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May 26, 2006
The evolution of Love US Hate US
"Evolution" is a loaded word in the United States and I was intrigued to hear it in conversation when we were in the political center of right-wing Christianity last weekend. Something evolved, even if humans didn't. But that comment came from one of our more liberal friends; my fundamentalist cousin would probably not use the word in reference to anything at all.
This website is evolving. Our design was intended to collect anecdotes and observations: short, precise items about different aspects of the United States that people love and hate. We saw discussion and debate taking place and set up a forum for that. We even baited the forum with our own comments and interesting contributions from the main page. But the discussion has continued on the main page, with considerable back-and-forth between individuals. All very interesting, but not quite manageable or easy to navigate for new visitors. We're trying to figure out how to provide a visible discussion of what the world thinks about the United States along with a collection of observations by visitors to the site and also quotes from eminent people (and pop stars).
We have this blog, a wiki about global perspectives, and one of these days we'll have some PDF background articles available and podcasts. All these media have different advantages, and your suggestions are welcome. Please write and tell us what would provide the best experience at Love US Hate US: What the world really thinks about America!
Posted by Karen Christensen at 6:45 AM | Comments (0)
More about Canadians and the United States
This came in as a comment, but it's too good not to put here where it's easy to read:
"I remember a Canadian television commercial, where two Canadians are outside a club or a hotel or something in Detroit and a limo pulls up and a bunch of guys get out, leaving the door open. The Canadians look inside and see the Stanley Cup. They get an idea, jump in the limo and get the driver to go over to the Windsor side, where they open up the sun roof and drive around holding the Stanley Cup up in the air.
"To me, it seemed to sum up the Canadian obsession with their big brother neighbor. We don't notice them, but they can't help but notice us, everywhere. They can't turn us off. We're on their TV sets. And, we steal their national sport.
"It's like a joke: What do you call 12 Canadians surrounded by 30,000 Americans? Answer: A professional hockey game."
Posted by Karen Christensen at 5:13 AM | Comments (0)
May 10, 2006
Canadians don't care? No, Canadians are bored by America
I asked my friend Barry Wellman, a famous sociologist who studies Internet communities, why we haven't had many contributions from Canada on LoveUsHateUS.com. Please couldn't he, I asked, knowing that he is a networker without equal, get some friends and colleagues to write. Here's what he said:
"Canadians are bored with the theme, "Love Us, Hate Us", because by nature of living next to the gorilla, they deal with it all the time.
For example, try the term "software lumber dispute" on Canadians and Americans. Every Canadian knows it: American perfidy in ignoring NAFTA rulings about softwood lumber tariffs. I doubt that 0.01% of Americans do. [I didn't.}
"There are many books on the theme of living with King Kong, whom you may recall had his attractions as well as his rambunctiousness destructiveness. Some major ones came from the 1970s. George Grant, Lament for a Nation; Ian Lumsden (ed.) Close the 49th Parallel; Margaret Atwood, Survival (non-fiction). And on a different, more pro-American note, Edgar Z Friedenberg, Deference to Authority."
Posted by Karen Christensen at 5:05 PM | Comments (0)
May 9, 2006
The buzz on global perspectives
I've been so caught up in launching GUANXI: THE CHINA LETTER that I haven't been blogging as I'd like, but I have been following the great discussion about how people in different parts of the world see us (and U.S.). And I've been hearing from people with related projects that so wonderfully mesh with our efforts to explore global perspectives on the United States. The first of them is WatchingAmerica.com, a brilliant and innovative gathering of news from around the world about how the world sees us.
Robin Koerner, a British guy now based in New York, is one of the founders. We had a chat on Sunday that devolved (or evolved) to a discussion of what's good about being an expat. I told him how a friend said I'd moved back to the States (in 1991) because after a decade or more away I now felt really foreign here in America. He thinks there's a lot of freedom in being an expat, and that's true, too.
And Robin told me about PBS's amazing new Borders: American ID site, which references this site as an important resource on the American identity at How They See Us. We'll be getting involved in that, too, and looking for ways to collaborate. LoveUsHateUS readers and contributors will find it another fascinating place to explore.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 5:28 PM | Comments (0)