The American Coup

[Martin Naef]

James

James R. Coplin wrote:
> gets it now. Europeans have no trouble understanding the massive variation
> in the peoples of Europe, yet lump all Americans into a fairly homogenous
> media construct. I have never understood this peculiarity.

Look at it from the eyes of a visitor, and you might understand that 
attitude better. I've traveled the US quite extensively (as a tourist 
and as an academic visiting conferences all over the place), and I did 
get to see a lot of the "same" everywhere - most of it is corporate 
america (hotel chains, McDonalds, the same architecture for the big 
downtown bank buildings), not the cultural diversity you experience when 
you actually live in a country and interact with the local community on 
a daily basis. Spending a conference week in downtown Charlotte NC felt 
no different than a week in downtown LA or working for Compaq in 
Marlborough near Boston. (But visiting friends in the neck of the woods 
in Virginia was a totally different experience).

The fact alone that the US speaks essentially one language, where a 
broad New York accent is closer to what I'd hear in California than the 
difference between Zurich and Bern (a mere 100km away), does make it 
look like a much more homogenous mass. I mentioned language: This is 
*key* to the different perception. I am sure you agree to the sentiment 
that to understand a culture, one has to understand the language. I 
could settle anywhere in the US and start interacting with the people 
immediately, whereas I can't even buy a bottle of milk in a store in two 
thirds of Europe (despite me speaking several languages).

I am not trying to judge anything here, but I do see where Peter is 
coming from. The differences between places are a lot more visible for 
the casual observer in Europe. Whether that difference makes Europe 
"richer" in the cultural sense, that's another discussion.

Martin

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