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Originally Posted by Xander
Forgive me, I'm still reeling from the use of the word 'inspiring' in relation to the house of commons. Aside from inspiring me to riot I see little inspiration there but I'll admit perhaps that's just me.
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Ah, you're conflating ideological content with manner of delivery.
I find English policies, to euphemize, generally not to my liking. But the immediate dialectical rigor demanded by MPs is more exciting -- American committee hearings play out like bagpipes, partisan declamations that follow a persistent, uniphonous drone -- and not at all forgiving of reticence. That seems a high valuation of social extroversion.
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with the pres being almost deified
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This is demonstrably not true. Look at opinion polls, then political cartoons, then entertainers, then personally question a sampling of members of the corresponding party. You've either internalized a characterization of America (which might mean introversion, in which case you're right) or have gotten your sense of our country from the German press (in which case I'm right). Certainly, your prime minister defends his policies just meters away from scoffing backbenchers, but then, he is not an autonomous executive.
In America, there are much more complex dynamics between typical business and social types -- and more places in which these interactions occur than those receiving the most international attention. I nod to the theory you're trying to establish, but the UK and US are in too many ways divergent. Your lot may be provincial; but we're varied across the continent ourselves.