US versus Europe
-
feudalistic ? How :confused: ?
Angels banished from heaven have no choice but to become demons Cowboy Bebop
All I mean by that is, from my perspective, Europeans have never really escaped an inherently fuedalistic mindset. In other words, Marxism, Socialism and even Fascism, are variations on a basically fuedalistic theme. Instead of peasants looking to their 'lord' for their most basic needs, protection and security, you have people looking to the government for those same things, rather than wanting to take the individual responsibility to secure those things for themselves. "Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art." Charles McCabe, San Francisco Chronicle
-
That took much longer to read than I had thought (by about two hours!), but was worth it in the end. Just a few things I want to comment or make observations on: - I was very surprised about the whole banking thing - can anyone back that up?! - Americans don't have teletext? - What about the washing machine statement? Here I just bung the clothing in, tell it the basic cycle and come and collect my dried clothing in about two hours ready for ironing. - On the other side, air conditioning has always puzzeled me - just what do you use it for? Surely all of the country can't suffer form heat waves? - I find the part about success being defined as economical success troubling, the idea that wealth alone brings you status; I would never have thought that myself, but then I don't live in the US. - I have noticed that the American members here are much more willing to condemn when everybody I have ever come into direct contact without would offer sympathy and empathy. That is really quite puzelling to me. - I love the idea of a "give a penny/ take a penny" basket! where do I sign up? - Regarding the statement: "Americans believe that they have "saved" money if they buy something for $50 which has a crossed-out label of $100 attached to it." I didn't realise all Americans were female. ;P - "People actually send loads of money to Christian faith healers who stage the most ridiculous TV shows." and make for brilliant "Tarrant on TV" episodes. ;) - I know we all joke along the lines of the following, but I never considered it to actually be true: "no swearing on radio or TV is allowed (it is rather ironic to hear a beep whenever someone tried to say "fuck", especially in a country which prides itself in strong opposition to censorship), no nudity whatsoever on TV either, and no substantial sex education in the schools (resulting in the highest teen pregnancy rate of the developed world)." Is *any* of that true? :wtf: - "In Germany, TV shows start at varying, strange times. In the US, all shows on all channels always start on the full hour." (my emhpasis) So if you have a thirty minute programm, does that mean you get thirty minutes of ads? :~ - "In the US, prices are always stated without sales tax, so you never know in advance how much you actually have to pay. " - A very interesting comparison. :)
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
David Wulff wrote: - I was very surprised about the whole banking thing - can anyone back that up?! That all depends on where you bank. I have a regular bank account and an account at a credit union - which is like a bank but you have to know somebody to get in, and I own one share. I'm considered a member as opposed to a customer like you'd have at a regular bank. And, they do a lot of the mundane crap for you for free that normal banks simply won't. David Wulff wrote: - I love the idea of a "give a penny/ take a penny" basket! where do I sign up? Just about every gas station in the country. :) Hey, it helps to get exact change sometimes, and leaving a few cents every now and then is better than loosing it in the car. David Wulff wrote: - "In Germany, TV shows start at varying, strange times. In the US, all shows on all channels always start on the full hour." (my emhpasis) So if you have a thirty minute programm, does that mean you get thirty minutes of ads? Shows will last on average ~23 mins to allow for commercials; therefore, filling its 30 min time slot. David Wulff wrote: - "In the US, prices are always stated without sales tax, so you never know in advance how much you actually have to pay. " Yup, it's a marketing thing. I didn't know y'all did do that. Interesting learn. Jeremy Falcon Imputek
-
Tim Smith wrote: Well, his first sentence was wrong Which sentence? A subjective comparison of Germany and the United States or I grew up in Germany, lived there for 26 years, then moved to the United States in 1992. First I was a graduate student and now I work as a college teacher :confused:
Cheers,
Marc:beer: Click to see my *real* signature :beer:
-
http://math-www.uni-paderborn.de/~axel/us-d.html[^] The web page compares many aspects of culture/lifestyle in the US with Germany (which mostly applies to the rest of Europe too). Very interesting, IMO.
