Little Americans
From Steve Spurrell
Sir: Allow me to clear up Jason Boatright’s misunderstanding about the ‘strange criticisms’ Europeans so often make of Americans (Letters, 22 April). There is far more to experience around the world than there is in any one country. You could not make a pilgrimage to your chosen holy city in America, be it the Vatican or Mecca. You could not visit the Great Pyramids or the Taj Mahal. In fact, you could not see a single building that has stood for more than 500 years.
Could you experience the beauty of the Greek islands, which helped inspire mythology that is as popular today as Shakespeare? Could you witness the festivals surrounding the monsoon on the Ganges river? Or the recently passed Thai new year? In fact, could you have a single personal experience of a culture other than your own? I think not.
It is precisely this ‘we have everything we need in our country (except oil)’ mentality, along with the naive belief that ‘quaint towns in somewhat foreign places’ are all pretty much alike, that causes such resentment among so many people in a world which we do, believe it or not, all have to share.
Steve Spurrell By email
Previous page
