A sort of cultural parity between the Old World and the New has been achieved.
We Americans have always felt hopelessly uncultured compared to the Europeans; we have contributed only the most meager offering of classical music, literature, or fine art to the world in my opinion. We cannot speak multiple languages and have little knowledge of cultures other than our own. Most of us have never left and will never leave our country. And we are failures when it comes to The Art of Living, will always be ashamed of our own, recognizing it at once as inferior when we are first exposed to the European lifestyle.
But the Europeans are similarly and equally humiliated by our superiority in this matter of what is cool. They strive to understand our pop culture, to dance to our music, to achieve coolness. But it always comes off as awkward. Coolness is for them as out of reach as is cultured for us.
Posted by Alan at November 1, 2002 05:47 PM