[Culturechat] Jim Kunstler's Thoughts, upon returning from Europe
Harold McLeod, Jr.
hmmcleod@msn.com
Fri, 17 Dec 2004 11:21:23 -0500
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_006F_01C4E42A.8A2ED1A0
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
It must be depressing to live somewhere in American where the culture is =
like Mr. Kunstler describes. Don't know where he resides, but perhaps =
he should visit some other sections of the USA. We always enjoy our =
trips to Europe but we are also always glad to come home, in spite of =
all the problems we have!
----- Original Message -----=20
From: WesTexas@aol.com<mailto:WesTexas@aol.com>=20
To: culturechat@untours.com<mailto:culturechat@untours.com>=20
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2004 6:16 PM
Subject: [Culturechat] Jim Kunstler's Thoughts, upon returning from =
Europe
Jim Kunstler is an iconoclastic social and architectural critic and =
writer (he is a proponent of New Urbanism). He was the primary person =
interviewed in "End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the =
American Dream" (available and =
www.endofsuburbia.com<http://www.endofsuburbia.com/>). Jim, like me, =
believes that we are on the verge of Peak Oil (when world oil production =
begins a decline that it will never recover from. FYI--here in Texas we =
are way past our peak; our oil production is down 75% from 1972).=20
Jim just returned from a trip to Europe. I thought you might find his =
comments (at www.kunstler.com) interesting. =20
By the way, the WSJ had an interesting article last week regarding the =
huge differences between Americans and Europeans regarding debt. The =
average American charges something like $5,000 per year on their credit =
card--the average German charges $64 on their credit card. Europeans =
primarily use debit cards, and the credit cards they use typically have =
low credit limits. Also, there is nothing in Europe like the home =
equity lines of credit and cash out refinancings that we have here in =
the states. FYI--home equity lines of credit in the U.S. are up 41% in =
one year.
Jim Kunstler:
December 15, 2004
Paris was normal, which is to say the streets were thronged with =
live human beings (hardly any of them overweight), the cafes and =
restaurants were bustling, even the parks were well-populated on a brisk =
December day and we were reminded emphatically of the stark contrast =
with the impoverished public life of America. In fact, one morning as we =
puttered in the hotel room with CNN-Europe playing in the background, a =
story came on about retail sales back in the States, and there was a =
shot of our supersized fellow countrymen waddling around in a WalMart =
dressed in the usual slob apparel by which they fail to make a =
distinction between being at home and being out in public.
=20
Amsterdam, Holland, was pretty much the same story as Paris, =
though it is physically quite different from Paris -- the scale is =
smaller, the intimate streets are deployed along a network of beautiful =
canals, and the car is barely tolerated (or even much in evidence). =
There, we would duck into a "brown bar" (so-called because of the dark =
wooden wainscotting) at five p.m. and it would be full of well-dressed, =
gainfully employed adults in animated conversation. Public life in =
Europe is only minimally about shopping and maximally about spending =
time with your fellow human beings.
=20
American public life by comparison is pathetic-to-nonexistent. =
Americans venture out only to roam the warehouse depots, and only by =
car. In most American places bars are strictly for lowlifes, and the =
public realm for the employed classes is pretty much restricted to =
television, with its predictable cast of manufactured characters and =
situations. The alienation and isolation of American life is so =
pervasive and pathological, compared to life lived elsewhere in this =
world, that all the Prozac ever made will never avail to make things =
better for us.
=20
The process of making America an alienated land of solitary, =
obese driver-shoppers has been very profitable for predatory =
corporations. They have systematically disassembled the public social =
infrastructure and repackaged pieces of it for sale -- starting with the =
single-family house isolated on its lot from all the normal amenities of =
culture and society. Everybody now has their 'home theater' so the =
cinema is only a place to park children for two hours so you can drive =
elsewhere to buy the cheez doodles, frozen pizza, Pepsi, and other =
staples of the American diet. You equip your kitchen with an espresso =
machine and there is no reason to "waste your time" in a cafe. Everybody =
has to have their own pool, so the kids can go swimming by themselves. =
Family values. The rest of the human race is unimportant.
