June 28, 2006
Maxed Out Mama eavesdrops on European and other perplexity and revulsion that Americans, "fat, overpaid, self-important morons" that we are, especially those of us who staff or patronize travesties like Starbuck's, are so darned nice.
Not to worry. They figured it out. We have to be nice: we carry guns.
Bang-on. Or Spot-on. Or What Ever....
Or, to shift the burden of going forward, Why isn't everyone?
Dilys:
I think the explanation goes deeper. We carry guns because, in a country this vast and atomistic, we cannot assume enough moral and cultural solidarity with each other to make carrying guns pointless. The "friendliness" is not a way of keeping the guns holstered—otherwise, it would degenerate more quickly than it does—but of providing a superficial social balm in the absence of social glue.
Best,
Mike
Posted by: Mike Liccione | July 01, 2006 at 05:20 PM
I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. I read your comments several times, and I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. It is all so sad but so sadly true.
Posted by: panasianbiz | July 11, 2006 at 08:47 PM