Cheers,
Marc:beer: Click to see my *real* signature :beer:
Almost all Americans carry several credit cards; I never understood why anyone would bother to carry more than one until a fellow graduate student told me that she treats credit cards as a kind of unemployment insurance. :eek: Follow live World Cup Cricket scores here[^]
-
That took much longer to read than I had thought (by about two hours!), but was worth it in the end. Just a few things I want to comment or make observations on: - I was very surprised about the whole banking thing - can anyone back that up?! - Americans don't have teletext? - What about the washing machine statement? Here I just bung the clothing in, tell it the basic cycle and come and collect my dried clothing in about two hours ready for ironing. - On the other side, air conditioning has always puzzeled me - just what do you use it for? Surely all of the country can't suffer form heat waves? - I find the part about success being defined as economical success troubling, the idea that wealth alone brings you status; I would never have thought that myself, but then I don't live in the US. - I have noticed that the American members here are much more willing to condemn when everybody I have ever come into direct contact without would offer sympathy and empathy. That is really quite puzelling to me. - I love the idea of a "give a penny/ take a penny" basket! where do I sign up? - Regarding the statement: "Americans believe that they have "saved" money if they buy something for $50 which has a crossed-out label of $100 attached to it." I didn't realise all Americans were female. ;P - "People actually send loads of money to Christian faith healers who stage the most ridiculous TV shows." and make for brilliant "Tarrant on TV" episodes. ;) - I know we all joke along the lines of the following, but I never considered it to actually be true: "no swearing on radio or TV is allowed (it is rather ironic to hear a beep whenever someone tried to say "fuck", especially in a country which prides itself in strong opposition to censorship), no nudity whatsoever on TV either, and no substantial sex education in the schools (resulting in the highest teen pregnancy rate of the developed world)." Is *any* of that true? :wtf: - "In Germany, TV shows start at varying, strange times. In the US, all shows on all channels always start on the full hour." (my emhpasis) So if you have a thirty minute programm, does that mean you get thirty minutes of ads? :~ - "In the US, prices are always stated without sales tax, so you never know in advance how much you actually have to pay. " - A very interesting comparison. :)
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
David Wulff wrote: "no swearing on radio or TV is allowed absolutely not true. South Park did an episode where they said "shit" 162 times. it's not uncommon at all to hear all of the 2nd level swear words (ass, piss, etc). only the F-bomb is rare, and i think South Park managed to sneak it in during the Shit episode. -c
Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. --Thomas Cardinal Wolsey
-
Almost all Americans carry several credit cards; I never understood why anyone would bother to carry more than one until a fellow graduate student told me that she treats credit cards as a kind of unemployment insurance. :eek: Follow live World Cup Cricket scores here[^]
Sad, but from my experience... true. I personally have two credit cards (Discover & Visa). I use the Discover card for many (but not all) daily purchases. It's easier than carying cash and they pay a small (.1%??) bonus each month on every purchase. The Visa is only used when the store doesn't accept Discover and I don't have the cash. I pay off both cards fully every month so I pay no interest, but many people don't. I know quite a few people who owe $5,000... $10,000... even $15,000 on credit cards. Their interest payment alone is phenominal! :omg: Credit is VERY easy (too easy IMHO) here and people without will-power can easily be overwhelmed by it. Mike Mullikin :beer:
Women: You can't live with them, and you can't get them to dress up in a skimpy Nazi costume and beat you with a warm squash. - Emo Phillips
-
David Wulff wrote: "no swearing on radio or TV is allowed absolutely not true. South Park did an episode where they said "shit" 162 times. it's not uncommon at all to hear all of the 2nd level swear words (ass, piss, etc). only the F-bomb is rare, and i think South Park managed to sneak it in during the Shit episode. -c
Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. --Thomas Cardinal Wolsey
True, in fact most of the popular evening dramas like ER, NYPD Blue, Law & Order, etc... generally have quite a bit of language that would have been banned even 5-6 years ago. What I find interesting is: Why do Europeans think swearing on TV/radio is such a wonderful thing? I'm not prudish on the subject and I can swear like a sailor when I want to but these are publicly broadcast and some of the public doesn't like the language. Mike Mullikin :beer:
Women: You can't live with them, and you can't get them to dress up in a skimpy Nazi costume and beat you with a warm squash. - Emo Phillips
-
http://math-www.uni-paderborn.de/~axel/us-d.html[^] The web page compares many aspects of culture/lifestyle in the US with Germany (which mostly applies to the rest of Europe too). Very interesting, IMO.