=20
American adults are said to work far more hours than their =
European counterparts. Clearly, that is because they have no place to =
"be" with other people besides the WalMart, and no way to get anyplace =
except the car. On top of this fantastic alienation, there is the =
inescapable din of manufactured Christmas festivity, which must only =
reinforce the deep,chronic loneliness of most average Americans, the =
utter lack of connection with other people. In Paris there was hardly a =
Santa to be seen, or a carol to be heard, though the busy and beautiful =
streets were saturated with cheer and conviviality.
=20
What is also striking in contrast is the stupendous and immersive =
ugliness of all "normal" American daily environments. Public beauty in =
buildings and streets is not merely absent, it seems to have been =
rigorously banished. Americans now move continually through a machine =
terrain unmediated by any reminders of what it means to be human. Our =
most celebrated architects are high priests of the machine ethos. =
America has become a country of sad, lonely, and frightened people. We =
say that we like our way of life, but I suspect that many Red staters =
have never known anything else besides the six-lane highway, the box =
store, and the life of cable TV. The widespread demoralization is too =
great to be calculated.
------=_NextPart_000_006F_01C4E42A.8A2ED1A0
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type =
content=3Dtext/html;charset=3Diso-8859-1>
<STYLE></STYLE>
<META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=3DGENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY id=3DMailContainerBody=20
style=3D"PADDING-LEFT: 10px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; =
COLOR: #000000; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; PADDING-TOP: 15px; FONT-STYLE: =
normal; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; =
BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; TEXT-DECORATION: none; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: =
none"=20
leftMargin=3D0 topMargin=3D0 acc_role=3D"text" CanvasTabStop=3D"true"=20
name=3D"Compose message area"><!--[gte IE 5]><?xml:namespace =
prefix=3D"v" /><?xml:namespace prefix=3D"o" /><![endif]-->
<DIV>
<DIV>It must be depressing to live somewhere in American where the =
culture is=20
like Mr. Kunstler describes. Don't know where he resides, but =
perhaps he=20
should visit some other sections of the USA. We always enjoy our =
trips to=20
Europe but we are also always glad to come home, in spite of all =
the=20
problems we have!</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>From:</B> <A =
title=3Dmailto:WesTexas@aol.com=20
href=3D"mailto:WesTexas@aol.com">WesTexas@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A=20
title=3Dmailto:culturechat@untours.com=20
href=3D"mailto:culturechat@untours.com">culturechat@untours.com</A> =
</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, December 16, =
2004 6:16=20
PM</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Culturechat] Jim =
Kunstler's=20
Thoughts, upon returning from Europe</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=3Darial,helvetica><FONT face=3DGeneva =
color=3D#000000=20
size=3D2 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF">Jim Kunstler is an iconoclastic social =
and=20
architectural critic and writer (he is a proponent of New =
Urbanism). He=20
was the primary person interviewed in "End of Suburbia: Oil =
Depletion=20
and the Collapse of the American Dream" (available and <A=20
title=3Dhttp://www.endofsuburbia.com/=20
=
href=3D"http://www.endofsuburbia.com">www.endofsuburbia.com</A>). =
Jim,=20
like me, believes that we are on the verge of Peak Oil (when world oil =
production begins a decline that it will never recover from. =
FYI--here=20
in Texas we are way past our peak; our oil production is down 75% from =
1972).=20
<BR><BR>Jim just returned from a trip to Europe. I thought you =
might=20
find his comments (at www.kunstler.com) interesting. =
<BR><BR>By the way, the WSJ had an interesting article last week =
regarding the=20
huge differences between Americans and Europeans regarding debt. =
The=20
average American charges something like $5,000 per year on their =
credit=20
card--the average German charges $64 on their credit card. =
Europeans=20
primarily use debit cards, and the credit cards they use typically =
have low=20
credit limits. Also, there is nothing in Europe like the home =
equity=20
lines of credit and cash out refinancings that we have here in the=20
states. FYI--home equity lines of credit in the U.S. are up 41% =
in one=20
