The American Coup

[James R. Coplin]

>For example, Bill's friend, who has a rare form of cancer, but cannot 
>afford medical insurance. Hang on a second: this is a country with a 
>massive GDP per capita, with just a handful of (usually European) 
>countries having a higher value, and yet there are people that cannot 
>afford medical insurance. 
>
>It's this attitude that, if you're poor, it's probably your own fault, 
>that is totally alien to most Europeans.

Healthcare in the US is definitely messed up.  What's really bizarre is that
it is a historical anomaly caused by labor unions.  Labor unions were the
ones who tied healthcare benefits to employment  and the legal precedent and
infrastructure thus created had royally screwed us.  I worked in the claims
department of a major insurer in the early 90's I can say 100%
unequivocally, these people are complete bastards.  I eventually quite
because I couldn't face going to work a messing with people's lives to save
the company a quarter.

>Another thing is who you would go to for advise on important decisions 
>in your life. In Europe, people would discuss this with their family. In 
>the US, they're more likely to talk to their religious leader. Eh? 
>Wouldn't your family be more affected than him?

Highly overstated.  Some folks will of course consult with the religious
figurehead of their choice, I don't know anyone who wouldn't start with
family.  We are human beings after all, even in the US.

>Compared to the two countries in North-America (to which I'm not 
>counting Mexico, which culturally is closer to South-America), two 
>currencies and two official languages (for those knuckle-heads in 
>Quebec), that's quite a big difference.

Don't forget Portuguese, 6th largest spoken language in the world.


>But do you have that in the US, that when you cross a state border, that 
>you notice a subtle difference in practically everything? That the 
>houses look different

Definitely.  I was born and raised in the South and I can tell you the
North, West, and East are extremely different.  Food, architecture, values,
etc. are all radically different.  This was my frustration from the get go.
Europeans list the infinite variety of the European experience and then in
the same breath paint all Americans into a homogenous mass even though there
are more of us and we have more turf.  Why is this so hard for you to admit?
Probably because your lens of examination for the US are things like movies,
media, corporate culture etc.  These things *ARE NOT* synonymous with
America.  Any more than wooden shoes and fingers in dikes are indicative of
the Dutch.  These are constructs of the other and lack depth, nuance, and
are often false.  

>All in all, Europe is for me a continent with a fantastic variety of 
>culture and art that is unrivalled anywhere in the world (Italy on its 
>own has more treasures than some continents), with centuries old 
>cathedrals sitting close to hyper-modern office buildings, and a history 
>(much of it painful, to this very day) that shaped the world as it is
today.

Hmmm, and Americans are provincial?  Go to China and get back to me.  

>And even though Europe may have lost its leading position, when it comes 
>to the best cities to live in, the greatest amount of press freedom, the 
>least amount of corruption (and, um, the largest amount of alcohol 
>consumption per capita), it's always Europe that fills the top spots.

So say Europeans in polls about where Europeans think is the best place in
Europe to live. It is the same view and problem that Europeans often
complain about Americans.  The Eurocentric view and definition of all things
on its own terms is equally if not more troubling. 

>Which, in my view, makes Europe the most desirable continent, and as 
>such that allows us a certain amount of arrogance. :)

I love the "European" continent.  A completely artificial construct which is
wholly culturally constructed.  It is the same reasoning behind defining
Mexico as part of South America.  It is an artificial distinction merely
based on cultural hegemony.  Why is Russia "Asia" and what is magic about
the Rio Grande that makes Mexico "over there".   One should never confuse
physical geography as anything other than cultural constructs.

James R. Coplin