--- Paul Trusten <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> This news suggests to me that, while the American experiment may not
> have been closed out, the construction site has. We are not growing as
> a nation. By growth, I mean economic and intellectual growth. We're like
> a senior citizen entering his dotage. We're resting (comatose?) on
> the laurels of our institutions and our infrastructure. When we were
> fermented with change (throughout much of the 20th century), we got
> strong. Although we value life and liberty, we have gone too far in our
> pursuit of happiness.
Hmm... I've never really bought into all that "pain is life" stuff. I don't
think the problem is
that Americans are "too happy". Nor do I think Americans are "resting". On
the contrary, the US
is often described by survey-takers as among the most overworked, or hardest
working nations. The
UK also falls into that category. In continental Europe, people typically
spend less time and
effort on work and more on personal life than we do, or so the studies I've
seen claim.
I think the real problem is that the US, and to some extent the UK, see
themselves as "above" the
world. They don't want to hear about other countries. They don't like other
countries. And
they've done a good job of manoeuvring themselves to a point where they largely
don't have to pay
attention to other countries. Despite the stereotype, I don't see actual
evidence that the US is
"lazy" at all in terms of productivity, but it does seem to be lazy in terms of
foreign relations.
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