Nov. 29: The American reality
There was a time when you could buy a computer for $5,000. Now you can buy one for about $250.
Computers used to be expensive because they were built by Americans who belonged to unions. Now they are built by Chinese workers who belong to factories.
The American reality, and the Canadian reality too, is that we are sending all of our manufacturing jobs overseas. We are addicted to flatscreen TVs and iPods and Dr. Pepper.
I just picked up my Fujifilm digital camera. On it are the words MADE IN CHINA. Probably a lot of the stuff in my apartment is made in China too.
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My friend sent me a TV clip the other day. The clip is purported to be "the most honest three minutes in American television history." In it, a young college student is asking a panel of journalists why America is the greatest country in the world. One of the panelists is played by Jeff Daniels and he snaps back that America is not the greatest. He says that America leads the world in a few unfavourable criteria such as number of incarcerated people per capita and number of adults who believe in angels (I believe in angels.) He then goes on about how America used to be great. Americans used to care for each other and we worked together to solve problems. Now, things are just a big mess.
Yep, things were better in the good old days. Things were better when white Americans could own black people and when doctors were recommending cigarettes.
The point is that human beings have always had capacities for benevolence and atrocity. This is true no matter what era you visit.
It's also true no matter what colour the skin is of the predominant people who live there.
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I am aware of some hardcore Christian fundamentalists (some would consider me one) who believe Obama is the antichrist. I don't think he is and I don't think he'll be regarded well by history. George W Bush was the most vilified president of my lifetime. Even so, may I say that neither the polices of Mr. Bush nor Mr. Obama have affected me one iota in my little corner of East Ontario.
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The American reality is that McDonald's will make billions of dollars in 2015 and people won't eat as much broccoli as they should.
Recently, someone showed me a map someone had made shortly after the American Thanksgiving. The map showed what the denizens of various states were most thankful for (according to Twitter and Facebook feeds anyway.) Apparently, Mormon states like Idaho and Utah are thankful for "heavenly father" while the Bible belt states are just thankful for God's forgiveness. California is most thankful for youtube, Vermont for pinterest, New Hampshire for Netflix. Floridans are thankful that they live near the beach.
It's good to see that the blue states have their priorities straight.
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The American reality is that Americans will get steadily better at ice hockey but no one in Canada will ever admit that they are our peers. If the Americans beat us, it will be sheer luck.
Whenever Americans play us in gold medal games, we should send crates of silver polish to their hotel rooms as courtesies.
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Hypocrisy is the default position of most of us.
We say we detest liars but most of us tell at least a dozen lies a day. We condemn the politician or the movie star or the religious leader we hate but we overlook those we admire even if they are guilty of the same infractions. An American preacher once said that if you want to see who your God really is, check your Internet browser history.
Computers used to be expensive because they were built by Americans who belonged to unions. Now they are built by Chinese workers who belong to factories.
The American reality, and the Canadian reality too, is that we are sending all of our manufacturing jobs overseas. We are addicted to flatscreen TVs and iPods and Dr. Pepper.
I just picked up my Fujifilm digital camera. On it are the words MADE IN CHINA. Probably a lot of the stuff in my apartment is made in China too.
-
My friend sent me a TV clip the other day. The clip is purported to be "the most honest three minutes in American television history." In it, a young college student is asking a panel of journalists why America is the greatest country in the world. One of the panelists is played by Jeff Daniels and he snaps back that America is not the greatest. He says that America leads the world in a few unfavourable criteria such as number of incarcerated people per capita and number of adults who believe in angels (I believe in angels.) He then goes on about how America used to be great. Americans used to care for each other and we worked together to solve problems. Now, things are just a big mess.
Yep, things were better in the good old days. Things were better when white Americans could own black people and when doctors were recommending cigarettes.
The point is that human beings have always had capacities for benevolence and atrocity. This is true no matter what era you visit.
It's also true no matter what colour the skin is of the predominant people who live there.
-
I am aware of some hardcore Christian fundamentalists (some would consider me one) who believe Obama is the antichrist. I don't think he is and I don't think he'll be regarded well by history. George W Bush was the most vilified president of my lifetime. Even so, may I say that neither the polices of Mr. Bush nor Mr. Obama have affected me one iota in my little corner of East Ontario.
-
The American reality is that McDonald's will make billions of dollars in 2015 and people won't eat as much broccoli as they should.
Recently, someone showed me a map someone had made shortly after the American Thanksgiving. The map showed what the denizens of various states were most thankful for (according to Twitter and Facebook feeds anyway.) Apparently, Mormon states like Idaho and Utah are thankful for "heavenly father" while the Bible belt states are just thankful for God's forgiveness. California is most thankful for youtube, Vermont for pinterest, New Hampshire for Netflix. Floridans are thankful that they live near the beach.
It's good to see that the blue states have their priorities straight.
-
The American reality is that Americans will get steadily better at ice hockey but no one in Canada will ever admit that they are our peers. If the Americans beat us, it will be sheer luck.
Whenever Americans play us in gold medal games, we should send crates of silver polish to their hotel rooms as courtesies.
-
Hypocrisy is the default position of most of us.
We say we detest liars but most of us tell at least a dozen lies a day. We condemn the politician or the movie star or the religious leader we hate but we overlook those we admire even if they are guilty of the same infractions. An American preacher once said that if you want to see who your God really is, check your Internet browser history.
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