I think it's easy for Americans -- especially the educated and cosmopolitan-minded -- to idealize other countries.
Speaking as one, we're most likely to see their wealthy, urban, tourist-friendly areas. We're most likely to interact with foreign elites who travel here or work in international businesses.
We only pay their internal higher prices -- from their smaller and often more-oligopolistic domestic markets, and higher taxes -- on brief trips where we are price-insensitive, as tourists or corporate travelers.
That most people in admirable, 'rich', developed countries live simple, frugal lives -- by American standards -- can thus be surprising, even though it shouldn't be.
Some of us Americans live in foreign countries and are well past idealizing them, but take them for what they are; both things that are, in our opinions, way better than the US, or much worse.
It's a complicated enough matter that I could talk about it all night over a bottle of wine. Suffice it to say, however, that "Mississippi is richer than Europe" is stupid flame-bait. It's more or less on the level of snotty Europeans who think Americans are dumb. Couldn't we leave silly pissing matches like that to other sites? Pretty please?
The same statement can be flame-bait or a spark for thoughtful discussion, depending on the presentation and participants.
Stated without nationalistic puffery, "According to a respected economic measure (purchasing-power parity), Mississippi produces more, per-capita, than almost any country in Europe", among the right audience, is a very interesting thing to talk about.
Let's choose to see it as an invitation to subtle discussion among respectful participants, rather than patriotic pissing.
Comments
I think it's easy for Americans -- especially the educated and cosmopolitan-minded -- to idealize other countries.
Speaking as one, we're most likely to see their wealthy, urban, tourist-friendly areas. We're most likely to interact with foreign elites who travel here or work in international businesses.
We only pay their internal higher prices -- from their smaller and often more-oligopolistic domestic markets, and higher taxes -- on brief trips where we are price-insensitive, as tourists or corporate travelers.
That most people in admirable, 'rich', developed countries live simple, frugal lives -- by American standards -- can thus be surprising, even though it shouldn't be.
Some of us Americans live in foreign countries and are well past idealizing them, but take them for what they are; both things that are, in our opinions, way better than the US, or much worse.
It's a complicated enough matter that I could talk about it all night over a bottle of wine. Suffice it to say, however, that "Mississippi is richer than Europe" is stupid flame-bait. It's more or less on the level of snotty Europeans who think Americans are dumb. Couldn't we leave silly pissing matches like that to other sites? Pretty please?
The same statement can be flame-bait or a spark for thoughtful discussion, depending on the presentation and participants.
Stated without nationalistic puffery, "According to a respected economic measure (purchasing-power parity), Mississippi produces more, per-capita, than almost any country in Europe", among the right audience, is a very interesting thing to talk about.
Let's choose to see it as an invitation to subtle discussion among respectful participants, rather than patriotic pissing.