Cheers,
Marc:beer: Click to see my *real* signature :beer:
The reason teltext, ISDN, etc isn't widely available in the US because the phone and cable companies felt they couldn't make a profit off these services. If the phone and cable company is state owned profit isn't as much of an issue.
-
That took much longer to read than I had thought (by about two hours!), but was worth it in the end. Just a few things I want to comment or make observations on: - I was very surprised about the whole banking thing - can anyone back that up?! - Americans don't have teletext? - What about the washing machine statement? Here I just bung the clothing in, tell it the basic cycle and come and collect my dried clothing in about two hours ready for ironing. - On the other side, air conditioning has always puzzeled me - just what do you use it for? Surely all of the country can't suffer form heat waves? - I find the part about success being defined as economical success troubling, the idea that wealth alone brings you status; I would never have thought that myself, but then I don't live in the US. - I have noticed that the American members here are much more willing to condemn when everybody I have ever come into direct contact without would offer sympathy and empathy. That is really quite puzelling to me. - I love the idea of a "give a penny/ take a penny" basket! where do I sign up? - Regarding the statement: "Americans believe that they have "saved" money if they buy something for $50 which has a crossed-out label of $100 attached to it." I didn't realise all Americans were female. ;P - "People actually send loads of money to Christian faith healers who stage the most ridiculous TV shows." and make for brilliant "Tarrant on TV" episodes. ;) - I know we all joke along the lines of the following, but I never considered it to actually be true: "no swearing on radio or TV is allowed (it is rather ironic to hear a beep whenever someone tried to say "fuck", especially in a country which prides itself in strong opposition to censorship), no nudity whatsoever on TV either, and no substantial sex education in the schools (resulting in the highest teen pregnancy rate of the developed world)." Is *any* of that true? :wtf: - "In Germany, TV shows start at varying, strange times. In the US, all shows on all channels always start on the full hour." (my emhpasis) So if you have a thirty minute programm, does that mean you get thirty minutes of ads? :~ - "In the US, prices are always stated without sales tax, so you never know in advance how much you actually have to pay. " - A very interesting comparison. :)
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
David Wulff wrote: - On the other side, air conditioning has always puzzeled me - just what do you use it for? Surely all of the country can't suffer form heat waves? In Texas, from about May till October, the AVERAGE temp will be well over 80. The highs will be anywhere from 85-110 and the lows from 65-70. In July August, and September we will generally have temps over 95 degrees everyday and some days well over 100. We have had as many as 40 consecutive days over 100. Without AC in both home and auto normal life would be impossible. Think about all that concrete and temps of about 100. The difference in my electric bill in Jan ( about 45.00 ) and Aug ( about 195.00 ) shows the price we pay. OF course since it very seldom even gets below freezing we make some of it up during the winter ( so called ) months. I have been swimming at Christmas here. Richard I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. Albert Einstein
-
That took much longer to read than I had thought (by about two hours!), but was worth it in the end. Just a few things I want to comment or make observations on: - I was very surprised about the whole banking thing - can anyone back that up?! - Americans don't have teletext? - What about the washing machine statement? Here I just bung the clothing in, tell it the basic cycle and come and collect my dried clothing in about two hours ready for ironing. - On the other side, air conditioning has always puzzeled me - just what do you use it for? Surely all of the country can't suffer form heat waves? - I find the part about success being defined as economical success troubling, the idea that wealth alone brings you status; I would never have thought that myself, but then I don't live in the US. - I have noticed that the American members here are much more willing to condemn when everybody I have ever come into direct contact without would offer sympathy and empathy. That is really quite puzelling to me. - I love the idea of a "give a penny/ take a penny" basket! where do I sign up? - Regarding the statement: "Americans believe that they have "saved" money if they buy something for $50 which has a crossed-out label of $100 attached to it." I didn't realise all Americans were female. ;P - "People actually send loads of money to Christian faith healers who stage the most ridiculous TV shows." and make for brilliant "Tarrant on TV" episodes. ;) - I know we all joke along the lines of the following, but I never considered it to actually be true: "no swearing on radio or TV is allowed (it is rather ironic to hear a beep whenever someone tried to say "fuck", especially in a country which prides itself in strong opposition to censorship), no nudity whatsoever on TV either, and no substantial sex education in the schools (resulting in the highest teen pregnancy rate of the developed world)." Is *any* of that true? :wtf: - "In Germany, TV shows start at varying, strange times. In the US, all shows on all channels always start on the full hour." (my emhpasis) So if you have a thirty minute programm, does that mean you get thirty minutes of ads? :~ - "In the US, prices are always stated without sales tax, so you never know in advance how much you actually have to pay. " - A very interesting comparison. :)
