Now, when you meet indidividual americans properly, you realise that this isn't really true. Most of them are pretty down to earth, and especially the ones that I have met have actually been just as fascinated by the UK as we are with them. They are friendly, they are welcoming and they are decent.
When I've travelled the US recently, I've had the good fortune to be able to spare a few hours from business to do a little exploring, and to be honest it showed me a number of things that really illuminated the American Condition for me.
I'll take a couple of simple examples. Lets look at their housing. Now in suburban Connecticut, most places look schematically similar. There are houses set back from the streets themselves by decent driveways, they are set our on nice sideroads, and more than anything there is s p a c e everywhere. The houses are widely spaced - far more than you'd ever see in the UK. And what you need to remember is that this is the norm.
More than that, no two houses next to each other are the same. There are areas in the US where you get tract housing (houses all of the same design and joined), but nothing like the terraces we often live in. And another difference is that there are very few fences. Most yards are completely unconstrained, whereas we take extra pains to absolutely define what we own and where others cannot go.
So in the US you have lovely houses, even at the lower financial end, with a ton of space all around, you're always unique - and the amount of places with Basketball hoops, swings, boats, etc is amazing.
There is more to it all as well. When you want to go somewhere, cars are cheap, ubiquitous and everywhere. Gas is cheap, so you can afford to go wherever you want. There are stores of all kinds around. They are much more separated than we have, and you'll probably have to go further, but it doesn't matter here.
They have some great and simple innovations like excellent school transport for everyone. They have open space like you wouldn't believe, they have excellent internal flight transport, and provided you're employed they have great benefits, healthcare, dental, etc, and the price of life is pretty cheap.
And perhaps more than we do, they have a sense of community that goes with their open spaces and greater physical separation. They are generally more friendly and open to one another - for the most part.
So, am I sold? Not quite. Because there are flip sides.
Yes, they do have convenient access to so much. But somehow it makes the experience shallow and superficial. When travelling there is a propensity to be outwardly friendly and engaging, without ever developing an actual depth of caring. It is a basic, superficial experience that can often fall away when you look harder. It's the same with lots of the experiences. Yes, there are manifold places to eat, but they are almost all chains, and a lot are fast food. The stores are largely chains. Innovation is rare.
There are many other reasons as well - life is cheap to live, but sickness and death are terribly expensive, even with Obamacare in place. Because of the space that exists and the outward friendliness, you can be just about anything, but making a meaningful connection with anyone can be very difficult - I can understand why the US has a propensity to produce people who can feel terribly lost and alone.
And so on. I won't bore you further.
But the point of this is that having seen a tiny fraction American life (and I admit it is only a tiny fraction), I can quite understand why they come across as having a sense of entitlement. On the surface, they appear to have so very much compared to so so many other nations. Space. Convenience. Money. But the truth is a lot more complicated.
Isn't it always?
Thanks I enjoyed reading this! :O)
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