>At 03:32 AM 6/4/2002 +0000, jks wrote:
>
>>But it is lovely, this land of ours, from California to the New York
>>island>
>
>I beg to differ. The suburban wasteland that extends beyond the "New York
>Island" is hideously ugly - aesthetically and socially - low density sprawl
>littered with advertisements and tackiness, divided by endless
>highways, littered with junk, and populated by gun-toting, SUV-driving
>rednecks. Yuk!
Ah, W, you are so European. Ardono felt thesame way, and so, I am sure, did Brecht. America. ik! It's so tacky and uncultured. Well, I like European high culture as much as the next Midwesterner . . . .
>
>The shared stock knowledge and the positive feedback it creates for
>everyday interaction is the main advantage of "being a national." That is
>why most people feel closer to their own country than to any other country
>(even if the other country nationals speak the same language). However,
>once you master another country's stock knowledge to a reasonable degree
>you can feel at home these just as in your native country.
I don't think so. I probably have more "stock" knowledge of England than most British people, and more of Germany than many Germans, but I'm still an alien in those countries. America may be different: it's possible that somelike like you can actualkly became an American in a way that I could never become a Pole. But you would know that better than I.
This
>way, you
>can feel a national of any country of your choice - if you have a desire
>and ability to learn new things, of course. Take that from a perpetual homo
>peregrinus :).
jks
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