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
David Wulff wrote: - On the other side, air conditioning has always puzzeled me - just what do you use it for? Surely all of the country can't suffer form heat waves? In Texas, from about May till October, the AVERAGE temp will be well over 80. The highs will be anywhere from 85-110 and the lows from 65-70. In July August, and September we will generally have temps over 95 degrees everyday and some days well over 100. We have had as many as 40 consecutive days over 100. Without AC in both home and auto normal life would be impossible. Think about all that concrete and temps of about 100. The difference in my electric bill in Jan ( about 45.00 ) and Aug ( about 195.00 ) shows the price we pay. OF course since it very seldom even gets below freezing we make some of it up during the winter ( so called ) months. I have been swimming at Christmas here. Richard I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. Albert Einstein
-
True, in fact most of the popular evening dramas like ER, NYPD Blue, Law & Order, etc... generally have quite a bit of language that would have been banned even 5-6 years ago. What I find interesting is: Why do Europeans think swearing on TV/radio is such a wonderful thing? I'm not prudish on the subject and I can swear like a sailor when I want to but these are publicly broadcast and some of the public doesn't like the language. Mike Mullikin :beer:
Women: You can't live with them, and you can't get them to dress up in a skimpy Nazi costume and beat you with a warm squash. - Emo Phillips
Mike Mullikin wrote: What I find interesting is: Why do Europeans think swearing on TV/radio is such a wonderful thing? I think it must be more about the freedom part, coupled with the fact that very few people take any realy offence with everyday moderate swearing - it's as much as a part of real life as anything else. Obviously we don't have anythingbut the occasional shit or arse and the like before the watershed so as not to enoucrange children. I wouldn't think twice if someone said "that's fucking brilliant!" on the TV at 9pm (even on a BBC broadcast), but it would make me sit up and think "what the hell?!" if they bleeped it out. It saddens me to hear that Graham Norton's show when it is rebroadcast on BBCA has been censored. Then again, when I caught episodes of Jackass on satelite they were not censored visually, yet rebroadcast here on Channel 4 and all the dicks and arses have been blanked out. Censorship like that is so silly.
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
h.a.s: 0.0.4
-
Paul Watson wrote: Well I am sure many non-German Europeans will object to your last statement... I'm half Danish, half French, and was born and lived the 18 first years of my life in Luxembourg, and attendend the European School there; That doesn't make me some european superman, but I still think I know a bit more than the average guy on european cultures. :-D Obviously a lot of what is written on the page (especially the jura-related info) applies to Germany only, but what I meant with the "The web page compares many aspects of culture/lifestyle in the US with Germany (which mostly applies to the rest of Europe too)." statement is that a lot of the cultural/social/lifstyle apply (with minor modifications) to a lot of countries in Europe, and describes the general European attitudes very well.
Cheers,
Marc:beer: Click to see my *real* signature :beer:
Marc Richarme wrote: was born and lived the 18 first years of my life in Luxembourg I've always wondered about Luxembourg - what is it like as a place to live or visit? It never seems to get mentioned, so is it this nice friendly little place where other Europeans go to retire, or is it just small and annoying like France's bastard son? ;P One of these days I'm going to plan some more trips around wastern Europe. I miss all the wonderful landscapes of Germany, Austria, and (I've forgotten my geography) the wine growing region of France - amazing images that you won't find down here in Hobiton. I think I'd like to go to Luxembourg, maybe Switzerland, next.
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
h.a.s: 0.0.4
-
The reason teltext, ISDN, etc isn't widely available in the US because the phone and cable companies felt they couldn't make a profit off these services. If the phone and cable company is state owned profit isn't as much of an issue.
Phone & Cable services are private in most European countries too, and they do make profit of ISDN, for example (and I think it's quite successful too). The smart thing about those services is that no phone lines / cables need to be replaced to implement them, so only a tiny investment is required compared to ADSL, for example.
