Benny Lewis is an amiable Irishman whose interesting blog claims he can learn a language in three months. He has, he says, learned 8 languages since he was 21 by living in different countries for a few months. However this note is about a year he spent in the United States trying to understand that 4.6% of the world’s population. After a year he wrote a polite posting, “17 Cultural reasons why this European never wants to live in America” (http://www.fluentin3months.com/no-usa-for-me/ ). The result was amazing. 2,578 comments flooded in, mostly from shocked Americans. Why such thin skins? That is the fascinating question. This is about Americans in the place they call home. It is not about the American Empire, which is an entirely different movie set, apparently devoted to eternal wars. Except for a couple of weeks in California, I’ve never done time in the American heartland, so my reactions are not informed by local experience, only rumour. I’ve met a few Americans, mostly in Asia and generally nice people. That’s it. Working from at least that level of ignorance, Benny’s comments make some sense to me (please read them; what do you think?). Australia, my starting point, is not a bad place, but I could easily total up 17 reasons not to live there, and joke about it. Aussies are generally not over-sensitive about Ground Zero. But our American cousins ??!! Why so fragile?
-
Recent Posts
- 277. Democracy – Comment on a Proposal
- 276. The Mental God Bot
- 275. Live and Let Live
- 274. Come the Revolution
- 273. What Is Going On Here?
- 272. God, defined
- 271. Security & the Neo-feudalists – One Dimensional Chess
- 270. King Kong and Big Data
- 269. Almost the same, almost forever (but not quite)
- 268. Trouble with the Sock God
- 267. All hidden truth to bring to light
- 266. Pity your neighbour’s cat
- 265. The Limits of Education
- 264. Evidence – The Alchemy of the Ages
- 263. When an Arm is not an Arm
- 262. The Factory Makes Six Million Left-Footed Shoes
- 261. Boo! So What Are You Afraid Of ?
- 260. Trust
- 259. What is Your Greatest Weakness?
- 258. From Small Beginnings …
Archives
- April 2014
- February 2014
- December 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- December 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- May 2010
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- January 2009
- July 2008
- May 2008
- July 2007
- April 2006
- January 2006
- May 2003
- May 2002
- March 2002
- April 2001
- November 1999
- November 1991
Categories
Pages