What on earth is an unlimited limit? The unlimited stretches of the German Autobahns are a unique exception. Many stretches of Autobahn do have limits, as do all other roads in Germany. All other European countries have speed limits on all roads, with no unlimited sections at all.
As for age limits on alcohol, they do have them, although they vary. Britain sensibly takes the position that, if you're old enough to vote and old enough to serve in the military, you're old enough to make your own decisions about drinking -- hence the drinking age of 18. It's normal, although not universal, in most European countries to serve children a modest amount of wine at the dinner table. As for social freedoms, Germans and others have to pay a church tax (unless they request an exemption, in which case they could be in trouble with the tax people if they're ever found in a church -- and the tax people do sometimes check church attendees at times like Easter and Christmas). Most European countries don't have church/state separation. England is the worst offender, in that the Queen is the head of the Church of England and the Prime Minister is the one who appoints Bishops (presumably with royal assent). Beyond that, few European countries have anything resembling the Bill of Rights. To keep this on topic, though, Europe excels in its use of the modern metric system (SI). But then we already knew that. <g> Bill Potts, CMS Roseville, CA http://metric1.org [SI Navigator] >-----Original Message----- >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Behalf Of Nat Hager III >Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2004 16:54 >To: U.S. Metric Association >Subject: [USMA:28954] Re: American and European differences > > >FWIW, I've heard it said that Europeans value social freedoms more, >Americans value economic freedoms more. Hence in Europe you have >unlimited speed limits (autobahns), no age limit on alcohol, long >vacations, and bathing au naturel on the beach, all of which Americans >would never tolerate. In America you have large houses, large cars, >cheap gas, and very short vacations, all of which Europeans either have >no interest or wouldn't tolerate. > >This was the perspective of an Australian fellow I met once traveling in >Europe. > >Nat > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On >Behalf Of James R. Frysinger >Sent: Thursday, 2004 February 26 18:16 >To: U.S. Metric Association >Subject: [USMA:28949] Re: American and European differences > > >Excellent article, with broad-reaching implications, Jim. The "personal >choice" ethos of Americans is why I would agree with you that >politically >forced metrication via government is the hard path to take and least >likely >to succeed. > >But that is also why I espouse (as I have here before) control and >shaping of >the available choices. Rather than our government passing laws to force >metrication, it should merely repeal laws so as to de-legalize >non-metric >units. Let the lub, floozie, or tootsie be whatever Joe or Jane wants it >to >be. Give them the same legal stature as the infamous "two scoops of >raisins" >or a load of laundry. When people want to make sure that they conduct >commerce (including buying food for their table) in terms that afford >them >legal protections, then they can only use metric units. Otherwise, >they're on >their own! > >For many purchases, folks use the "yay big" system anyway. They choose >between >large, larger, largest, and rediculous sizes at the beverage station in >their >favorite greasyburger stands with no thought in mind whether those sizes >are >defined in floozies or milliliters --- or nothing at all. But when a >vendor >has to tell the USDA what the nutritional profile of its product is, >metric >units would be the only ones available and those would be the only ones >remaining as legal indicators on the packaging. > >Decreasing the number of laws and regulations has a basic appeal to most > >Americans, as the article implies. That's easier to sell to the voting >public >than increasing the number of laws or even merely changing them. Guess >what, >packagers! We're going to shrink the USDA, FDA, FTC, and other >regulations >manuals by deleting anything that refers to non-metric units. That's >less >homework for your legal beagles. > >Jim > >On Thursday, 2004 February 26 17:55, Jim Elwell wrote: >> I've long maintained on this forum that US metrication should be >> voluntary, while others, particularly some non-American members, have >> vehemently preached that we should pass laws to force metrication onto > >> the American people. >> >> If you have an interest in the topic, you may find this short article >> quite interesting. You can read it at the URL below, or it is attached > >> as a PDF. >> >> "Differences in American and European Worldviews" by Russell Berman, a > >> Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. >> >> http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/pubaffairs/we/2004/berman01.html >> >> >> Jim Elwell, CAMS >> Electrical Engineer >> Industrial manufacturing manager >> Salt Lake City, Utah, USA >> www.qsicorp.com > >-- > >James R. Frysinger >Lifetime Certified Advanced Metrication Specialist >Senior Member, IEEE > >http://www.cofc.edu/~frysingj >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Office: > Physics Lab Manager, Lecturer > Dept. of Physics and Astronomy > University/College of Charleston > 66 George Street > Charleston, SC 29424 > 843.953.7644 (phone) > 843.953.4824 (FAX) > >Home: > 10 Captiva Row > Charleston, SC 29407 > 843.225.0805
