Mole
Permabanned
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2008
- Messages
- 20,282
Americans have a lot to offer, not least in manners and mores.
And as we perceive by making distinctions, the fundamental distinction made by Americans colours our world. And that American distinction is between the phoney and the sincere.
For Americans phoney is bad and sincere is good.
And this distinction is maintained by homeostasis, that is by cycling between phoney and sincere. So as a corollary Americans are constantly trying to be sincere, but are constantly tempted to be phoney.
The American temptation is aided and abeted by their belief in individualism, and its corollary that individual desire is sacrosanct.
So Americans want to be sincerely interested in the welfare of others, but their individual desires lead them in other directions.
So American manners and mores teach us we make it in America when we can fake sincerity.
This is a high level skill not always appreciated by those outside the American Dream.
And as we perceive by making distinctions, the fundamental distinction made by Americans colours our world. And that American distinction is between the phoney and the sincere.
For Americans phoney is bad and sincere is good.
And this distinction is maintained by homeostasis, that is by cycling between phoney and sincere. So as a corollary Americans are constantly trying to be sincere, but are constantly tempted to be phoney.
The American temptation is aided and abeted by their belief in individualism, and its corollary that individual desire is sacrosanct.
So Americans want to be sincerely interested in the welfare of others, but their individual desires lead them in other directions.
So American manners and mores teach us we make it in America when we can fake sincerity.
This is a high level skill not always appreciated by those outside the American Dream.
