Re: [Nolug] Who usually shows up for meetings?

On Mon, Dec 08, 2008 at 11:46:39AM -0600, Petri Laihonen wrote:
>
>
> Jeremy (mailing list box) wrote:
> >B. Estrade wrote:
> >>
> >>Finland looks like a nice place, but like I say, I don't think you
> >>can honestly expect a place like the US to suddenly mirror it on a
> >>much, much larger scale.
> >>
> >>Brett
> >
> >You hit it on the head. The US suffers from the problem of size.
> >In reality, the US is too large to mirror the Finns. The interests
> >of one group of people on the East Coast are vastly different than the
> >interests of those in Utah or the West Coast. And I know they are
> >different than the interests of folks on the Gulf Coast (example,
> >mention coastal or wetlands erosion and observe the blank stares).
>
> Additional problem, which actually has nothing to do with the size of
> the country is the way of thinking. I was wondering about this stuff
> some time back and could not figure out how come some simple things,
> which I know, can be done better, but here still are not. My wife gave
> quite plausible explanation.
> Here in US, most people think along the lines of "me, me, me, then me".
> In Finland, most people think what is good for "us", knowing that when
> we are doing well, I'm doing well.

Americans hold self reliance as a core virtue. This is not. "me, me, me." It is rejecting the notion that we have a right to live in a nanny state. That is not selfishness. I think you'll find most Americans quite charitable and concerned for their fellow man.

>
> That is something which is very difficult next to impossible to change,
> and if the leading people are willing to go to that direction, it would
> still take decades.

I hope it *never* happens.

Brett

>
> Petri
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-- 
B. Estrade
Louisiana Optical Network Initiative
+1.225.578.1920 aim: bz743
:wq
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