Cheers,
Marc:beer: Click to see my *real* signature :beer:
-
All I mean by that is, from my perspective, Europeans have never really escaped an inherently fuedalistic mindset. In other words, Marxism, Socialism and even Fascism, are variations on a basically fuedalistic theme. Instead of peasants looking to their 'lord' for their most basic needs, protection and security, you have people looking to the government for those same things, rather than wanting to take the individual responsibility to secure those things for themselves. "Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art." Charles McCabe, San Francisco Chronicle
Interesting insight. Never thought to compare feudalism and socialism. There are obvious differences of course, but the parent->child relationship remains. BW "We get general information and specific information, but none of the specific information talks about time, place or methods or means..." - Tom Ridge - US Secretary of Homeland Security
-
All I mean by that is, from my perspective, Europeans have never really escaped an inherently fuedalistic mindset. In other words, Marxism, Socialism and even Fascism, are variations on a basically fuedalistic theme. Instead of peasants looking to their 'lord' for their most basic needs, protection and security, you have people looking to the government for those same things, rather than wanting to take the individual responsibility to secure those things for themselves. "Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art." Charles McCabe, San Francisco Chronicle
Stan Shannon wrote: you have people looking to the government for those same things, rather than wanting to take the individual responsibility to secure those things for themselves. IMO we look not to the government but to the Nation. Because we are the Nation, we are collectively and individually responsible, through a vertue called civisme("good citizenship": I can't even find a single word for this in english, what a symbol) . I know it's more and more an utopia, thanks to a globalization of the jungle rules, but I still keep this vision as an ideal.
Angels banished from heaven have no choice but to become demons Cowboy Bebop
-
http://math-www.uni-paderborn.de/~axel/us-d.html[^] The web page compares many aspects of culture/lifestyle in the US with Germany (which mostly applies to the rest of Europe too). Very interesting, IMO.
Cheers,
Marc:beer: Click to see my *real* signature :beer:
The jobless youth in big German cities and in the eastern part of the country however often present an aggressive nationalistic attitude, to the extent of harassing, beating and even killing foreigners with the wrong skin color. This kind of violence is unheard of in the US. Eh.. What about the KKK? -- Yeeeeehaaaaawwwwd!
-
Phone & Cable services are private in most European countries too, and they do make profit of ISDN, for example (and I think it's quite successful too). The smart thing about those services is that no phone lines / cables need to be replaced to implement them, so only a tiny investment is required compared to ADSL, for example.
Cheers,
Marc:beer: Click to see my *real* signature :beer:
Really, I was under the impression that most TV and phone companies in europe were nationalized. Deutshe Telekom is a "private" company, but the goverment holds almost 3/4 of the shares.
-
Stan Shannon wrote: you have people looking to the government for those same things, rather than wanting to take the individual responsibility to secure those things for themselves. IMO we look not to the government but to the Nation. Because we are the Nation, we are collectively and individually responsible, through a vertue called civisme("good citizenship": I can't even find a single word for this in english, what a symbol) . I know it's more and more an utopia, thanks to a globalization of the jungle rules, but I still keep this vision as an ideal.
Angels banished from heaven have no choice but to become demons Cowboy Bebop
Kaßl wrote: civisme("good citizenship": I can't even find a single word for this in english, what a symbol) . "Civic Duty" probably comes pretty close. BW "We get general information and specific information, but none of the specific information talks about time, place or methods or means..." - Tom Ridge - US Secretary of Homeland Security
-
The jobless youth in big German cities and in the eastern part of the country however often present an aggressive nationalistic attitude, to the extent of harassing, beating and even killing foreigners with the wrong skin color. This kind of violence is unheard of in the US. Eh.. What about the KKK? -- Yeeeeehaaaaawwwwd!
The Klan has largely been defanged in the U.S. "Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art." Charles McCabe, San Francisco Chronicle
-
Kaßl wrote: civisme("good citizenship": I can't even find a single word for this in english, what a symbol) . "Civic Duty" probably comes pretty close. BW "We get general information and specific information, but none of the specific information talks about time, place or methods or means..." - Tom Ridge - US Secretary of Homeland Security
The french definition for civism is: Devotion of the citizen to his country, of the individual to the community. The term duty implies a constraint, when civism is more voluntarist.
Angels banished from heaven have no choice but to become demons Cowboy Bebop