The gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world is as large as ever. It is gigantic. This this was one of the big takeaways from the trip too.
The dynamism that is palpable on even the poor streets of America (with a few exceptions), and in the deserted places, where it feels slow and listless compared to the urban places of this country. Nevertheless is flows there as well. It is the thick substance of Life that is clearly driving the machine of the world economy and global culture.
Everyone else lives in the shadow of America. We are such titans above everything else.
Even our riots are filled with great dynamic life.
In Europe the masses congregate in protests. They are the protests of people who know that they are of the class of people who are not rulers, and not the wealthy, and they know that they never will be, and nor will their descendants be. They know that the class structure that rules their society is eternal.
Most European pop culture is an attempt to follow American trends in showmanship, narrative, characters, ideology, etc. This is painfully obvious across the continent. American pop culture is the gold standard of the world as much as ever---more than ever.
Who had the best television in Europe?
We both agreed on the obvious answer: Italy. This is because thebelieve in their own sense of style, and feel they don't need to follow the Americans, at least on this one issue. They feel free to borrow much from America they like---in fact they ironically love America.
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