[Culturechat] European/American attitudes changing

[Bobj244@aol.com]

Thanks for the reply Vance.   I've now heard on CNN and a few other places=20
the same kind of comments about Europe as I quoted on my original posting. =20
My wife and I travel a lot and our experiences in the past are just what you=
=20
describe.  Our philosophy has been that we are treated in much the same=20
manner as we treat others.  As frequent untourists we try to keep off the=20
usual tourist trails.

I don't know who the elite are either -- but I suspect they don't do much=20
work or provide too many jobs.  But, the more the media shouts the more=20
people listen.

Former French President Val=E9ry Giscard d'Estaing passed through here a few=
=20
weeks ago.  In an interview he seemed very sensitive to the point that=20
Europeans felt they were losing their cultural identity with globalization.=20=
=20
He specifically mentioned Hollywood, American TV, and McDonalds. =20

I hadn't seen so much of this European fussing at the Us in the news until=20
just recently and I didn't know how deeply it was felt.  It could be just a=20
little Bush bashing going on.   We are now in the middle of the coverage in=20
the US media on Bush's first 100 days.  I hope folks keep thinking that he i=
s=20
a dim light bulb.  He will get much more done that way.  We are just about t=
o=20
get a huge tax cut -- a long way from the pre-election thinking. =20

Bob