An interesting essay here: http://www.happierabroad.com/ebook/Page30.htm
Some quotes:
Quote:
"What I have noticed as a difference between the USA and the Netherlands, though, is that people need to size one another up for the economical gain they can bring each other. Rich people in the USA are very rich, but poor people are much poorer then in the Netherlands. Poor people in the USA often have to work several jobs, and so they have neither time (for making friends), money nor social standing. Plus they see rich people around them all the time, plus they live in a culture that blames them for being poor. Poor people in the Netherlands have either time (if they're unemployed) or they have money. And having money in the Netherlands is far less of a requisite for social standing then in the USA. In short, being poor in the USA is much, much worse then being poor in the Netherlands.
Add to that that it is far easier to really hit rock bottom in the USA. And rock bottom is really hard there. And bare. And the flipside of the American Dream is that everyone can hit Rock Bottom, anytime. All it takes is a stroke of bad luck. So people feel the necessity, both for themselves and their families, not to let resources slip away, by spending time with people who can't offer about the same level of support they can offer them.
Another aspect is that Americans just work damned hard, long hours. They need to, to make the money it takes to live up to a certain material standard. They have precious little time with their families as it is. Far less time then is standard in most countries in Europe. European countries have their shorter distances and shorter commutes. More holidays. Competition is less fierce, so less of it trickles down to employees, who can get by with having to make less overtime and less unpaid-I'm-proving-myself extra effort.”
Quote:
"I see that in this cutthroat society, based on a "greed is good" philosophy, unlimited profit seeking, selfishness, fraud and greediness for money dominates everywhere. Money is absolutely the bottom line for everything. In America, the rich are truly rich and the poor are hopelessly poor. In my opinion, the United States today has the most advanced system of private tyranny.”
“I am of the opinion that American capitalism is incompatible with humaneness. Moreover, this inhumane system has led to the moral bankruptcy of American society, which has bred the alienation of people, breakdown of families, enormous crime and the drug epidemics.”
Quote:
"Most of my European friends and acquaintances are quick to ridicule America's love affair with "the almighty dollar." "All you Americans think about is money" has become a standard mantra in virtually every opening discussion about the American character and the American way of life. In reality, the American condition is more complex. It's not the money per se. Rather, it's the search for personal security that comes from being propertied, the belief that our possessions will make us free. For many Europeans who have opted for less wealth and more play, the American obsession with creating propertied wealth appears more like a kind of pathology. They say that "our possessions end up possessing us."
Quote:
The life of the typical married American man:
“He has a wife, some kids, a mortgaged house, two cars or SUV’s, many bills to pay, and a stable job to support all of it. Each morning, he and his wife get up, get the kids ready for school, make coffee, and then they both go to work (or at least he does). After a 8-9 hour workday, he comes home and tries to relax in front of the TV, but often has very little time to do so, because he might have to help make dinner, talk to his wife and kids (which usually consists of clicheish pep talk around the dinner table), help do household chores, help the kids with their homework, get the kids ready for bed, and then go to bed himself, often still exhausted. The next day, the same routine simply starts all over again.
On weekends, he gets a little more freedom, but not by much. Instead, he has to spend a large part of the weekend catching up on household chores, cleaning the house, or doing yard work. If he can manage to do a family outing, it is often too stressful to enjoy. Not only does he have to constantly watch and discipline the kids from getting out of hand, but he has to think about his budget for the family outing, driving and planning where to go, humoring the kids, lecturing them and giving them clicheish pep talk, making sure his wife is pleased with the outing too, and making sure they get back home in time before the kids’ bedtime. That’s why these family outings are usually exhausting and more stressful than fun.
Sometimes, he and his wife also go out to social events sponsored by schools, companies, churches or the community. But even then, these events tend to be rigid, routine, dull and clicheish. In addition, around the people at these events, he puts on a contrived pleasant face to be polite, regardless of whether he likes them or not, and others at the events do the same to him as well. People at these events don’t deeply enjoy them. Instead, they simply pretend to. Deep down, they know it is just a light distraction from the routine monotony of their daily lives.
In the background of all this are the constant pressures and demands of the bills he has to keep up with as well as the savings he has to allocate. He has to deal with the big house mortgage payments, utility bills, taxes, car insurance payments, medical insurance bills (unless his company pays all or most of it), food and gas expenditures, credit card bills, entertainment/luxury item expenditures, the needs and wants of his kids and wife, etc. In addition to all this, he has to also try to save up some money for his retirement or his kids’ college fund.
Each day that goes by, each week, each month, each year, etc. is pretty much like the above. That’s life for him. Eventually, he may start asking himself “Is this what life is all about? Is this all there is?” Then he may start feeling like a robot leadin chanized life with no freedom. Not only is he a slave to his company, but he is a slave to his wife, kids, house, cars and bills as well. Sadly he learns that there is no true freedom in all this. Not only is this life routine and stressful, but mind-numbing as well. Eventually, he may start to long for the life he had before when he was single and could do whatever he wanted without his current stresses that enslave him. He may long for the time when he was young and single and could choose from many paths in life without anyone tying him down, as well as his freedom to pursue or love conquests with new and exciting women. He may still love his wife and have affection for her, but the romance and passion may be long gone, and they stay together simply for financial commitments and for the sake of the kids. In fact, he may even start to envy the life of the traveling backpackers to overseas countries who, although are poor and on a budget, nevertheless live a life of adventure and mind-expanding freedom.
To cope with this mind numbing routine and stress, he may find ways to distract himself. He may seek acceptable forms of escape such as becoming a sports fan and watching football, baseball, or basketball. These spectator sports provide a temporary distraction from his inner emptiness. Or he may develop other hobbies such as reading, or becoming a handyman on cars and houses (like Tim Allen does on the sitcom Home Improvement). And of course, he must constantly convince himself that his life has meaning because he is doing what God and his country told him he is supposed to do by raising a family, and that it is all for the good of his kids and wife who are depending on him. No matter how dull, stressful, or mind numbing his life is, that’s what he has got to tell himself every day in order to tolerate and endure his conditions.”
12 Jun 2011, 7:06 pm
. The tone you should use when singing it is around sarcastic.