year.<BR><BR>Jim Kunstler:<BR><BR></FONT><FONT face=3DArial =
color=3D#000000 size=3D2=20
FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF">December 15,=20
2004<BR> Paris was normal, which is =
to say=20
the streets were thronged with live human beings (hardly any of them=20
overweight), the cafes and restaurants were bustling, even the parks =
were=20
well-populated on a brisk December day and we were reminded =
emphatically of=20
the stark contrast with the impoverished public life of America. In =
fact, one=20
morning as we puttered in the hotel room with CNN-Europe playing in =
the=20
background, a story came on about retail sales back in the States, and =
there=20
was a shot of our supersized fellow countrymen waddling around in a =
WalMart=20
dressed in the usual slob apparel by which they fail to make a =
distinction=20
between being at home and being out in=20
public.<BR> <BR> =
Amsterdam, Holland, was pretty much the same story as Paris, though it =
is=20
physically quite different from Paris -- the scale is smaller, the =
intimate=20
streets are deployed along a network of beautiful canals, and the car =
is=20
barely tolerated (or even much in evidence). There, we would duck into =
a=20
"brown bar" (so-called because of the dark wooden wainscotting) at =
five p.m.=20
and it would be full of well-dressed, gainfully employed adults in =
animated=20
conversation. Public life in Europe is only minimally about shopping =
and=20
maximally about spending time with your fellow human=20
beings.<BR> <BR> =
American=20
public life by comparison is pathetic-to-nonexistent. Americans =
venture out=20
only to roam the warehouse depots, and only by car. In most American =
places=20
bars are strictly for lowlifes, and the public realm for the employed =
classes=20
is pretty much restricted to television, with its predictable cast of=20
manufactured characters and situations. The alienation and isolation =
of=20
American life is so pervasive and pathological, compared to life lived =
elsewhere in this world, that all the Prozac ever made will never =
avail to=20
make things better for=20
us.<BR> <BR> The =
process=20
of making America an alienated land of solitary, obese driver-shoppers =
has=20
been very profitable for predatory corporations. They have =
systematically=20
disassembled the public social infrastructure and repackaged pieces of =
it for=20
sale -- starting with the single-family house isolated on its lot from =
all the=20
normal amenities of culture and society. Everybody now has their 'home =
theater' so the cinema is only a place to park children for two hours =
so you=20
can drive elsewhere to buy the cheez doodles, frozen pizza, Pepsi, and =
other=20
staples of the American diet. You equip your kitchen with an espresso =
machine=20
and there is no reason to "waste your time" in a cafe. Everybody has =
to have=20
their own pool, so the kids can go swimming by themselves. Family =
values. The=20
rest of the human race is =
unimportant.<BR> =20
<BR> American adults are said to work far more =
hours=20
than their European counterparts. Clearly, that is because they have =
no place=20
to "be" with other people besides the WalMart, and no way to get =
anyplace=20
except the car. On top of this fantastic alienation, there is the =
inescapable=20
din of manufactured Christmas festivity, which must only reinforce the =
deep,chronic loneliness of most average Americans, the utter lack of=20
connection with other people. In Paris there was hardly a Santa to be =
seen, or=20
a carol to be heard, though the busy and beautiful streets were =
saturated with=20
cheer and=20
=
conviviality.<BR> <BR> &nbs=
p;=20
What is also striking in contrast is the stupendous and immersive =
ugliness of=20
all "normal" American daily environments. Public beauty in buildings =
and=20
streets is not merely absent, it seems to have been rigorously =
banished.=20
Americans now move continually through a machine terrain unmediated by =
any=20
reminders of what it means to be human. Our most celebrated =
architects are high priests of the machine ethos. America has become a =
country=20
of sad, lonely, and frightened people. We say that we like our way of =
life,=20
but I suspect that many Red staters have never known anything else =
besides the=20
six-lane highway, the box store, and the life of cable TV. The =
widespread=20
demoralization is too great to be calculated.</FONT><FONT =
face=3DGeneva=20
color=3D#000000 size=3D2 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF"></FONT>=20
</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></BODY></HTML>
------=_NextPart_000_006F_01C4E42A.8A2ED1A0--