> Of Joseph B. Reid > In USMA 19923 Tony Bennett raised the metric discussion to the spiritual > level when he essentially argued that the imperial system was bassed on > Christian values, while the metric system had atheist roots.
There is a cultural context that we need to note here. Particularly since this is a US list, I want to point out that the text will not be viewed the same way on both sides of the Atlantic. Religious reasoning does not work in countries where religion is not popular. The US population is more religious than the population of most European countries. It is between 2 and 3 times more religious than the UK. High church attendance in countries such as Ireland and Italy may be more an indication of how their societies are structured rather than individual religious belief. The differing importance of religion affects the way that people speak in public. For example, terms like 'God bless [country]' is normal in the USA but unacceptable in other countries such as Britain. 'God bless the UK' might even be regarded as offensive. Similarly, the word 'evil' is commonly used by US politicians, but as a religious term it is not acceptable (or worse) to British voters. This sort of cultural difference is less visible and more dangerous than the amusing transatlantic differences in nouns. It is one thing to note misunderstandings such as when a US person says 'pavement', the UK listener will think they mean the equivalent of 'sidewalk'. It is quite another to note that even reasoning and semantics are often misunderstood. Thus Tony Bennett's appeal to a Christian basis for measures is not of interest to most British readers. It may even damage his credibility. In any case, it will have little effect on UK thinking either in government or in the UK population. His text may be regarded as more readable in the US and therefore more important. I understand that the UK anti-metric movement is trying to appeal to the US anti-metric sentiment. Perhaps that is why he wrote it. Quote: "Believe it or not: America is the most religious country in the developed world, according to the World Values Survey conducted in 60 countries and directed by the University of Michigan." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/wat/archive/wat01129 8.htm Percentage attending religious services at least once a month 88 Ireland 87 Nigeria 85 Poland 71 India 69 Northern Ireland 63 Mexico 60 South Korea 59 United States 55 Argentina 50 Brazil 47 Italy 47 Chile 43 Switzerland 40 Canada 40 Spain 38 Turkey 35 Belgium 35 Slovenia 34 Hungary 33 West Germany 31 Netherlands 25 Great Britain 20 East Germany 17 France 14 Japan 13 Finland 13 Norway 10 Sweden 9 Bulgaria 9 Iceland 9 Latvia 6 Belarus 6 Russia http://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/Releases/2000/Jan00/chrelig.html Percentage rating importance of God in their lives as 10 on a 10-point scale 87 Nigeria 83 Brazil 74 South Africa 71 Turkey 61 Chile 49 Argentina 48 United States 44 India 44 Mexico 41 Northern Ireland 40 Ireland 29 Italy 28 Canada 26 Switzerland 22 Hungary 18 Spain 17 Iceland 16 Great Britain 15 Norway 14 West Germany 14 Slovenia 13 Belgium 13 East Germany 12 Finland 11 Netherlands 10 France 10 Russia 9 Latvia 8 Sweden 8 Belarus 7 Bulgaria 6 Japan http://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/Releases/2000/Jan00/chimport.html -- Terry Simpson Human Factors Consultant [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.connected-systems.com Phone: +44 7850 511794
