However, the Corporations are to blame for a lot of things or more so, corporate greed. The could be controlled by having regulations on them, such as we are controlled by having laws put on us. =) Couldn’t we stretch the social contract to include the corporations?

Since corporations are separate entities, yet entities none the less, I feel that they should definitely be held by the same social contract as humans are. They may not get exactly the same rights (corporation entities should not be able to vote, it would be like allowing someone to vote twice), and so they will not always face the same problems (as an entity, corporations cannot steal…only the employee(s) of a corporation can) but if they are going to get benefits of the social contract, they should be held to reasonable restrictions as well.

I regularly shrug off compliments or disregard them. As do most the people I know.

You speak in generalities about that which you are not really informed. There are differences between every people of every country and every person and his neighbor. This silly point on self-effacing is hardly the “greatest difference between English and Americans”. I could argue we do not have as many differences as you wish to believe. And even if we do, how we accept or do not accept compliments is hardly one of them.

Shall we discuss the similarities?

As far as your argument on U.S. cultural imperialism, I still do not see it your way. The examples you give “CSI, the OC and Friends” I believe are still very much a product of corporate culture. The OC couldn’t be more of an interactive advertisement for music, clothing and other products. It serves as an hour long commercial. However, I do not watch it. I can still see clearly how corporations benefit from its popularity or even shape it. I am not certain how your youth are aspiring to CSI or Friends but I personally like both shows. Friends was funny, quirky and had a variety of intellectual, hard-working friends who mostly respect one another and encouraging each other to push themselves to do what they are capable of doing. I am lost on the CSI reference.

As far as your “fair play” argument on why you did and should have disputed things on the list of contributions of the U.S. to the world, I think you are still missing my point. I have no doubt every country in the world has given the world many inventions, many contributions. I also have no doubt that someone can dispute anything ever said about anything and perhaps everything in the list and in every list of “first discovered or invented” is all incorrect. Perhaps the ancient Egyptians or Mayans or people even further back discovered each of those items. Who knows? We may never. My point was larger than those items/technologies.

Do you think that anything noteworthy was ever founded, invented or discovered by an American or in America?

If so, then you can extrapolate from it, my point. The U.S. has given a lot to the world, even if it has exported a TV show that you allow your stations to import and your children to watch and mimic.

And if you wish to talk about U.S. cultural imperialism with a mindfulness for fair play, let’s discuss the violent European cultural imperialism which dominated the world for centuries. Or the Catholic or Christian cultural imperialism. In all fairness, exporting TV programs is hardly noteworthy in comparison.

I hear your arguments and I am aware of your points. I know people can argue who invented what and when. I am aware of the belief and dislike of the notion of “American cultural imperialism”. I can see some validity in it but I would argue it is more a question of capitalistic modernity rather than culture. And I am even inclined to argue the idea of “American culture” itself. However, I digress, I still stand by my post. I am still more interested in making the point that the many people outside the U.S. have demonized it and even went as far as assuming the people in the U.S. are ignorant and lazy. The jokes, the statements, the sentiments can be found all over the internet and newspapers, TV shows, foreign news commentary, etc.

Every argument can be multi-faceted. I am cognizant of the many ways we could look at what I wrote but I am also keenly aware of what particular point I was addressing in my post. I hope for all that you see “wrong” or “lacking” with my post, that you also can see what I was saying.

Sorry just had to do it

Rupert