guess I was misinformed about, say, Canada and Japan hoping to impose firearms registration on American states via U.N. declarations and agreements.) :-)
The issue, as I understood it, was not ability to purchase (at least not at this time), but the requirement for government to keep track of private ownership. I also had the impression that America was said to have destroyed the hope of the conference achieving anything when the American representative declared at the outset that his delegation would not sign any policy inconsistent with current American practice as pertains to the private ownership of conventional (non-automatic) handguns and rifles.Originally posted by Andrew Monkhouse:
I guess so.
The issue that the U.N. as a whole is trying to solve is the illicit trade of weapons. It is not aimed at America. In fact, the way I read the 2001 UN proposal, it could be argued that individuals would not have to be licensed - legitimate controls could be made at a manufacturer / distributor level which would have zero impact on the American consumer being able to purchase a legitimate weapon. (sorry, I haven't the time to find the 2004 proposal).
- Andrew
Well, no doubt many people in the UN environment were happy to blame things on the Americans. That's standard operating procedure from what I can see.Originally posted by Frank Silbermann:
I also had the impression that America was said to have destroyed the hope of the conference achieving anything when the American representative declared at the outset that his delegation would not sign any policy inconsistent with current American practice as pertains to the private ownership of conventional (non-automatic) handguns and rifles. I guess any disappointment some nations felt about the conference was not our fault after all.
Well, no doubt many people in the UN environment were happy to blame things on the Americans. That's standard operating procedure from what I can see.
I suppose that guns might be one of the things that Paul meant in his opening post when he said "the things that define us as Americans", but I don't think it's top-of-mind when foreigners meet Americans in the street
c) a friendly service attitude. Though this has changed a lot to the better in Europe too in the last 15 years or so.
Yes, I remember in 1985 taking a German exchange student to a shoe store. After twenty minutes trying on shoes, he left without finding anything he liked. He confided his amazement when the clerk said to us as we were leaving, "Ya'll be sure and come back again!"c) a friendly service attitude. Though this has changed a lot to the better in Europe too in the last 15 years or so.
Etiquette often requires insincerity. Just because you think someone is ugly doesn't mean you should tell her so.Originally posted by Adrian Wallace:
Actually I'd say an insincere service attitude!
Pounding at a thick stone wall won't move it, sometimes, you need to step back to see the way around.
Regards Pete
Yeah, I often pick out European tourists when I see pants that are neither long nor short but rather somewhere in between (e.g. falling about mid-calf length).Originally posted by Angela Poynton:
What does it for me ... how I usually pick out an American is a combination of clothes & hair. American styles are just very different to European.
And the tourists who are smoking cigarettes after hiking to the top of the mountain are probably Germans.Originally posted by Frank Silbermann:
Yeah, I often pick out European tourists when I see pants that are neither long nor short but rather somewhere in between (e.g. falling about mid-calf length).
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