you're American... if
· You believe deep down in the First Amendment, guaranteed by the government and perhaps by God.
· You're familiar with David Letterman, Mary Tyler Moore, Saturday Night Live, Bewitched, the Flintstones, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby, Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, Donald Duck, the Fonz, Archie Bunker, Star Trek, the Honeymooners, the Addams Family, the Three Stooges, and Beetle Bailey.
· You know how baseball, basketball, and American football are played. If you're male, you can argue intricate points about their rules. On the other hand (and unless you're under about 20), you don't care that much for soccer.
· You count yourself fortunate if you get three weeks of vacation a year.
· You're fairly likely to believe in God; if not, you've certainly been approached by people asking whether you know that you're going to Heaven.
· You think of McDonald's, Burger King, KFC etc. as cheap food.
· You own multiple telephones and a Televisions.
· Your place is heated in the winter and has its own bathroom.
· You do your laundry in a machine.
· You don't kill your own food.
· You don't have a dirt floor.
· You eat at a table, sitting on chairs.
· You don't consider insects, dogs, cats, monkeys, or guinea pigs to be food.
· A bathroom may not have a bathtub in it, but it certainly has a toilet.
· It seems natural to you that the telephone system, railroads, auto manufacturers, airlines, and power companies are privately run; indeed, you can hardly picture things working differently.
· You expect, as a matter of course, that the phones will work. Getting a new phone is routine.
The list continues on http://www.zompist.com/amercult.html also available are list from other countries.
I personally can identify with a most bullets. While I am not the typical American girl, I would suggests that the list in entirity is "spot on" for the typical or classic American. Overall the list is a fair repesentation of Americans, their beliefs, and experiences.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicago-political-commentary/2010/04/1st-amendment-rights-and-the-westboro-baptist-church.html
ReplyDeleteI understand the importance of our First Amendment Rights but have to sometimes wonder where the line is drawn. If you're not familiar with the upcoming Supreme Court hearing regarding Westboro Baptist Church, please read the above story. It makes for a really interesting point to ponder...does free speech ever go too far?
This group recently attempted to picket a military funeral near my small, rural hometown. Our sheriff swore he would not let it happen but Westboro was successful in obtaining a restraining order against the one person who could stop them.
The Church never made it to protest as the tires on all of their vans were slashed. While a part of me is ashamed that my town stooped to their level, another part of me is proud that that family was spared the disgrace of having their son's funeral turned into a circus.
I kinda found the list to be clichéd. It is what is to be expected of Americans rather than what actually is found. Yes, many of them would be true for many people. Yet for my family, they DO kill their own food many times. They are very avid hunters and even depend on it for survival many times and they could care less about sports. Of course, that is just one sample out of the entire list. I realize that we do live privileged lives, but that is not exclusive to being a United States citizen.
ReplyDelete